Informal communication, informal collaboration, a culture of apprenticeship. To the extent that the organization values these they are all served much better in person than remote.
All companies and all people are different. There isn't a one size fits all. But it's not like there are no benefits to in person.
This raises two obvious questions;
- Were those things definitely happening in a way that actually benefits the company, or were people simply assuming they're happening?
- Why can't those things continue to happen in an environment where people work remotely?
Without satisfactory answers to those questions it's impossible to assert comms and collaboration are actually reasons to return to the office. For example, my experience of remote working (many years before lockdown, and during lockdown) has taught me that informal comms actually causes more ambiguity and moving to remote often means people are prone to "over communication" where they leave very little out. That has led to pain for some because there's a lot more email and messaging to deal with, but it also means everyone has a greater understanding of the project. Overall I'd argue that the 'formalization' of comms on a project that comes from everyone being remote and asynchronous is more of a benefit than a cost.
Coffee breaks are a shockingly productive element that simply work better in person, at least in my experience (and this seems to be a common sentiment at my software company).
In-person conversations don't have technical difficulties, there's much better engagement which allows people to better read the audience and adapt presentations/design conversations appropriately.
Surveys among colleagues seem to agree -- hybrid seems good, remote only simply is not as productive nor enjoyable.
This has been happening with greater regularity when we have been working from home. All the time we will have informal communication on slack or jump on an informal unscheduled zoom call to mob on an issue. I worked on campus for 18 years prior to starting to work from home last March. I cannot remember a single time informal communication or informal collaboration happened. For some reason people are much more open to it over slack and zoom than they ever were in person.
Now that does happen in open slack channels but it seems to me far less frequently.
You're right of course, those qualities don't naturally occur remotely.
However, and I know I'm slightly taking your use of "culture" out of context, but "Culture" is often code for any number of implicit biases in a workplace. Known or unknown. If you don't fit in, for whatever reason, can you still not be a productive asset in the corporation?
I'm old. Tell me about it. I am not a "cultural fit" in companies, these days.
So I am doing my own thing. I'm extremely fortunate, in being able to do this.
I'm also never going into an office, or relocating, again.
In my experience, they do... It's how a project like Krita has grown naturally for over twenty years, bringing in new people, teaching them, having them become productive.
Of course, meeting in person, once or twice a year is important. But there's no need for offices for us.