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Last Updated on June 12, 2021 by Work In My Pajamas
If you work from home, it might feel like you’re often missing out on all of the fun and social aspects of working in an office. You might even have colleagues that you very rarely get to see. That doesn’t mean that these relationships aren’t any less important than those of colleagues that sit together every day of the working week. With this in mind, here’s a look at how to stay in touch with those colleagues you might not see every day whilst you’re working at home.
In This Post:
Celebrate Their Birthdays With Them
One of the biggest events in any office is when somebody is celebrating a birthday. Traditionally colleagues will have passed a card around for everybody to sign, brought in a cake and maybe even found a fun way of decorating their desk. Unfortunately, they are all things that you simply can’t do if you’re not in the same room as them. Luckily, there are ways you can treat them to a little gift without having to travel to wherever they are working. There are lots of different and unique gift ideas that you can find online and get delivered directly to the person who is celebrating their birthday. If you want to find something really unique, find somewhere that will personalise a product with photos or a special message you want to share with them. You could arrange for everybody to chip in for the present and get them to simply transfer the money over via online banking or something like PayPal.
Hold Zoom Meetings Rather Than Just Communicating via Email or Phone
When you need to contact someone who isn’t working in the same office as you, often you might think the quickest and most effective way to communicate with them is via email. If it’s something that might seem too complex to explain in an email or you want an instant response, you might try and give them a call. Instead, why not hold a Zoom meeting. Not only can it often be a lot easier to discuss things when you can see someone’s face, but it can also reduce the isolation that many people feel when working on their own for long periods of time.
Organise Events to See Them in Person
Of course, whilst webcams and microphones can help you feel closer to your colleagues, nothing can truly replace the feeling of seeing them face to face. That’s why it’s also important to organise regular events where you can meet up in person. This could be something as simple as gathering in the same meeting room to brief each other on the projects you’re working on, or something a lot more fun like a meal or night out. You could even use this time as a great way of teambuilding by learning a new skill or even completing a challenge like an escape room.
Now you’re all set to foster great relations with your colleagues no matter where you are working from.
Communicating in Zoom has been our main type of communication for almost half a year now. But we discuss most of the time only the main working points. And we communicate unofficially in chats and social networks. It would probably be difficult for me to find contact with my colleagues if I didn’t know them personally and we hadn’t met in the office before. But I am lucky that we have a friendly team and it has remained friendly even after the challenge of working remotely.