Teamwork vs. New Work: About New Forms of Collaboration
Inner Strength – Volume 2
A (too) long time ago we proudly announced a blog series dedicated to culture and employer branding. We hope you'll forgive us for taking so long to publish the second installment, but we've been very busy with client projects. Fortunately, we've had the privilege of advising clients on these very issues, delving into the literature and observing the market.
While some companies are calling their employees back to the office, studies show that the number of «mobile» working models continues to grow – even a few percentage points higher than during the pandemic. In our interviews, one of the most common requirements expressed by candidates is location flexibility. Of course, not all jobs allow for this – we want to recognise and value those whose work requires them to be on the ground, whether they are caring for us, serving us, transporting us or protecting us.
In 2024, the majority of employees in Switzerland were able to work at least partially remotely for the first time (source: FlexWork Trend Study by FHNW).
What teamwork requires
The question then is: Do we need to be physically close to work closely together? One thing we know is that we're better together. The best solutions come from sharing, brainstorming and constructive argument. High-functioning teams need trust and psychological safety – this is real relationship work.
A team that has already built this foundation of connection and then moves to a remote setup (e.g. due to a pandemic) is different from a team where such relationship building never really gets a chance to develop because of remote working. In this case, we understand employers who ask their employees to return to the office, at least partially.
Why we value remote working in our team
So is this blog post a plea for all companies to call their employees back into the office? Absolutely not. We love remote working. It makes sense – for creative inspiration, for reducing infrastructure demands and for being a more sustainable way of working. Our agency has been remote for 10 years – all you need to work with us is a laptop. Our tools and processes are browser-based and allow us to communicate from anywhere.
Why it works for us
When we talk about location-independent communication, we mean asynchronous communication. In regular, synchronous communication, the sender and receiver interact in real time – questions are encouraged and dialogue is expected. With asynchronous communication, messages are sent and received at different times – whether it's email, Slack messages, voice notes or even video messages (yes, we've tried them all). The advantage is that no one gets interrupted at work because everyone can choose when to respond.
Why asynchronous isn't always easy
Asynchronous communication increases the need for structure and clarity in messaging: to communicate effectively, you want to reduce follow-up questions. Senders need to put themselves in the recipient's shoes, consider their level of knowledge, and think about what information they need to keep things moving.
Creating such carefully crafted messages (which shouldn't be overloaded with information either) doesn't come naturally to most people. This style of communication needs to be trained - and then practised well.
That's why asynchronous communication is particularly suited to clear, operational tasks with documented processes, recurring patterns and little need for creative or interactive input.
New work - why we need a change of mindset
Much of the media discussion so far has revolved around the controversial issue of the home office – but that's far too simplistic. In a remote setup, work can be done not only at home, but across time zones, from a mountain cabin or even a surf camp (hello, workation!). What's often overlooked is that this requires strong communication skills and models, carefully chosen tools, clearly documented processes, defined responsibilities and orchestrated social interaction. New Work is not just a buzzword, it's hard work. Tackling the social and environmental challenges of our time requires new skills – from individuals, teams and organisations.
Self-organisation - the name of the game
New Work requires more self-organisation, which in turn requires a lot of experience. People need to recognise and reflect on their own dynamics and those of their colleagues, and to communicate transparently with each other. In their book «New Work Needs Inner Work», Joana Breidenbach and Bettina Rollow write that self-organisation is a cultural - not a structural - model. And that's where we see the challenge. The pandemic has shown us that working from home is possible and many employees don't want to give up that privilege. The structural changes have been made quickly. But the cultural work is just beginning.
