Keeping the Connection

Keeping the Connection

The struggle is real. After 10+ weeks of working remotely, cabin fever may be setting in and people are feeling the strain. One of the things that we should be relying on right now is connection.

Positive, high quality interpersonal interactions are essential to maintaining good mental health and well-being. Connection is the glue that enables effective teamwork and unites teams around a common purpose.

As more and more teams are getting acclimated to working remotely, it’s become increasingly important to maintain that sense of connection and camaraderie for the employees. Our team meets for a virtual coffee corner three times a week in addition to our weekly team meeting. Our coffee corners are voluntary and therefore, shop talk is to be avoided. Digital video conferencing, seeing other people can help break the isolation of social distancing and remind everyone that they’re part of a team.

Every Wednesday, we meet for one hour for our weekly Social Distancing Challenge. Finding ways to virtually connect with others has become an activity in itself. We’ve pulled together some ideas that we have especially enjoyed that may just help you and your team to stay connected during this difficult time.

• Surf the internet, search through periodicals or newspapers to find the most useless gadget. We will take turns showing a picture of the item while giving a one-minute pitch about why the of rest of the team should buy this thing immediately. This is your opportunity to channel your inner Marketing guru. Who will make the most sales?
• Form 3 statements about yourself. Two statements must be true, and one must be a lie. These statements can be literately anything from your favorite music group, allergies, past experience, strange hobby, etc. The only stipulation is that you should pick something that we do not know, so no known facts or obvious statements.
• Come to the next coffee corner next wearing your favorite t-shirt. It could be any t-shirt, the most comfortable, something with a funny saying, concert shirt, sports jersey, etc. Please be sure to be prepared to show yourself modeling your t-shirt via camera.
• Send a photo of your favorite coffee cup. We will look at the photos and as a team match the cup to the owner during our coffee corner.

Share your experiences! We are all in this together and I, for one, would really enjoy hearing what you and your team are doing to keep the connection.