Office-based jobs can be stressful and exhausting. For someone who does that five times a week for several hours, it is easy to lose motivation, which can cause a depreciation in productivity and even result in quiet quitting. People need some time to relax and bond to work together with more enthusiasm.
The Importance Of ‘Office Fun’
Office workers need some space to see their office mates as more than just colleagues. This is why office parties were always a good idea to blow off some steam and get to know and bond with each other. It’s a chance to enjoy drinks, snacks, and appetizers and generally decompress from work life.
There are many ways to create excitement and fun in the workplace and, therefore, boost morale. Regular office happy hours and get-togethers could help increase employee engagement at work. As a result, coworkers will begin to feel more and more comfortable with each other. This will encourage more collaboration and teamwork.
However, this all changed after the introduction of the virtual workspace as a result of the recent pandemic. There are no more sports events, mandatory birthday cupcakes, team happy hours, and other ‘fun’ activities. Now that the workplaces are reopening, will things go back to as they were before? Or has the current work culture put an end to office fun?
The Habits Of Solitude
Now that people have been working remotely for so long, they are finding it rather difficult to socialize. They are still attending meetings and conferences, but those team-building exercises and office parties have gone out of habit. Zoom happy hour is nowhere near as fun as an in-person office happy hour.
The shift to online work has changed the state of mind and nature of employees in organizations, and it’s not necessarily for good. While they report to more conferences than ever, they also experience less connection and more isolation.
Employees are now comfortable with just working at the designated time and switching off as soon as their shift ends. There are no extra activities and bonding ceremonies anymore because the current work culture has normalized not having them. They have no patience to deal with people more than necessary.
Different Definitions Of Office Fun
Is the office fun, really fun for everyone? Studies show that most employees – even before the pandemic – did not like the extra bonding activities or so-called office fun. They just wanted to go home! Office parties, if not planned correctly, can lead to a situation where the fun is forced and is not doing any good for the employees.
Many employees were relieved when remote work settings were introduced as they did not have to attend these fun office parties anymore.
Better Ideas
Now if the offices continue to throw these ill-planned parties and happy hours, chances are that there is no office fun, people are just there for mandatory attendance. This is why it is important to look for better happy hour ideas so that you throw an office party everyone wants to be a part of. Food is also a very important part of office parties.
Good Food
If you want to host a successful get-together, make sure to book good caterers with a wide variety of food options. Happy hours without good food are no good. Platforms like CaterCow curate different food options as per your need while offering responsive customer support. You can customize your order through their user-friendly interface. When you curate the menu as per the mood of the office party, nothing can go wrong.
The Hybrid Nature
Even as companies are calling employees back to the office, ‘fun’ at the workplace isn’t what it used to be. The workplaces are now available and open, but there is still an option for the hybrid mode. Not a lot of people want to leave the comfort of their homes and get back to the office hustle.
So, getting everyone at one place for an office party or bonding activity can be a challenge. The priorities have changed as well. People want to be home with their families as soon as possible after work.
Conclusion
The changes that took place in the last few years have impacted everyone a lot. It is not easy to get back to how things were before. However, it’s always a good idea to try and make an effort. Office fun was an important experience for employees before the pandemic. With correct vision and planning, office parties and happy hours can be brought back to life.
The focus should be given to the events that people actually want to attend. This can facilitate team bonding and give remote workers a solid reason to rejoin their colleagues.
Smart companies are doing their research and working to identify the types of ‘fun’ workers actually like. They are not forcing office fun but creating the event in a way that workers show up for because they want to, not just out of obligation.
