You can dance if you want to: Demand grows for virtual parties
| Stockholm
Virtual聽work聽parties? You can鈥檛 really mingle with colleagues, or dance with them, and it鈥檚 tough to get in the disco mood in your home office. On the other hand, you don't have to wear a mask, commute home afterward, and you can easily disconnect from awkward social moments.
In the COVID-19 era though, gala options are limited. Companies are turning to events organizers to create聽virtual聽social events for staff. And with聽working-from-home here to stay, some expect demand to continue even after the pandemic.
After almost a year of doing her job from home, fintech聽worker Catharina Gehrke was finally able to get some proper office gossip in the聽virtual聽bathroom and break area at her company鈥檚 online Christmas party.
The event she attended included a (virtual) taxi ride and dance floor, a Queen Elizabeth II impersonator, plus (real) food and drink picnic baskets delivered to the 200 party people 鈥� the staff stuck at home.
鈥淎lthough I was sitting alone in my living room, I really felt like I was at a party,鈥� said Ms. Gehrke, who heads up the Swedish arm of online pet insurance company Bought By Many.
Ms. Gehrke sampled everything the 鈥渧enue鈥� had to offer but said the highlight was getting some juicy office gossip in the privacy of the (virtual) bathroom 鈥� where, with a click of the mouse, she could decamp from the dance floor with a select group of friends.
She said the event was one of the best聽work聽socials she鈥檇 been to, but added: 鈥淢aybe you just had to be there.鈥�
As聽work聽habits shift, the worldwide聽virtual聽events market is expected to grow from just under $100 billion in 2020 to $400 billion by 2027, according to data from Grand View Research.
鈥淰irtual聽socials are 100% here to stay, but combined with in-person events,鈥� said Rachel Haines, director of organization and development at Swedish payments firm Klarna. 鈥淎fter all, I鈥檇 rather [do] yoga on the roof of our HQ than in my living room.鈥�
Klarna has made聽virtual聽socializing a core part of its corporate culture during the pandemic.
鈥淢any of our people are young and live alone,鈥� Ms. Haines added. 鈥淥nline socials are very important and we鈥檝e pushed several big initiatives to make sure people are connected.鈥�
These initiatives include聽virtual聽Friday social gatherings, weeknight cook-alongs, and morning yoga. Klarna has even done a team-building activity where staff solve puzzles in order to break free from a聽virtual聽鈥渆scape room,鈥� Ms. Haines said.
鈥楢 dozen shocked faces鈥�
The聽work-from-home experiment has been so successful in some sectors, like finance, that many people have no intention of reverting to former ways. Half of finance聽workers in Britain, for example, do not want to return to the office after COVID-19, according to consultancy firm KPMG.
Edward Pollard, chief operating officer of events organizer Hire Space, said the surge in demand for online events during the pandemic had forced his company to innovate.
鈥淐lients now ask us for everything from聽virtual聽horse racing to cookery classes and networking events,鈥� Mr. Pollard said.
Yet, some聽workers aren鈥檛 quite so comfortable with the new order.
鈥淚 was put on the spot with a solo verse at our聽virtual聽carol,鈥� said Jake, a London-based charity聽worker. After warbling a few terrible notes, he turned off his camera and pretended the internet had cut out.
鈥淏ut the damage was done. I just remember a dozen shocked faces in a grid across my screen.鈥�
Or take the case of Sebastian Woods, who聽works for a machine learning company in Stockholm. He was somewhat thrown when his wife, who like him has been聽working from their flat, took part in a Friday night聽work聽social event.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 concentrate on my Excel spreadsheet because she was doing the Banana Dance at the kitchen table.鈥澛�
This story was reported by Reuters.
