Long gone are the days of taking lunches with your work friends or visiting each other’s cubicles for quick afternoon chats. At this point, you’re even starting to miss the boring conference room meetings, just because you were in a room filled with actual people—not just your dogs.
If working remotely has started to feel a little lonely, that’s totally normal. Luckily, it doesn’t have to. There are so many different ways you can still connect with your coworkers from afar, whether you “meet up” for a virtual workout class or even attend a Zoom happy hour. Here’s how to make sure you keep your connections strong.
5 Ways to Connect with Coworkers During Quarantine
1. Do Virtual Workouts or Meditations
Virtually meeting up for Zoom workouts or meditations allows you and your coworkers to have something fun to look forward to during the day. It also has the added bonus of being really great for your physical and mental health—two things that are especially important right now. Intuition has numerous live classes you can sign up for, as well as plenty of on-demand options you can do at any time.
2. Organize Virtual Happy Hours
Just because you can’t have happy hours in person doesn’t mean you can’t have them at all. Arrange a weekly or bi-weekly happy hour where you and your colleagues can connect and relax over Zoom. Working from home can get lonely, and having a fun event on the schedule will bring some much-needed facetime back into the mix. You can even take a mixology class with Intuition to learn how to make different types of cocktails so you’re a pro at home—no bartender needed.
3. Celebrate Each Other’s Achievements
It doesn’t matter how big those achievements may be. It could be something as small as giving a Zoom presentation, or as big as getting a promotion. It can even be achievements in each other’s personal lives. Whatever the case may be, take the time to celebrate these wins with each other. It won’t just allow you to stay connected, but it’s also a great way to boost each other’s mood.
4. Grab a Remote Lunch with Your Coworkers
If you miss getting lunch with your coworkers every day, you can still get in that time from home. Arrange a couple virtual lunches during the week where you and your work friends can spend that hour chatting and eating whatever you have at home. For a second, you might even forget you’re not talking face to face.
5. Talk About Non-Work Topics Over Slack
When you work remotely, it feels like you never get an actual break. There’s no more popping over to your coworker’s cubicle, or vice versa, to say hi and chat for 10 minutes. Start making an effort to keep that connection alive over Skype, Slack, or whatever messaging platform your office uses. That simple check-in probably means more to your coworkers than you know.
