Camaraderie

Maintaining camaraderie as some return to the workplace while others work from home

By Craig Bulow, Corporate Away Days

 

Many of us managed to make the adjustments necessary for working from home. And, as quickly as we settle into these new patterns, things are changing again. Some homeworkers will now be returning to the workplace, at least for part of the week.

 

While those working from home may now be finding the novelty of working in their pyjamas and being able to put a load of washing on between calls and emails is rubbing off, those at the start of the trickle of the returning workforce will be faced with fresh anxieties; such as whether their journey is safe and how it will feel being in the office without many of their colleagues.

 

Now is not the time to get complacent about your team’s mental wellbeing. Indeed, you should be revisiting the concerns you had initially about keeping your team in touch and connected and, most importantly, retaining the sense of camaraderie that can be lost when people are working apart.

 

According to hrdive.com, “Relationships with co-workers are a leading contributor to employees’ well-being, a new report concluded. Well-being in the Workplace, a three-year international study by Martin Boult, senior director of professional services and international training at The Myers-Briggs Company, found that relationships with co-workers were what matters most to employees’ happiness in the workplace. The report included data from 10,000 people in 131 countries.”

 

What can businesses do increase and maintain camaraderie in our current circumstances? Here are a range of options to consider:

 

WORKING HARD

 

1. Regular video meetings

 

Zoom, Skype, Facetime. All have been well-utilised over recent weeks. It’s not only important to speak regularly, it’s important to see your teams and colleagues, read their facial expressions and body language and smile at one another! Ideally, these communications should be regular and scheduled. These give everyone points in the week to look forward to and to keep them motivated.

 

Really make sure that everyone is given a voice during these meetings. If there are too many faces on the screen, some might melt into the background. Make time for everyone to speak and be listened to. This is crucial for mental wellbeing and to enhance feelings of togetherness and team building.

 

2. Set working hours

 

While this may not be possible for all business models, if you can, give everyone a set working day. Give them a start time and set times for tea and lunch breaks and a finishing time. You can then encourage them to ‘have lunch’ with the colleague they would previously have sat with in the kitchen or met for a Costa and also ensure that they are able to separate work and home life. If they are staying at their workstation to finish a project and not leaving until 7pm, they are not likely to be motivated to start at 9am the next day and a lack of routine can be very demotivating.

 

Of course, there are some workers who will need extra flexibility. Perhaps they need time to shop for elderly relatives or will need to take shorter, more frequent breaks to allow them to help children with schoolwork. Bear that in mind, too.

 

3. Motivate your team to achieve together

 

There are few feelings as good as when you achieve something as part of a team! In the office, you can high-five when you hit a target or finish that project. That’s not so easy when you are all in different places. However, there are ways to help your team feel together when they are apart.

 

Remind your team of your core values and discuss in a group how they can be applied and tweaked to fit with the current situation. Ensuring everyone engages with these values is critical for a successful business and even more so when working remotely.

 

You could encourage your team to have – and share – morning motivations, where they each write down “What I accomplished yesterday… What I am planning today… What the challenges are for today”. This is a moveable feast and one that colleagues can talk to each other about; “I had a similar challenge last week, this is how I approached it, and this is what worked”. “I have the same plan today, shall we speak later to see how we’re both getting on”.

 

Having regular brainstorming sessions is a good idea and team leaders and managers should leave phones open for staff to call with new ideas. Again, voice or video calls are preferable to email, keeping communication verbal and more fluid and interactive.

 

PLAYING HARD

 

4. Socialise “at work”

 

The culture of business has changed so much over recent years; it is far more sociable in its nature. So, keep this going. You will have to trust your team to spend an appropriate amount of time socialising within the framework of the working day but it is likely to be highly motivating and encourage that camaraderie if they can still have a virtual chat by the water cooler, using an app such as Tandem.chat or set up a group chat on WhatsApp. Alternatively, why not suggest they play an online game in their tea break? For example, they could play scrabble on Facebook or a site such as Lexulous or fans of Uno can play online either one-on-one or in groups.

 

5. Drinks after work

 

Perhaps your team like nothing better than a ‘quick one’ after work together or a curry night the Friday after payday. While that may not be immediately possible, there are other ways they can socialise after work.

 

It’s probably best to let them choose an activity they all enjoy but, for example, a cook and wine evening might be fun. Each team member can take a turn in demonstrating their favourite recipe and suggesting a chosen glass of wine to go with it. Perhaps one of your team is a fish expert and can tell you how to cook sea bass and recommend their favourite Sancerre to compliment it. Another person might reveal their curry-making expertise and suggest a craft lager to drink alongside. Keep the pressure off.  If they want to demonstrate how to make a pot noodle while drinking tea, that is also good!

 

Or go all out on a wine tasting evening with nibbles or a cheese board, taking it in turns for the choice of three or four wines, playing some favourite music in the background or sharing your chosen playlist.

 

6. Fitness fun

 

Perhaps your team is more likely to hook up at the gym or gather for a casual five-a-side game. A team fitness challenge could be a great way for your team to socialise, while boosting their physical and mental wellbeing through exercise. Of course, they can’t go to the park and have a run together, but they could all go to their own local park and have a run at the same time. Then they could share photos on the chat group of your choice. Or make it a walk that they all do in different locations and chat throughout about what they are seeing. Perhaps one is in the countryside, one at the beach and another simply walking round their garden.

 

MAKING THE BEST OF BOTH

 

7. Creative (non) away days

 

Of course, a great thing to build team spirit is an away day together. As impossible as this sounds, you may be able to replicate it and give your team some fun to take their minds off everything. It will take some creative thinking but perhaps they could all go fishing at their own local catch-and-return lake and have a competition to see who can catch the biggest. Or, instead of go-karting, they could play online karting games together. What about a day at the races? Your team could dress up, get the prosecco on ice, and bet on races being run abroad. You know your team.

 

8. Team training

 

Some businesses may still be working at full steam, but others will have slowed down. Perhaps now is the time to get some training booked in – the things that so often get bumped by other priorities. Again, to boost camaraderie, try to include team training that will benefit everyone, even if it’s not specific to everyone’s role. If you usually train in-house, this can also be done via video calling. If you generally employ outside trainers get in touch and see what they are offering.

 

If your team roles are diverse, you could make the training about something non-work related or have a slot each week where each team member spends some time giving more detail about his/her role. This will let your team better appreciate different aspects of your business and the pressures on their colleagues.

 

 

 

If you feel this isn’t something you’ve paid enough attention in the past – don’t worry! Trying some fun, virtual activities is a great way to get the wellbeing ball rolling.  You’ll find that supporting the development of camaraderie is good for people’s mental wellbeing. It will increase a team’s ability to work together effectively in the time of transition we find ourselves in right now as well as in better times in the future.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Craig Bulow is the founder of Corporate Away Days, a corporate wellbeing events company delivering engaging, inspiring and exciting events focussed on Wellbeing and Reward activities. Corporate Away Days also creates, designs and builds corporate wellbeing policies and provides leading experts for interactive workshops, seminars and talks on improving mental health and overall wellbeing.

Web: http://www.corporate-away-days.co.uk/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-bulow-3b227721/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/corporate-away-days/