Has Covid-19 irrevocably changed the culture of academic departments? It certainly feels that way. For more than two years, we’ve faced restrictions that required remote and hybrid work. People have moved, changed child care, and become comfortable working from home. Yet no one seems happy with the level of connection we are experiencing at work.
It is hard to build connections between colleagues when no one is around the office. Restoring department culture right now can feel like an exercise in futility.
The culture of a workplace matters. A healthy work culture is one in which people feel trusted and respected. They believe that their needs are a priority. Culture is even more significant than compensation in predicting employee turnover. In academic departments, culture is critical to attracting and retaining excellent faculty, staff, and students. A positive culture is also central to succeeding with goals that aim to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Everyone needs to be comfortable coming to the office, attending meetings, and raising their voices. Whatever the goal, you will need a constructive culture in the department to achieve it.
Building academic culture has always required sustained and intentional effort, but Covid has made the task more complicated than ever. Nowadays, with fewer restrictions from federal agencies like the CDC, our responses to living and working in a world with Covid are more individualized. Some people are happy to meet in groups and travel, while others prefer to continue keeping their Covid bubbles small. Meanwhile, remote work and hybrid meetings are very likely here to stay. People expect — and many need — more flexibility in where and when they work.
So where does that leave the workplace culture of academic departments? In need of some serious brainstorming — especially among chairs and other academic leaders. In what follows, I outline some ideas to start the conversation.
Anything is better than nothing. At this point, what you do to rebuild work relationships and campus culture is less important than that you do something. People in the workplace are looking for a sign that leadership is thinking of them and that they are valued as people rather than just as workers. With that in mind, don’t aim for perfection. Just act. In my department, we have started a cookies-in-the-courtyard hour: Once a week someone bakes and brings in a container of sweets. Some weeks attendance is low, but the idea that an activity is organized and that there is an opportunity to connect with others bolsters spirits within the department. It is a sign that people in the workplace care and are taking the time to organize ways to bring people together.
Plan some activities that don’t require a gathering. Not everyone is comfortable getting together in person. Covid cases nationally are falling (at the moment) but even if/when they are on the rise again, an unwillingness to attend a departmentwide event doesn’t mean that people are satisfied with the level of human connection they are feeling at work. As chair, you can look for ways to connect people without an in-person meeting. For example, our department links people through a program called “care buddies” — two people are anonymously connected with the goal of doing thoughtful things for each other throughout the year. A kind note or a cookie in a mailbox is all that is required. Opting into the care-buddy program means that someone is thinking of you. Someone cares. That kind of activity doesn’t appeal to everyone, so it is important to make it optional.
Avoid mandatory fun. No one likes to be told what to do. While you might wish that all faculty members would engage in your culture-building efforts, they won’t. People should never feel as if their job or advancement requires them to show up to social events. Be particularly cognizant of how social demands may feel to staff members and contingent faculty members, who are stretched thin and often carrying heavy loads because of employee shortages. They don’t want to be excluded. By all means, extend an invitation to all. But some employees prefer to go home and unwind after a long work day without the pressure of having to “put in an appearance” at a mandatory social event. It should be OK to decline the invitation.
Set aside a fixed time to meet with colleagues. This is my second stint as department chair. One thing I have noticed in this position is that people value access. They just want to know they can get a few minutes to talk when and if they need it. As chair, if you make time, even if no one takes you up on it, people will appreciate it. Try to schedule a regular coffee-with-the-chair hour or weekly “office hours” for faculty members to call or drop by. Some days no one will visit, and you will end up using the time to answer email. Chances are, people will appreciate the offer because it signals access. They have a mechanism to voice their concerns and needs.
Consider whether an event will inadvertently exclude anyone. A classic example is the late-afternoon happy hour that occurs just as parents need to be heading out to pick up their children from school or day care. That doesn’t mean you can never organize a late-afternoon event; just make sure it’s not the only option. People have full lives and many responsibilities and it is helpful if the majority of events occur at times and places that (a) accommodate most members of the department and (b) feature activities that fit most people’s lives. Also, if you notice that certain groups of people aren’t participating in your culture-building efforts, think about organizing something that might be particularly meaningful to them (and everyone else). One of the most successful events I’ve held as chair was a Lunar New Year celebration. Noticing that most of our international students — many of whom were Chinese — were not attending departmental activities, we created an event that the international students were excited to help plan and run.
Improve your virtual meet-ups. Technology for remote and hybrid meetings has come a long way during the pandemic. If your meetings are failing to create a connection between online and in-person participants, consider if there is a technological solution that can help.
Use existing meetings to strengthen relationships. Lack of time is a key barrier to building department culture. Rather than creating a bunch of new events, see if you can borrow a few minutes from (or add to) existing meetings for culture-building. For example, set aside 10 minutes of each faculty meeting for a department member to share a research or teaching effort they are passionate about.
Connect about the work. It is amazing how little opportunity there is within an academic unit — especially one that is interdisciplinary and diverse — for members to learn about one another’s research. Little time is set aside to learn what people are up to in their writing and scholarship. Department seminars and retreats can be an avenue for people to share their work, interact, and build connections.
Celebrate success. Amplifying the success of individual members, or of the department as a whole, can build culture. It’s a way to make people feel seen and appreciated. Formal announcements at award ceremonies or in campus newsletters are of course important. But recognition can be as simple as mentioning a colleague’s success in a group setting or sending out an email acknowledging someone’s latest article, teaching award, or book contract. If you notice people who are infrequently honored by the department — such as staff members and adjuncts — but deserve recognition, make up your own awards. To improve staff culture we started a Chair’s Golden Globe award (I am a geographer after all) and each semester honored a staff member at a faculty meeting.
Word of warning: Make unpredictability part of the equation. This past summer, I had one goal: See my friend Amy. We tried four times, and each time we had to cancel our plans because of a Covid case or scare. This is the world we live in. But just because you may have to cancel your culture-building plans doesn’t mean you should quit making them. In fact, just the opposite: Keep making plans! Accept the possibility that your best-laid plans could end up cancelled, and avoid nonrefundable investments in food or venues.
As academics, we like our independence. But to do our best work, we need other academics. The role of the chair is to recreate a space for people to make meaningful connections surrounding their work and find common ground — which leads to empathy and mutual respect. After a period of so much isolation and fracture, we all need to feel like a valuable part of our academic homes.
