One of the BEST things about the office is hanging around the water cooler, taking turns shooting paper balls into the trash can during your lunch break, or getting drinks with your buddies after work.
Goofing off with your co-workers is more than just fun. Studies have shown that taking regular breaks improves productivity, reduces stress, and even improves focus and recall.
We're not talking about all play and no work. We're talking about the balanced need to have social interactions with your co-workers.
But wait, working remotely means social interaction with your workmates goes out the window…right? Not necessarily! There are TONS of virtual team-building activities that you can do while working remotely.
Virtual happy hours are an irreplaceable way to make online meetings more interactive and to make a virtual meeting fun.
Virtual happy hour is an online social event held via a video conferencing platform such as Zoom, Webex, Microsoft Teams, etc.
You should care about virtual happy hours because virtual meetings are here to stay.
When virtual meetings became popular during the pandemic, most just lived with the challenges. However, with time it became apparent that virtual meetings and events weren't going away and the benefits FAR outweigh the drawbacks:
By focusing on virtual team-building activities, you are creating an environment that fosters:
Virtual Team Building Activities are Healthy for Your Team - It's healthy to acknowledge that the work environment can sometimes be stressful. Unwinding is EXTREMELY beneficial to keeping your employees satisfied at work.
Team Play Helps Develop Team Spirit - Virtual happy hours help your employees see who their fellow co-workers really are. Teams that know each other will work together better.
Virtual Team Games Improve Employee Productivity and Retention Rate - Happy employees are productive employees. Virtual team-building activities build a positive work environment by making your workers feel refreshed, energized, and ready to get back to work.
Harvard Business Review published a study showing a 33% increase in creativity, a 25% increase in happiness levels, and a 13% rise in productivity in employees who took mandatory scheduled vacations.
Virtual happy hours are an attainable, sustainable, and affordable way for ANY business to increase employee productivity.
Plan the Details - Determine the date, time, and duration. Send out invitations with any specific instructions.
Choose a Theme - It could be a costume party, a celebration of a company milestone, or something else entirely.
Prepare Activities - Develop a loose agenda. Select virtual happy hour activities based on the interests of your team.
Encourage Participation and Networking - Be an enthusiastic host and encourage everyone to actively participate.
Implement Good Time Management - Maintain a balance between structured activities and open conversation.
Consider Virtual Happy Hour Kits - Send packages that include snacks, decor items, or ingredients for cocktails.
Follow-Up and Feedback - After the happy hour, send a follow-up email to thank participants.
We know that not everyone loves virtual meetings. But you don't have to love them to embrace them. The future success of your business will be linked in part to your ability to adapt to changes.
Your team doesn't need to feel disconnected even though they are working from different locations. By creating regular virtual team games, you will make employees feel more valued and like they are part of a team.
Are you scratching your head for virtual happy hour ideas? Shoot us a message and we will give you some rock solid ideas that you can implement today.