Holiday office parties go virtual as COVID-19 forces creativity

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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The annual office holiday party can be an opportunity to cut loose, celebrate another trip around the sun, and see your coworkers in a more casual – and perhaps more inebriated – setting.

But it’s 2020, so of course it’s going to be different this year.

With physical gatherings off the table, employers are getting creative to ensure their year-end shindig doesn’t just end up being another video call to get through.

“Zoom fatigue is very real,” says Debby Carreau, CEO of Inspired HR in Vancouver.

Virtual parties can be more than just a Zoom call

The key to a successful virtual holiday event is to incorporate games or activities that make things interesting, she says.

“Organizations are starting to get very creative. I’m actually really impressed with what we’re seeing.”

Some workplaces are gathering on Zoom to cook together led by a professional chef. Others are receiving movie-night packages, complete with popcorn and slippers, and watching films together while chatting on FaceTime.

It would be a mistake for employers to cancel the holiday party altogether, Carreau says.

“Now more than ever, human connection is so important, even if it’s virtual,” she says.

Several companies have pivoted to fill the demand for pandemic-appropriate holiday parties.

Murder mysteries and trivia can spice up your event

Vancouver Mysteries is pivoting from hosting in-person games – including murder mysteries, spy capers, and superhero sagas – to virtual games involving trivia and silly challenges.

The company’s owner, Tanya Bennet, says employers are calling her, looking for a fun way to cap off the year – even though it might involve team members sitting in front of their laptops at home.

“You don’t really remember that you’re in Zoom when you’re playing because it’s very interactive,” she says. “I think people quickly forget once they see their friends or coworkers seated and they’re actually engaged in something.”

Murray Seward, CEO of Outback Team Building and Training, has also shifted his business online. The Vancouver-based company offers retreats and events to corporate clients across North America and has continued to do so virtually during the pandemic.

With the holiday season fast approaching, Seward says he hasn’t seen business drop off. In fact, there’s more demand than ever. Outback has booked some 600 events in a span when it usually has only 50, he says.

“It’s absolutely going crazy right now,” Seward says.

Seward’s company offers “a wide variety of challenges that let people get to know each other and have a lot of laughs together,” including a Murder Mystery, Yuletide Showdown and Holiday Hijinks.

“Everyone ends up trash-talking each other and poking fun at each other and it’s a good time,” he says.

Celebrating ‘extraordinary amount of effort’ put in this year

Vancity is embracing the new reality this holiday season and offering a variety of options to allow its roughly 2,500 employers a chance to blow off some steam at the end of a challenging year, according to Dave Perri, the credit union’s interim chief member services officer.

In a regular year, teams are given a holiday budget and the option to spend how they please, often with a shared meal, Perri says.

This year, sitting face-to-face at a restaurant obviously isn’t an option, so Vancity is encouraging its employees to participate in two activities.

Over “three days of gratitude,” they will be able to participate in magic shows, a vegan cooking class, trivia, bingo or an education experience about Indigenous culture, Perri says.

The workers will also gather for casual virtual hangouts, he says.

“I think we would all agree that it’s probably never more important to celebrate our employees’ accomplishments than after a challenging year like living through a pandemic,” Perri says. “Everyone has had to put in an extraordinary amount of effort.”

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