While it is obvious, it is worth remembering that the pandemic left most organizations in a state of uncertainty and challenged business leaders in a number of ways: daily operations, delivery systems, overall company resiliency, customer satisfaction, and employee retention, to name a few. Given the struggles, the pandemic taught many organizations valuable lessons, and some were fortunate to have thrived and shown resiliency through the crisis. However, now as we continue to move past the pandemic, many organizations are beginning to experience some of the after-effects, specifically, among company culture. When the pandemic hit, almost all organizations involuntarily had to turn their in-office workforce into a remote workforce. This instantaneously impacted company culture. Now, post-pandemic, many organizations are balancing: back to in-office, hybrid, remote work – in any combination. This again, bringing on new challenges to company culture. 

Investopedia defines company culture or corporate culture as the beliefs and behaviors that determine how a company's employees and management should interact and perform. To add on, effective company culture allows the organization to consistently achieve its goals. Organizations who have a strong and effective company culture experience many benefits, some of these which include: increased employee productivity, more creativity and innovation from employees, employee retention rates increase, increased channels of communication between upper management and employees, increased talent attraction, and increased overall customer satisfaction, to name a few. Arguably, organizations that put a strong emphasis on developing a strong and effective company culture are prioritizing one of their most precious assets – - employees. Consequently, employees who feel valued and supported are more motivated and produce better work, which may strengthen customer experience and satisfaction, which can lead to greater profitability.  

Before the pandemic, most employees worked in company offices and that reality shaped company cultures and essentially defined how employees interacted. Impromptu brainstorming sessions, coffee breaks, lunchroom lunches, happy hour, were all, but not limited to, ways for colleagues in the office to interact organically with one another, helping to formulate a strong company culture. The more connections that employees make with other employees leads to team comradery and loyalty. Many employees work longer hours, not necessarily because they want to, but because they have a strong sense of belongingness and loyalty that they don't want to let others down. Additionally, managers often influence company culture by frequently interacting with their employees and serving as role models setting behavior expectations. Generally speaking, systems and routines that were previously established in the office guide company culture. However, the pandemic challenged this predominant face-to-face physical interaction that company culture desperately depended on.