Last Thursday, I gave a talk in Stockholm about something I care deeply about.

The workplace as the new social hub.

A place where we don't just show up for productivity - but to feel like we still exist in the world.

The room was full of engagement, the energy high, and the questions at the end?

Sharp, generous, and honest.

One moment that got a particularly big laugh was when I shared that both my husband and I work from home - separately, of course, for everyone’s sanity - but we still “meet at the coffee machine” to connect and talk about the weekend plans.

Just like an office. Except in our case, the coffee machine is louder, and no one ever remembers to buy more oat milk.

It was a joke, but it landed because it hit something real:
We're all still figuring out how to communicate.

Let’s talk about it.

Proof It Can Work

After the talk, someone asked, "How do we actually communicate well in a hybrid world?"

Great question.

One I've been circling for years.

Because while I've worked with many teams over time, there's one working relationship in recent years, I keep coming back to as an example of what's possible.

I have a colleague, now also a very close friend, I work extremely closely with.

She's in Sweden.

I'm in the Netherlands.

We are in constant sync. Coordinated, connected, often finishing each other's sentences – digitally but also (it turns out) when we are in the same room. When I'm in Sweden, we always meet up for a proper fika and a face-to-face catch-up.

But honestly? Most of the time, we're operating across borders.

And yet, somehow, we're deeply in tune.

How?

It's not because we have the best project management tool or the tightest meeting schedule.

It's because we maintain the relationship.

With intention.

We pick up the phone without booking a slot.

We send each other screenshots that say, "This made me think of our project," or "This meme is painfully accurate."

We don't just communicate - we connect.

That's not magic. That's maintenance.

Because communication, like any good relationship, isn't just something you have. It's something you do.

The Communication Fog

Here’s what I’ve noticed, in both my own work and the companies I work with: we’re swimming in updates but starving for actual connection.

For many teams, communication has never felt foggier.

We're flooded with tools - Slack, Zoom, WhatsApp, Teams, emojis, gifs, comments, pings - and still, we feel unsure whether we're really being heard.

It's the paradox of modern work: we're in constant contact but rarely in true connection.

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A Slack message doesn't equal clarity.

A weekly "sync" doesn't mean alignment.

And a thumbs-up emoji isn't the same as trust.

What's missing isn't more information. It's interpretation. Translation.

The messy human stuff that requires time, context, tone of voice, and sometimes... a shared sigh at the end of a call.

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Bring Back the Awkward Pause

The thing I miss most about working in person isn’t the desks or the fancy coffee.
It’s the pauses.

The awkward “Do you have a sec?” in the doorway.
The “randomly bumped into you” moment that somehow becomes a breakthrough.
The shared silence after a tough meeting when someone just says, “Phew.”

Hybrid work is great in many ways - but it flattens those spaces.

We schedule. We script. We present.
But we don’t always relate.

To get that back, we have to design for it.

Spontaneous connection won’t reappear on its own - it needs intention, structure, and a bit of cultural permission.

Here’s how we can start:

Agreements over Assumptions

Decide as a team what “quick response” actually means.

Is it five minutes? An hour? End of day?

Ambiguity breeds resentment. Clarity creates calm.

Set expectations so no one’s left wondering if silence means “busy,” “ignoring,” or “I forgot to click send.”

Rituals over Randomness

Bring back the human layer.

Friday check-ins that aren’t about KPIs, but about how people actually feel.

Share a win, a worry, or just the weirdest thing your cat did during a Teams call. Rituals don’t have to be big - they just have to be consistent.

Permission to be Imperfect

The best ideas don’t always arrive fully formed.

Create space for half-baked thoughts, “I might be wrong, but…” hunches, and clumsy first drafts.

When people feel safe to speak before they’re polished, real communication begins. And often, that’s where the magic lives.

Because good communication isn’t polished.
It’s a little clumsy.

A bit slow.
And entirely human.

“Less Frictionless,” More Real

We’ve been sold the idea that communication should be seamless.
Instant.
Effortless.

But maybe friction isn’t the enemy - it’s the evidence.
That we’re engaging.
Trying. Adjusting. Responding.

Some of the best conversations I’ve had didn’t happen because someone sent a perfectly crafted message.
They happened because someone dared to be slightly vulnerable - or just said,“I don’t get this, can we talk it through?”

Let’s Wrap This Up

Communication is more than a skillset.
It’s a culture.

It lives in how we start meetings.
How we reach out.
How we pause, joke, fumble, clarify, and try again.

In this hybrid era, we don’t just need better tools.
We need better habits.
And a whole lot more grace.

So if you’re wondering how to strengthen your team’s communication, maybe don’t start with software.

Start with a question.
A voice note.
A “Hey, do you have five minutes?”

That’s where the real connection begins.

Lots of love,
Stina

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