How to Recreate Water Cooler Moments in a Hybrid Workplace
Studies show that the “water cooler effect” teaches employees more about an organization than employee handbooks or onboarding.
However, in the hybrid and remote work worlds, our workplaces are our laptops, and our water coolers are our kitchen sinks – devoid of coworkers to gab with mindlessly. So, how can we keep the water cooler effect alive without water coolers?
What works about water coolers
Team meetings and office bonding activities have their merits, but there’s something special about water cooler moments. These little talks have a few key attributes that make them especially gratifying.
They’re spontaneous
One thing people love about water cooler moments is that you don’t have to plan them. You can just walk past, see who’s around, drop by if you want to, or go back to your desk if you don’t. This might be one of the most challenging problems to get around in the hybrid world, as “running into” someone is only possible in real life. But it is possible to be online at the same time as a colleague you haven’t spoken to in a while or be in a social work event where you see an old collaborator from another team. It might be more difficult to attempt to create moments of spontaneity. But even in the virtual world, they’re possible.
They’re available
Water cooler chats are there when you need them. Whether you’re feeling stressed, excited, bored, or even nothing at all, you know you can go to the break room and talk it out. Even if you’re alone filling up your water bottle, that little walk to and from your desk may help clear your head, and you know it’s always there if you need it. Having a free area like a water cooler available throughout the workday is a sort of psychological totem – it signifies that chatting is built into your job and that employers are mindful of how important socialization is.
They’re carefree
Water cooler chats also cultivate a place where you don’t have to feel like you’re at your most polished. Your boss isn’t monitoring what you’re saying at the water cooler or in the break room, and you don’t feel like you’re under pressure to act in the same way as you would during a meeting. Water cooler moments are places that aren’t monitored, where people can’t go back and read the transcript of your conversations. But most importantly, they create a space that emphasizes social relationships over productivity – something everyone needs a little bit of each day.
Water cooler alternatives for hybrid teams
The trusty hydration station will always be around on a day when you’re scheduled to be in the office. But if you only go in a few times a month or if you’re working from home permanently, you might need to utilize some digital tools to recreate water cooler moments.
Slack voice channel
Slack voice channels create the perfect combination of spontaneity, availability, and freedom. While typing in a Slack channel constructs a certain kind of social environment, it doesn’t connect people in the same way that vocal conversations do. According to research, voice calls reduce misunderstandings and improve social relationships above text messaging or typing.
A Slack or Discord voice channel will stimulate conversation like water cooler chats do with the same organic flow to your discourse. Whether you’re posting topics to discuss in the channel or just talking about what comes to mind, it’s a great way to simulate in-person communication. You can even plan to meet up with someone at a particular time, just like you would at a regular water cooler, to catch up on their lives.
Planned water cooler chats
Next, you can also try to plan social time with your team each week. Rather than waiting to run into each other in a Slack channel that may be empty, you’ll have Zoom meetings or conference calls dedicated to casual chats. These social moments can be refreshing ways to begin the day or week, or they could serve as midweek pick-me-ups. And with firm start and end times, you’ll be sure that you’re not using the virtual water cooler to avoid work.
A recurring Zoom meeting is one way to execute this idea. Another is to have a team lunch or coffee break once a week. It’s also possible to open this meeting up to other teams to create an office-wide feel rather than just a team bonding experience.
Taking five
If your team is pressed for time or would prefer not to utilize a Slack voice channel, there are still ways you can be social without going out of your way too much. Try taking five – a five-minute break dedicated to only light conversation. While it might not be consistently spontaneous, taking five is something you can do any time with anyone.
Taking five means setting out five minutes before or after a meeting for employees to log on early or stay late to chat about their days. You can also schedule a take-five in the middle of your day and call a coworker for a couple of minutes to vent, enthuse, or just chitchat. Some even take five using FaceTime or another video calling software (especially if they’re working from home and want to show off their dog’s latest sleeping position).
Finding new tech
Another way to try and recreate water cooler moments is to use new apps that were built for socialization. Thankfully, as the hybrid world appears to be the future of work, there are so many options to choose. One is Natter, a video app that connects employees with similar interests and common goals. One can make friends with people they didn’t know within their company, share experiences, and network.
Another app for social interaction is Donut, which automatically generates random conversation topics in Slack using its “water cooler” feature. It also provides announcements for birthdays or milestones through its “celebrations” feature. You can also combine Donut with Slack voice channels, giving your prompts for silly dialogs or deep conversations.
