Return to community

The digital transformation of work has fundamentally altered how we connect with our colleagues. As organisations worldwide struggle with remote and hybrid work challenges, a critical question emerges: how can we maintain connected workplace communities when physical proximity is no longer a given? The answer lies not in forcing employees back to the offices, but in understanding what community truly means in our digital age, not through virtual happy hours or forced team bonding activities.

Workplace belonging in the digital era

Current workplace community discourse has become frustratingly polarised. It seems the divide between ‘camp pro-office’ and ‘camp pro-remote’ is getting deeper week by week. Those who express appreciation for in-person collaboration are often characterised as old-school or technologically challenged. Meanwhile, those who emphasise the productivity benefits of remote work face accusations of selfishness and prioritising individual convenience above collective needs.

The recently launched Laterna project is a nearly €1 million research initiative funded by Business Finland, designed to tackle one of modern work’s most topical challenges: how to build workplace community in an increasingly digital world.

In this project we investigate how digitalisation and increased technology adoption are reshaping workplace communities, work practices, and organisational culture. We will identify concrete opportunities and develop practical tools that enable organisations to cultivate a genuine sense of community across multiple locations.

Our research employs a socio-material approach, recognising that workplace communities are complex ecosystems where digital tools, physical spaces, and social relationships are deeply intertwined. This perspective acknowledges that community building involves not just human interactions, but also the technological infrastructure and work environments that shape daily organizational life. As organisational scholars, we are interested in how people make meaning of the word community.

Frameworks for understanding workplace dynamics

In the Laterna research we use four different frameworks to understand modern workplace dynamics:

• Communities of practice (Lave & Wenger 1991; Wenger 1998; Wenger 2010)
• Affordances (Gibson 1986; Zammuto et al. 2007)
• Universal problems of organizing (Puranam & Alexy 2014)
• Self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci 2017)

Based on these four frameworks we have identified three central research questions that drive the investigation.

1. What kind of affordances and constraints does the use of digital technologies create for the functioning of workplace communities, and how can these be managed and developed?
2. What positive and negative effects do these changes have on the core needs of organisations and workplace communities – such as productivity, coordination and sense of community
3. What effects do these changes have on employees’ meanings of work, identities, and the fulfilment of their basic psychological needs?

The methodology used during the research combines extensive qualitative data collection through 100 semi-structured interviews with corporate partners, complemented by ethnography in both physical and digital work environments to understand group dynamics and interaction patterns.

Creating research based solutions

During the Laterna project we create practical, research-based solutions through year-long development cycles with partner companies to ensure that the theoretical insights are tested in real-world settings. International collaboration includes researcher exchanges at Ulysseus partner university Université Côte d’Azur in Nice and Vienna University of Economics and Business, plus collaboration with Lund University in Sweden, ensuring findings reflect diverse cultural contexts.

Throughout the first year we will share latest insights and preliminary findings in three webinars. In late 2026, we will launch a comprehensive open access online course making research findings, practical tools and guides accessible to public and private organisations. In addition, Laterna researchers will share insights through academic publications and conference presentations both in national and international networks.

At the end of the project in 2028 we will publish a practical handbook providing step-by-step guidance for implementing community-building strategies in diverse organisations.

Welcome on a journey of new understanding

The challenge of building workplace community in the digital era is a burning question in an increasing number of organisations. The future of work is not just about where we work or what tools we use. It is about maintaining our fundamental human need for connection and belonging. As we embrace digital efficiency, we must not lose the community bonds that may make work meaningful. The path forward lies in understanding what community really means and building it intentionally in our digital age.

We invite you to follow our journey on the Laterna website for regular updates on research findings, webinar invitations, latest news, articles and blog posts.

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