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I recently came across a new report from the Work Foundation, a Lancaster University thinktank, and the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, exploring the decline of after work drinks or socialising at the pub, which at least here in the UK was pretty common until very recently.

The report, Working together: Maximising the opportunities of a multigenerational workforce, (Atay, A. and Williams, E. (2024). Work Foundation at Lancaster University), explores a number of factors that are shifting workplace culture including generational differences across the workforce, more flexible working and new technologies. It proposes that:

The rise in multigenerational workplaces will inevitably place new demands on employers – particularly
when it comes to proactively implementing policies to meet the needs of different generations
throughout their working lives and to foster a more inclusive workplace culture more widely. Those
employers who do so will be better placed to recruit and retain staff and develop more productive,
happy and healthy workforces.

Focused broadly on the principles for creating inclusive multigenerational workplaces, and highlighting tools for establishing for instance menopause policies and guidance on inclusive social events the recommendations place a strong emphasis on training Line Managers. So that made me wonder… what would alternatives to after work drinks in a hybrid team would look like in practice?

In The Guardian’s article about this new report, the answer is somewhat jokingly:

Do say: “Please find attached a Teams link for the quarterly department social: a 45-minute gong-led mindfulness session, followed by a mapo tofu cookalong. BYO kombucha!”

Don’t say: “See you down the Ferret and Final Written Warning in five; I plan to get absolutely rat-arsed.”

When coaching and training line managers and leaders who are responsible for hybrid teams I come across the gap between policy and practice often. Even in organisations where (often well intentioned) policies are in place, the practice of creating the kind of inclusive work culture that the report rightly advocates for can be very challenging when on top of social, cultural and generational differences you add hybrid working to the mix. What feels like a welcome invitation to interact to some may come across as burn out inducing digital overload to others.

Fresh ideas for inclusive socials

So how can managers and leaders find the right balance to foster social events and interaction in hybrid teams? I have been working on this for a while as this is one of the topics covered in my upcoming course, Healthy Hybrid Habits for Managers and Leaders. Below I share some key principles to keep in mind and example activities to try out:

Work within your context: employees often like things about their work that is very context dependent, such as a favourite local bakery, the canal path they cycle to work on or the building they work in. For hybrid teams, adding home-based elements into the mix, can expand the list to favourite house-plants, pets that become home-working buddies, going for a run at lunchtime or doing yoga in the morning and so on. Look out for things that team members like and consider how social activities could be aligned.

Not every activity has to suit everyone: organising team socials often ends up in a long list of boxes that need to be ticked as the search of the one activity that will engage everyone continues. Of course it’s fundamental to ensure that social activities are inclusive and accessible to all. That said, not every activity has to suit everyone. If you have a monthly book club, a weekly coffee morning and a lunchtime running group then the breadth of activities on offer as a whole will help more people engage with each other.

Little and often: most employees want to spend less time focusing on work, and finding balance between fostering social interaction and not requiring people to stay late or meet up outside of their usual work hours is key. Even with a lot of notice an away day or even weekend can be challenging to accommodate. Little and often works better than long activities once or twice a year. That’s where technology can help: from Music Mondays (everyone picks a tune or listens together to the radio for an hour) to GIF-offs (chat channel GIF sharing around a theme), there is no end to the kind of fun you can have in 5-10 minutes when you are all online. Sprinkle some inspiration on your working day and let folk take turns coming up with a mini activity.

Get outside: it’s hard to create fun social interaction when everyone is sitting at their desk. One meeting on Teams quickly blends into the next, and the chances are that everyone gets distracted by notifications or just keeps working on emails. Getting outside makes for a much more memorable moment as a team – and it doesn’t require everyone to be together. Choose a time and date and pick a theme, then encourage folk to post pictures in an established channel, i.e. find something blue, an unusual plant, a neighbourhood view or something tall. After 20-30 min of chat and sharing pics, the activity ends and the shared images can be collated into a collage to share back to the team ‘our team walk finding something blue’.

Listen, don’t broadcast: line managers or team leaders often feel responsible for everyone having a good time, and end up saying things like ‘isn’t this fun’ or ‘is everyone having a good time?!’. Nothing is less fun that someone stating that you are having FUN, so why not listen instead. Whether you are sitting in a cafe or taking a walk, using open questions such as ‘So what’s new with you?’ or ‘How are things?’ can help open up a conversation. Make time to listen and be prepared to be curious instead of in control.

Image credit: Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash