The environment in which employees work can impact a company in various ways, especially in terms of productivity and efficiency. Employee satisfaction and retention is also impacted by work environment. This is why HR trainings focus a lot on building a stress-free work environment and management development services organise them based on company requirements.
A happy hour is one such way of reducing an employee’s stress levels as they allow employees to relax and engage with each other in a more casual setting. If you want to build a stress-free work environment through an employee happy hour, these are some tips to make the event a success.
Decide on A Date and Place
If you want to make an employee happy hour a regular event, you will have to first decide if it should be a weekly or monthly event, the first Friday of the month, for instance. When deciding on a date and time, take into account work deadlines and shift changes.
The time and date should be convenient to as many employees as possible and you should choose a place that is close to the company so that employees don’t need to travel far to get to the employee happy hour. If your workplace has the space to hold the happy hour, that would be ideal too.
Have A Theme
To keep the employee happy hour exciting and different, choose a theme for each event. Employees can suggest themes so that it feels like a group effort as opposed to one person making all the decisions.
A few themes worth considering are karaoke, TV shows and movies, and holiday-related themes. If you hire HR professionals from HR services like LeadHRM, you can ask your HR team to put together decorations and drinks to suit the theme as well as fun activities that will give your employees the opportunity to connect with each other.
Board and cards games are a great way to this while also keeping the employee happy hour full of fun and excitement.
Make It A Team Effort
Team work is an important element of HR trainings by services like LeadHRM and your employee happy hour can also incorporate team work into the planning of the event. Every month, a different department can be in charge of organising the employee happy hour so that they can work together on something that isn’t exactly related to work.
If you have remote employees or freelancers, they too, can be made part of these organizing teams so that they have the opportunity to get to know their colleagues.
Keep It Affordable
While a happy hour to build a stress-free environment is beneficial to a company, there are budget constraints to keep in mind. The best way to get around this and have regular happy hours without it coming at a great cost to the company is to keep the events affordable. Sponsorships can help a great deal, as would holding the happy hour in the company premises.
If you want to lessen the effects of the hierarchical structure at work, the management can be put in charge of mixing drinks. This will also eliminate the cost of having bartenders.
Non-Alcoholic Options
While a happy hour usually involves alcoholic beverages, it is always better to have a few non-alcoholic options too. This way, employees that don’t consume alcohol won’t feel out of place at the employee happy hour.
A few food or snack options, including vegan and vegetarian options, are also a must-have.
What Are the Benefits of a Happy Hour?
A company benefits greatly from an employee happy hour and management development services like LeadHRM Services recommend regular employee happy hours to build a stress-free work environment.
You can develop positive relationships through an employee happy hour, attract more employees by mentioning the happy hour during the recruitment process and job posting, and encourage engagement between teams.
In addition to this, happy hours are a great way for employees to unwind and relax after a hectic day or week of work and executive development services and HR services recommend organizing such events.
