I appreciate the effort companies make trying to team build over Zoom, and some events have been genuinely fun, but for me it falls flat in terms of feeling connected socially. You just simply can’t have the same type of social interactions over video, that’s one reason companies often fly in remote workers every year or two. It’s almost worse seeing people over video because of a sort of uncanny valley effect and taunting you with the fact that you can only see them “through the prison window”. I very much look forward to my vaccine taking hold.
Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
251–260 of 273 posts
Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#252Earlier quoted context omitted.
If they're organized by the company, I totally agree. We have (had) a group who voluntarily organized and went out to a local bar after work on Fridays. Everyone was welcome, and no one felt pressured to go or not go.
Nothing beats ranting about the company or your boss with a few coworkers on a Friday evening.
This is fine until the boss shows up. No on wants to tell the boss to get lost, even if the event isn't officially on work time.
Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#253Every Thursday at 5 EST we have company "pub trivia" over Kahoot. Folks take turns as the host and coming up with trivia questions, and as we've grown we have a healthy set of inter-team rivalries going. For ad hoc events we've played Among Us, had a tarot card reader come read fortunes, had multiple chefs do cooking classes, and had a few musicians do amateur concerts over Zoom. Agree with others that work hours is…
You said during working hours and then you say 5 ET. That's after working hours. Especially for me, as I start before 9...
Our working hours for East Coast folks average out at 10-6. Some folks take earlier (even on the West Coast, we have some folks working 6am - 2pm because of kids and such) and that's ok. That's also why we have lunch events so there are multiple opportunities.
Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#254Breaking the rules and meeting up in person.
Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#255Related note: do it during work hours, if possible. Not all of us want to be expected to take an evening to devote to work events. Even if I genuinely like my co-workers, there are times that I want to set aside where I don't have to think about work.
Work "fun" events that happen outside of work hours are totally bogus.
Depends who you work with. Saying that when I consider co-workers my friends then such events don't feel like "work" events.
Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#256Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nothing beats ranting about the company or your boss with a few coworkers on a Friday evening.
This is fine until the boss shows up. No on wants to tell the boss to get lost, even if the event isn't officially on work time.
Personally I love a bit of work drama like that, when someone blurts out something not realising the boss is there listening.
Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#257There are a bunch of fun events available at www.teambuilding.ryptic.com. They're a bay area escape room company that has expanded into a Virtual Paint nights, Game nights and virtual escape rooms!
Also have heard good things about the free options available at rume or zombies.io.
Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#258Everybody gets sent a lego set and (for those who can) a drink, and you spend a couple of hours building and talking.
Which LEGO set?
I'm wondering which LEGO set would be appropriate for an adult non-AFOL public...
Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#259Re: Ask HN: Team fun event ideas during WFH?
#260Everybody gets sent a lego set and (for those who can) a drink, and you spend a couple of hours building and talking.
That's a creative idea. I'm writing it down! Where I work the Xmas party was obviously cancelled because of Covid so I was expecting an online event paid-for or gift vouchers, but they said that in the end we got zilch and they decided to give away the budget to charity because "that felt like the right thing to do"... Well, for moral and engagement no it wasn't...
Our Xmas party was also canceled. But we got €100 to spend on food (either restaurant or raw food for cooking) and that's was cool.