How Shared Purpose Creates Community For Remote Workers
In today’s remote and hybrid work landscape, one of the things we hear the most is that people enjoy the flexibility, but miss the sense of camaraderie, collaboration, and shared purpose associated with traditional office environments.
Cahoots coworking space in Ann Arbor exists as a space for the people who work here to create vibrant connections in the community. As part of this initiative, we’re excited to formally announce our Community Committee, a volunteer group committed to creating meaningful connections between members.
The Community Committee started with a general call to action: sign up to be the change you want to see in the space. We weren’t sure what was going to happen next, but we knew we wanted to provide a place to empower members to create the experience they wanted. At the first meeting, nine volunteers brainstormed around, “What do you want people who enter this space to feel?” Quickly, they scribbled and filled the wall with post-its. At the end of the brainstorming, we categorized the post-its into a few key feelings, such as:
I know who people are and they know who I am
I have relationships where I can reach out for help personally
I feel empowered to ask for help and be supported professionally
I feel a greater sense of community and can connect with others who share my interests
We put our heads together to think about how we could achieve these feelings. While we had a lot of ideas, we decided to pare it down into small, actionable steps that we could take in the next couple months to test as proof of concept. From there, we came up with a mission statement for our group: to support the creation of an environment where people feel welcome, connected, and supported in their professional and personal endeavors.
The team spent the next three months trying out different initiatives, from having coffee with new members to hosting various social and professional activities. Every two weeks, we huddled up to discuss how things were going, what wins we were experiencing, and helped brainstorm ideas to help each other overcome obstacles.
At the end of the initial three-month trial period, the Community Committee gathered together to reflect on the highlights of the experience. One member had made a point of inviting new members to coffee to help them better orient to the space and have a buddy to go to events or lunch with.
One of the most popular initiatives was a regular happy hour group at a brewery around the corner for a weekly post-work drink and catchup. As the casual happy hour grew, conversations evolved from get-to-know-you small talk to following up on how a trip or other event had gone as regulars became more familiar with each other.
A few other members partnered to host a mentorship circle, where professionals could hear from somebody more advanced in their career and ask questions around general workplace topics. Others created volunteer experiences and organized a winter cleanup at the Ozone House where the crew bonded over giving back to the community. As they shared what they were doing in the member newsletter, other members felt inspired to try their own initiatives, from impromptu lunch invites on slack to holding morning meditation sessions.
As they reflected, the group agreed that the experience had created an overall increased social feeling in the space. Additionally, we noticed an increase in informal initiatives as people saw others trying things and felt empowered to do the same, whether it was creating a special interest event, asking for help, or inviting somebody new to lunch.
Perhaps the strongest win of the committee was the chance to work with other members on these initiatives and support each other in their ideas. One member commented “It feels like a real work place being able to work on a project with other people in person. It’s nice to have drinks, but the connections you feel from collaborating on a shared purpose are much stronger.” By supporting each other in their efforts, they created deeper bonds through a shared sense of purpose that they were all working together to achieve.
Research increasingly shows the importance of fostering community and shared purpose in professional environments. According to this study by the SHRM, employees who experience a strong workplace culture are more satisfied at work and demonstrate higher levels of commitment and productivity. Similarly, a Gallup report revealed that employees who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their job. These findings highlight the value of creating intentional structure for unstructured interactions and relationships to grow.
Following the initial success, the committee unanimously decided to continue, and opened up the invitation for others to join. As they doubled in size, they split into two sub-committees:
The Connections Committee works to ensure members know one another and feel supported both personally and professionally. This includes creating a network for mentoring support, opportunities for professional development, and meeting with members 1:1 to help connect them to others.
The Social Committee develops opportunities for members to bond through shared experiences, such as happy hours, lunches, or volunteer opportunities to create a strong office culture.
As the group expands, it will be exciting to see how the group changes and shifts to help support each other in their ideas.
Does Cahoots have super fast wifi, modern workspaces, cool local art, and a state of the art health club? Yes, yes, yes, and also yes. But at the end of the day, what really sets Cahoots apart from being just another office space is our intentional focus on community and culture. The Community Committee exists to provide a place of growth, connection, and belonging for everyone, and we are so excited to see what they do next.
If you’ve been looking for a space to create your perfect work environment, join us for a free trial day! We can’t wait to have you in Cahoots.
