Lunch & Learn Bites: Is Your Remote Culture on Mute? How to Tackle Wellness in a Remote-First World

Can you build a culture without an office?

Remote work may have surged from the trenches of crisis, but today, it’s what the workforce is asking for - loudly.

In fact, 64% of workers would consider quitting if asked to return to the office full-time (FlexJobs). At this point, remote work is no longer seen as a perk, but as a priority that drives career decisions.

But here’s the catch: remote teams and team members still crave real connection. And without the right remote culture, Teams channels become digital ghost towns, burnout creeps in quietly, and employee wellness becomes a task at the bottom of the to-do list instead of a lived experience.

Just as being in the office doesn’t automatically create culture, remote work doesn’t guarantee instant employee satisfaction and wellness. Neither happens by accident.

What are the facts?

• 63% of professionals say flexibility is what matters most when choosing a job (LinkedIn).

• Only 1 in 3 remote workers feel connected to their company’s culture (Gallup)

• 25% of fully remote employees report feeling lonely at work (Future Forum)

This was the focus of our latest Lunch & Learn session, where we met with an HR industry leader at a top national employer to discuss employee wellness and the biggest challenges facing remote and in-person teams.

And while we heard how large corporates are tackling wellness at scale (think: on-site clinics, mental health toolkits, incentivised programmes for daily steps taken, and real-time pulse surveys), we couldn’t help but think…

We don’t have a head office. Or a wellness clinic. Or 5,000 employees.

But we do have a remote culture that works. And since it’s an area where even the best-intentioned teams can fall short, we wanted to share how we’ve built a strong remote culture that prioritises people, without sacrificing performance.

So, let’s unpack the challenges of remote work and how The Social Craft combats them every day.

Challenge 1: Isolation is real. But so is connection—if you build it right.

Remote working can often feel disconnected and lonely if it’s not built on a sense of community. There are no watercooler chats. No in-person huddles. And if you're not intentional, team connection feels like it’s starting to drift.

Culture isn’t confined to a location at TSC. As a global team, we also work across timezones, but we've built digital rituals that keep us close:

Here’s how we do it differently:

• Weekly standups: Every Monday kicks off with a team-wide meeting. We catch up, align on priorities, and get everyone fired up for the week ahead.

• One-on-one check-ins: Each Crafter has monthly 1:1s with their leader to talk through anything—workload, wins, or wellness.

• Office hours every week: Got a question? Want a sounding board? Our leadership opens up space weekly for real-time chats—no appointments needed. These also act as our water cooler moments to chat just as we would in an office.

• In-person team meetups: Whether it's our annual team retreats or bi-monthly get-togethers, we make it a priority to come together IRL to really get to know each other beyond the work-talk. We know we can’t replicate that feeling over Teams.

• Culture channels that feel like home: Music recs, shared wins, and inspiration- you name it, there’s a digital space for it.

At TSC, connection is designed into the way we work and communicate, so no one feels like they’re working alone.

Challenge 2: Zoomed out? Burnout often starts behind the screen.

An always-on mode is a fast track to burnout (remote or not). When your bed becomes your boardroom and you feel like you’re waking up to step into your inbox, mental fatigue could start to set in.

Here’s how we keep burnout at bay:

• Dedicated wellness time every Thursday: That’s right. Designated work time for screens to be switched off. Whether it’s a walk, meditation, or a nap—this time is for our Crafters to own as they please.

• Monthly wellness newsletters: From breathing exercises to “log off” rituals, our Crafter Wellness Newsletter serves up digestible tips that encourage our Crafters to put their mind (and body) first.

• Meeting boundaries: We’re mindful of meeting fatigue. That’s why we build in “no-meeting” windows and encourage team-wide screen breaks.

• Workspace support: From laptops to screens and keyboards, we help Crafters build remote setups that fuel their best work (and protect their posture).

We don’t romanticise hustle culture. We prioritise output, not online presence. And when someone needs space, they take it - with support.

In fact, our last newsletter was about the importance of balancing being productive with the art of doing nothing. You can download our newsletter and read more about that here:

If you’ve ever tried to just sit and do absolutely nothing, you probably lasted about 10 seconds before reaching for your phone, checking emails, or suddenly remembering that one thing you should be doing. Sound familiar? That’s because we’ve been conditioned to believe that being ‘busy’ equals being productive.

Challenge 3: Trust isn’t built through timesheets - it’s built through transparency.

When you can’t see your team, how do you know they’re working? (Spoiler: if you’re still asking this, your culture isn’t the problem - your mindset is.)

You can’t micromanage in a remote world. Well, you can—but you’ll lose people and engagement fast.

What we do differently:

Clear workflows on Jira, Teams, and OneDrive: Everything lives online, and it’s easy to find, track, and access. You don’t have to be a mindreader to collaborate.

An open culture: If we’re struggling, we aren’t afraid to reach out. We’ve built psychological safety by normalising real talk and empathy.

Core working hours, flexible execution: We trust our team to manage their day in a way that works for them - balancing core hours where everyone is available with their given flexible hours to wrap up when they feel most productive.

Because at the heart of a high-performing remote team isn’t control - it’s trust.

Challenge 4: Remote engagement doesn’t happen on its own.

You can build trust, prevent burnout, and connect regularly—but if the day-to-day starts to feel monotonous, you lose people’s energy. Engagement isn’t just a metric. It’s how your culture feels.

Here’s how we keep things creative, personable, and engaging:

• Creative workshops: We host sessions that push us out of the delivery mindset and back into the craft. From copy challenges to design sessions—it’s where we stretch, play, and learn.

• Fun creative challenges: Think: 30-minute branding blitzes, storytelling games, or even content contests where winners snag rewards (and bragging rights).

• Micro team hangs: From local meetups to travelling for conferences, we create moments that feel exciting - and keep our team’s sense of belonging high.

• A culture of curiosity: Want to learn something new? Attend our Lunch & Learns sessions. Interested in a trend? Start a chat. We champion taking initiative, not just execution.

Because if your culture only exists in formal meetings and delivery dashboards, it might be missing the point.

The biggest learning? Remote work magnifies the cracks in your culture.If trust, connection, engagement, and wellbeing aren’t already baked into your team’s day-to-day culture - going remote won’t magically create them. But it will expose what’s missing.

If you do it right, you can build a remote culture that’s not only productive - but personal, supportive, and sustainable.

Remote-first doesn’t have to mean culture-last. At The Social Craft, we’re proof that you can build bold, connected, high-performing teams from anywhere.

Are you thinking about how to build a culture and EVP that attracts top talent - and keeps them?

Chat to us today about how we can help you craft an employer brand where wellness and connection isn’t an afterthought, but at its core.