January 28, 2025

Team social event in the office vs at a venue: pros and cons

Is the office a good place for an informal team social? It might be if budget and convenience are your main concerns.

It’s no secret that remote and hybrid organizations must prioritize relationship-building and culture to achieve success. It’s especially true for employees who have little to no face-to-face contact—one of the main prerequisites for strong relationships and trust building. Technology helps us connect 24/7 but this is not what team bonding is about.

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Alex Pentland found that the best predictors of productivity are a team’s energy and engagement outside formal meetings. Creating relationships and building trust in a virtual setting takes additional effort. Informal communication doesn’t just happen. It needs to be planned.

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The question is, does an informal team social event in the office count towards relationship building? Quick answer: yes and no. Read on to find out more.

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Onsite Team Socials

If your employees work from home, organizing a team social at the office might not be a bad idea. It could be stressful for remote employees but you can wind the stress down by engaging them in the right group activity. Playing games or crafting something could help with that. Spaciously offers a wide range of relaxing group activities, check out our offering for New York and San Francisco.

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While remote team members might think going to the office is a change of scenery, those regularly working from the office might view it solely as a place of work. If that’s the case, discourage employees from rushing to their work stations during the breaks or checking their email. Even better, make your team social a laptop-free session.

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Another important factor to consider is the cost, especially for companies with a rather limited budget. Save on venue rentals and add better activities and catering instead. With Spaciously you wouldn’t have to worry about either as we take care of all the activities and catering for you. Let us help.

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However, not all team building activities can happen in an office. Isn’t that a good excuse for an offsite?

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Offsite Team Socials

Getting together away from the office offers a fresh perspective. Be it outdoors or at a venue, a change of scenery will energize the team and spark creativity and innovation. Add a bit of challenge to the mix—some physical activity or a contest—to further promote communication and relationship building. At the end of the day, meaningful connections design the company culture.

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Spending time together outside of work helps form relationships. People get to know each other just for the sake of it and not because they need help with a work project. Developing personal relationships is good both for people’s wellbeing and work: friends are eager to support each other and not let projects fail.

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Offsite team activities are way more diverse and can be tailored to your particular team building goals. For example, there are certain cooking classes that can be organized in your office, but if you want your co-workers to get the full experience, why not bake scones at a local bakery in a commercial grade oven?

Sometimes the venue does make a difference. If you are unsure where to hold your team social, get in touch with us. We can bring many activities to your office or book a venue for you.

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