Introduction
For those of us who work from home, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks we need to accomplish. So much so that it can become all consuming and we lose sight of the bigger picture. It’s important that we take time out of our day to check in with each other, make sure we’re okay and stay connected on a personal level as well as on a professional one. Virtual coffee breaks are an easy way to do this!
Asynchronous coffee breaks.
- Use a video conferencing app
- Schedule virtual coffee breaks.
When you’re working from home, it can be hard to get out of the house and go for a real human interaction. You might not feel comfortable enough with your coworkers yet to hang out at the local pub, let alone just take them up on their offer for coffee. The solution? Asynchronous coffee breaks! If you’re not familiar with what this means, think of it like this: instead of sitting down in person at a table together, you both meet up in an online space where all of your words are typed onto a screen. This way there’s no awkwardness or weird energy—just you and your coworker chatting it up while wearing sweatpants (#millennial).
Client coffee break – ie. set up a call with someone you work with often, such as your manager or a frequent client or partner.
Virtual coffee breaks are a great way to simply check in with someone. It’s a non-threatening way to ask questions and get answers that might not be as forthcoming through email or Slack chat.
If you have a client or partner who frequently contacts you, set up a virtual coffee break with them. This can help build trust and understanding of each other’s working styles.
Micro-meetings – ie. have small meetings of 2-4 people regularly to catch up and discuss business.
I have found that micro-meetings are a great way to keep in touch with people at work, without having to travel across the city. They can be as informal or formal as you want them to be.
I’ve had some really great meetings where we just chatted about what’s going on in both of our lives and I’ve also had some more serious ones where we discussed business strategy and projects coming up.
Wellness check ins – ie. have a quick meeting to greet each other and discuss your health and wellness goals for the day.
A wellness check-in is a great way to stay connected with your coworkers when you can’t get together in person. It’s also a great way to keep track of how everyone is doing, and it’s a great time for team members to share their accomplishments, brainstorm new ideas and set goals for the future.
Wellness check-ins can be done over the phone or in person, so they’re perfect for virtual workers who don’t see their teammates every day. Because they’re quick and easy, wellness check-ins are also something you could do multiple times throughout the day—for example, once before lunch and once right after lunch—to build camaraderie within your office or company.
Keep it to 15 minutes (or less).
You want the virtual coffee break to be a quick and easy way for your remote workers to stay connected, right? So keep it short, sweet and focused.
- Make sure it’s not a long drawn-out meeting. If you’re going to bring out the whiteboard and discuss the future of your company’s strategic plan, save that for an in-person sit-down.
- Try to keep conversations focused on the topic at hand. Instead of getting into a gossip session about who did what at last weekend’s social gathering or venting about how stressful things are at work these days (which could make people feel less engaged), focus on topics that will help improve productivity for everyone involved!
Focus on non-work things – personal interests, animals, hobbies, etc…or even work from home tips!
Being a virtual employee is all about relationships. The more you focus on building relationships with your teammates, the better off you’ll be.
So how do we build these relationships? Well, it’s not by sitting at our desks and staring at our computer screens all day. For starters, we need to get up from our desks and walk around once in awhile! That’s right: getting up from your seat and walking around will help improve your health (and probably productivity too). But even more important than getting some fresh air is talking with other employees face-to-face—the old fashioned way. At work, this means taking regular coffee breaks together (or “virtual coffee breaks”) where everyone talks about what’s going on in their lives outside of work—their personal interests or hobbies; pets they have at home; etc… It also helps if one person encourages everyone else to share something interesting about themselves so that everyone gets a chance to learn something new.
Have a prepared agenda if you’d like. This way you can be sure that everyone has time to share, not just the ones who shout first.
If you’re doing a virtual coffee break, it’s a good idea to have an agenda. This way, everyone knows what they’re supposed to be talking about and can keep track of who’s sharing. If people are trying to speak over each other, it can be hard for the host(s) or organizer(s) to listen effectively.
If some participants don’t have time in their day for a full-length virtual coffee break (usually because they’ve got childcare responsibilities), encourage them to share as much as they can in the allotted time slot.
It’s important to stay connected while working from home!
It’s important to stay connected while working from home, or you can end up feeling isolated. If you’re an employee who works remotely for three days a week, for example, and then goes into the office on Wednesday and Friday, it’s easy to get disconnected from your team.
To that end: set up virtual coffee breaks. You don’t have to do anything fancy; just agree with your co-workers that once a day (usually around 1 pm ET) everyone will pull up their Slack channels and talk about what they’re working on. Or if you prefer something more structured than this informal chat hour, arrange small meetings with different members of the team throughout the day—they don’t have to happen at exactly the same time every day (this would be too disruptive), but having them every couple hours helps keep things feeling more connected than if they were all scheduled right after lunch!
During these coffee breaks, it is a great time to discuss options for Office Icebreakers. The coffee break is a time to rest and recover. To learn more and come up with additional ideas on and how to manage coffee, I would suggest checking out the Team Building Hub Blog.
Conclusion
Now that you know all about virtual coffee breaks, it’s time to get started! Don’t worry if you’re nervous about making this a regular thing. I know from experience that it can be tough at first, but what keeps me going is knowing how great these sessions make me feel. Plus, the more people who join in on the fun means even more chances for everyone involved. So what are you waiting for? Time to get started!
