Like it or loathe it, you can’t dispute that remote working is here to stay. The global pandemic sped up the inevitable transition from office-based to home-based work. What it didn’t help with was maintaining team morale.
Every team is made of people with different interests and passions, and keeping those people working together can be challenging. That’s why so many businesses engage in team-building exercises. The higher the morale in your business, the more creative and productive your team will be. Studies have shown that a happy worker can be 13% more productive.
The problem is that when your team is scattered across the state, country, or even the globe, getting them together to build morale is difficult. That’s why virtual morale builders, such as the corporate team experiences provided by Woyago, have become increasingly popular.
Of course, these types of events still take planning and a lot of organization. That makes them an occasional treat. To help maintain staff morale you should look at virtual meals.
Introducing The Virtual Meal
When your team eats lunch together, it is generally in a casual setting. This allows the team to relax, discuss various topics, and get to know each other better. The conversation generally starts out work-related but dissolves into more personal discussions.
It takes time to move the conversation from work to other topics. That’s why lunch is such a good option; it gives you time.
Planning a virtual lunch means creating a time and a theme. You can make one lunchtime a week or a month a virtual one. It’s a good idea to choose types of food. For example, get everyone to have Australian food for one lunch. It’s a lot more varied than you may think!
Setting the theme gives everyone a conversation starter, discussing the food that has been prepared.
Naturally, the team members will eat at home, and their screens will connect them to all the other team members. It’s critical that everyone has a good internet connection.
There are several ways in which virtual team lunches can improve team morale.
· Team Bonding
The most obvious way virtual lunches improve team morale is by helping members bond. It can be hard to simply chat with other remote workers or even those in the office. Virtual lunches provide an opportunity to connect and, therefore, feel less isolated.
When you know your colleagues it’s easier to make creative suggestions and to ask them for help. In short, remote employees will feel supported and that their opinions and work matter. That’s good for everyone involved.
· Better Communication
When you work from home, it is often difficult to communicate with other workers. This is because you don’t know them that well and are generally wary of their reaction to your suggestion or request for help.
That can leave a remote worker feeling isolated and unfulfilled.
Virtual lunches, and other events, allow your team to chat. The better they know each other the easier they’ll find it to communicate when they need to. In other words, they’ll be able to ask for help and make suggestions to improve how things are done.
· Improved Mental Health
Remote working often means you spend most of your time alone. This can leave you feeling isolated and that the work you’re doing has no merit. For some, this can lead to a depressive state of mind.
Virtual lunches ensure all team members are connected, removing the isolation and potentially improving the mental health of your team.
In addition, a virtual lunch can help workers take time off from their work. This can lower stress levels, which is good for physical and mental health.
· Make New Employees Feel Welcome
It’s often difficult for a new employee to feel like a valued team member. As a new employee, they don’t know the existing team, and it can seem difficult to connect with other team members.
A virtual lunch allows them to chat and connect in a non-work environment.
The more welcome they are, the happier they will be, and that’s good news for the company.
Summing Up
The most important element of running a business is looking after your employees. When all, or even some, of them work remotely, you need to think outside the box.
It’s worth noting, that virtual lunches can also work even when everyone is in the same office, it simply brings your team together.
Virtual events, such as virtual tours of Paris, are an effective way to build rapport. However, these are often one-off events. They combine perfectly with more regular interactions, such as virtual lunches.
If your business hasn’t tried going virtual, it’s time they did.
