why socializing with your colleagues is important.

Socialization is a natural part of human nature. People naturally connect with one another and build bonds. 

Building strong communication skills and connections with others is just as important in your professional life as it is in your personal life. 

Socializing with your colleagues positively impacts your perception of the workplace, your sense of contentment, and your career.

Remote work quickly halted many of our normal social activities at work. 

Water cooler chats, coffee breaks with the team, going out for lunch with colleagues, and even in-person team meetings have pretty much been eliminated from the workday. 

With many of us working remotely, it’s still important to continue socializing with colleagues. We just need to be creative about doing it remotely or in a hybrid work setting.

Socializing with your colleagues can help create a positive and enjoyable workplace environment. 

It can benefit you on a personal and professional level. Here’s why it’s important to socialize with your colleagues, even when working remotely:

mental health

Socializing at work with your colleagues is good for your mental health and well-being. 

This is particularly important when working remotely and having fewer in-person interactions with others. Social interaction can help reduce the feeling of isolation.

team building

Socializing helps you build a strong and more efficient team. It gives everyone a sense of purpose. 

Socializing with colleagues helps to give everyone a sense of purpose, making them feel connected and motivated to work together towards common goals.

collaboration

Teams that socialize together are good at collaborating and sharing ideas. 

Collaboration creates a strong team, and social interactions can lead to more effective and harmonious working relationships among colleagues.

it’s good for your health

When you and your colleagues are happy, you are more likely to be healthy and look forward to going to work each day. Socializing helps to build confidence and self-esteem. 

Social interaction can also help reduce stress and anxiety while increasing your quality of life.

how to socialize with your coworkers remotely

Socializing has become a big challenge, especially among remote work colleagues. 

But there are still ways you can maintain that personal connection with your coworkers and build a strong bond among your team. 

Here are some great ideas to socialize remotely with coworkers:

team instant messaging

You can still stay connected with your team through emails and Zoom calls. You can chat and share ideas using instant messaging while you can’t walk over to their desk. 

Set up an instant messaging group for your colleagues to ask questions, collaborate, chit-chat, and socialize as you would at the office.

plan socialization time

While it might be difficult to plan after-work drinks or social events, as colleagues may not be located close to one another, you can still have similar social events remotely. 

Plan a social happy hour with your team during the afternoon. It’s a great way to end the work week and for some social interactions. You can get creative and use different themes.

virtual lunch and coffee breaks

Another great idea for socializing is a virtual lunch or coffee break. Occasionally, plan a team lunch or extended coffee break to keep your colleagues connected. 

It’s a great way to socialize, sharpen communication skills and meet online in a little less formal way.

virtual yoga

Health and wellness is a focal point right now for many companies. Why not socialize and get healthy at the same time with your colleagues? 

Host a virtual yoga, stretching, or exercise class with your team. Or try to have 10 minutes each day where everyone gets up from their desk and stretches. Have fun with it.

binge club

A great way to start socializing is by asking people what they are bingeing on Netflix, Amazon, Crave, etc. 

Set aside some time to talk about what you are watching, make recommendations, and chat about all the drama from your favourite show. 

You can even set up a binge club where outside of working hours colleagues can binge their favourite shows together. 

Whether you are in-person, hybrid, or remote, socialization is important to stay happy, healthy and engaged. Socializing remotely may take a little more work, but it is well worth the effort.

For additional reading on remote jobs, check out these pertinent articles:

• what are the benefits of working from home
• is work from home the future
• what skills are essential to work from home

You might sense that your present work environment lacks the conducive atmosphere for meaningful interactions with your colleagues, potentially affecting your overall well-being within the team.

In such a situation, it may be worth exploring new professional opportunities.