Although states are beginning to lift restrictions on social distancing, it is important to limit your contact with coworkers because COVID-19 is continuing to spread. You may feel frustrated or in a rut because you miss that daily social interaction, but there are plenty of ways to stay in touch with one another outside of an office setting. Here are a few ways to virtually keep in touch with your coworkers.
Drive-by celebrations
It won’t feel the same not being able to celebrate an accomplishment in person, but it’s important for coworkers to feel seen and recognized. Drive-by celebrations are perfect for birthday celebrations, work anniversary’s, or if your interns have accepted a full-time position. Pick a time that works for everyone, whether that’s during a lunch break or after a workday. Make signs, blast music, and honk your horns as you drive by their house. Although it is a short-and-sweet celebration, it’s important to recognize your coworkers’ successes even from a social distance.
Zoom happy hours
This is one of the more common ways to bond with your coworkers, especially if you are used to grabbing a drink with one another after a long day of work. Pick your favorite alcohol and create a zoom meeting either with your close work friends or the entire staff. Everyone could use a drink, especially with the pressures that come along with quarantine. A way to make a zoom happy hour more fun is to pick a new cocktail for either yourself or for your coworkers to make. Delish and Tasty have creative drink ideas that will take your happy hour to the next level.
Virtual games
Break your coworkers into teams, or if your company is small enough you can play individually and play a virtual game together. If you are interested in taking quizzes or trivia, there are plenty of platforms and premade quizzes to do during a lunch break or after hours virtually. Kahoot is one of the best platforms to use because it automatically keeps track of your score and who is in the lead. There are dozens of quizzes already made or you can make one up on your own! Another great platform is Houseparty, which is an app on your phone that has different virtual games like trivia, heads up, and guess the drawing.
Group chats
If you don’t have one already, have a staff group chat is a great way to keep in touch if you have questions for another colleague regarding work, or if you want to send a funny TikTok. If your team if small enough a texting group chat over iMessage are very successful, or if you are a part of a larger company messaging platforms like Slack are a great way to keep in touch. Always keep your notification on (unless it becomes distracting) to always stay in touch with your coworkers.
Working remotely and social distancing is hard for a lot of people, especially when you’re used to daily chit chat in the office. Although communicating virtually isn’t and will never be the same as talking to your coworkers in person, these tips will help improve your relationships when you are communicating from a distance.
Clutch is a creative staffing partner. We connect digital, creative, and marketing professionals with companies looking for freelance, temp-to-hire or direct hire resources.
