5 Ways to Stay Connected to Your Coworkers While Working From Home

Does working from home have you missing the office shenanigans or the microwave line chats? We’ve outlined 5 ways you can remain connected to your coworkers while working from home that do not involve waiting to cook your food in the single office microwave.

If you have noticed that your tight-knit office family has started growing apart, you’re not alone. According to a Clutch Report, 63% of workers have spent less time socializing with coworkers since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. The quick banter one could have in the office has turned into drawn-out conversations on slack or a desire to just talk in person or over the phone. Which brings us to our first way to stay connected to coworkers while you are working remotely.

1. Watch2Gether

A great FREE platform that allows visitors to create “rooms” where anyone with the link can join and add videos from YouTube to a playlist. Have everyone add a few songs and put the playlist on shuffle. You’ll quickly be reminiscing the days when MTV was just music videos while you and your coworkers productively jam out together.

It is hard to convey tone via digital communication. If you are someone who has a dry sense of humor or is more serious, having everything be digital makes communicating tone even harder. Thankfully, widely used communication apps, like Slack, have an answer for this.

2. Slack w/Extensions

Slack has a plethora of extensions and one of the easiest and fun ones to use is Giphy. It allows users to quickly find fun, relatable gifs that can be used to respond to any messages. Simply type in “/giphy” into the text box, hit enter, then type ANY word, phrase, or thought and shuffle through the search results for the perfect gif to match your message. 

Donut is another great extension. It randomly pairs up coworkers to go on coffee breaks where they can get to know one another. The extension even provides an ice breaker question to get the ball rolling and then sends a follow up a week later to check-in and see how it went.

If you choose to stick with traditional slack, there are still ways to stay connected as a team. Choose a monthly or weekly slack avatar theme. Everyone’s new persona is sure to generate plenty of conversation.

The happy hours we have all come to know and love are still possible with platforms like Zoom, Google Hangouts, Go-To, etc. In some cases, it might be easier to get everyone to join since there is no coordinating a location or people having to drive far (let alone at all)! Companies have been popping up left and right to provide employees working from home with the tools they need to successfully have in-home happy hours.

3. At Home Happy Hour w/ Sourced Craft Cocktails

Currently operating in Austin, TX, Dallas, TX, New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, Sourced Craft Cocktails provides everything you need to enjoy delicious bar quality drinks at home. All of the cocktail kits come with the sealed alcohol of your choosing, premixed non-alcoholic mix, cups, jigger, and mixing instructions. The menu also rotates daily and is curated, created, and delivered by local, out of work bartenders in your area. With Sourced Craft Cocktails, all that’s left to do is log on to your happy hour call and enjoy.

If your after-hours Zoom, FaceTime, Google Hangout, etc. needs an extra activity to keep the conversation interesting, games are always a great idea. This next company we’re about to highlight has been preparing for remote hangouts long before they were a thing.

4. Jackbox Games

With multiple versions, expansion packs, and games for everyone, Jackbox has it all. A host simply shares their screen through a video platform and users join online (phones work best since you will be drawing) via a unique room code. Once you’re signed in you’ll create a username and then draw your avatar. Play through rounds of games ranging from word games and find out which coworker will claim the Jackbox champion title.

Games and drinks can be great but some coworkers might be more apt for dinner. If your office is full of foodies, our last way to stay connected is sure to please.

5. Virtual Cooking Class

Plan your next team building online using Cozymeal. Get the full experience of taking a cooking class in Spain or Italy without traveling. Cozymeal offers live classes from chefs all around the world. They also have so many options, there is bound to be one that everyone can agree on. There are even classes for those with a sweet tooth.

These are just 5 ways to keep in touch with each other and there are plenty more. Let us know how you are staying connected to your coworkers, friends, and family below.