Times are tough in the world right now. Many businesses struggle to stay afloat with this global crisis, with some even forced to lay off their employees. These situations are real and scary, but things will get better. Hopefully, sooner than later. Luckily, Tulfa remains strong and unaffected by these issues. As an eCommerce solution agency, our mostly online business model has blessed us with the ability to adopt a remote work model, giving us the resources to keep the lives of our dedicated employees intact.
During these trying times, Tulfa prioritizes its employees and their safety above all. Just as important as physical health is mental health, and we know how difficult it is to feel isolated when working from home. Social interaction is essential for happiness, even if it is remote. Once our work is done, we always try to touch base with each other to make sure everyone is doing well.
Here are some activities we do together to unwind from these stressful weeks.
Our “Crazy Week in Quarantine” Calls
Microsoft Teams and Zoom are two great tools Tulfa uses to communicate and work together, even when we’re apart. Yet, work isn’t everything. Prior to switching to remote work, we would go out or get together at an employee’s house at the end of the week. Now that these activities aren’t possible, we’ve come up with an alternative option using these apps.
Every Friday evening, our employees catch up and unwind from these stressful weeks over video calls. More than standard voice calls, video calls are a personal interaction that better fills our need for a social life. Using extensions like Snap Camera, which allows the use of filters on Zoom, these experiences make us feel like we’re friends, not just co-workers. Just seeing each other’s filter-distorted faces is enough to smile.
“You Won’t Beat Me This Time!”
During these end–of–week calls, we like to do more than just catch up. Tulfa’s team leaders often orchestrate teambuilding games and activities to help break the ice. One of our favorite games is “two truths, one lie,” in which each team member makes others guess which of three presented facts are a lie. This is an often-hilarious way to get employees to come out of their social distancing shell a little bit more.
A more unconventional alternative to playing games over our video calls is mobile phone games. Out of everything on the App Store, our favorite is Words with Friends, a popular, Scrabble-like game that tests your vocabulary skills. Challenging but rewarding, this app keeps us constantly interacting, even after remote work hours. For employees who do not have enough storage space or access to mobile games, flash game websites, like playingcards.io, are another option.
“And the Award for The Week’s Best Picture Goes to…”
Another fun activity we enjoy while video calling is sharing personal photos. Every week, each team member selects a different personal photo to present to everyone else. Whether it shows their family members, friends, or favorite activity, this is a great way to build friendships and learn more about the people you work with.
“Nailed It?”
After a stressful week, what better relief is there than food? A few of our more culinary-skilled employees frequently get together to share their favorite recipes and cooking challenges. Not only is it fun to create tasty concoctions, but there are some wacky recipes online that provide laughs and interesting topics for our video calls. Sure, not everybody may be into cooking, but bonding over a common interest is an important aspect of teambuilding.
Positive Vibes
As bleak as the world may seem, humanity’s compassion and determination are sure to get us through. We at Tulfa remain strong, both business-wise and health-wise. While most of us practice social distancing, we cannot forget about social interaction, even if it’s not in person. These are just a few ways we stay together, even when apart, and keep our minds and bodies healthy. More than anything, we everybody remembers that this is only temporary, that this will not last forever.
