Celebrate with Friday lunches

End the week in an inclusive way

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to institute a celebratory late lunch on Fridays.
Whether you do this lunch in person or virtually, this

(00:24):
will give your colleagues a chance to socialize in a
way that's not exclusionary and can help you in the
work week in a less haphazard way. One of the
truisms of modern management is that teams that like and
trust each other tend to be more productive. Much time
can be wasted jockeying for position and other such things

(00:45):
that don't happen when people assume the best from each other.
One of the best ways to build that trust is
to spend relaxed time together. That's why, in normal times,
good managers like to look for opportunities to take the
team out for drinks or dinner. I know that these
days many people are working from home, but as people

(01:07):
go back to their offices over the next few months,
I think it's important to question the way things have
always been done. And it turns out that there's a
problem with late night socializing. It assumes that people have
the freedom to spend non work hours with their colleagues.
Some working parents or others with outside of work obligations

(01:28):
might just beg off, or they may need to make
other arrangements for daycare pickup or sending a citter home,
And if they know a spouse is covering this extra
time or the babysitter meters ticking, they might feel pressured
to jet out as soon as possible. Watching the time
doesn't make you feel relaxed, which is the point of

(01:50):
social occasions. So if you truly want to make everyone
feel welcome and included, it's important to have these social
occasions during the work day. This shows that socializing is
an important part of the job, which is true. If
you actually believe that teams need to like and trust
each other, then it's not extra something to come out

(02:12):
of personal and family hours. It should be part of
work hours. I think a festive lunch once a week
serves this purpose nicely. Having a regular occasion allows people
to plan for it. They know not to pack their
lunch on that day, or if people want to go
do a workout or read or something else over lunch,
they can plan that for other days. And if people

(02:34):
are working virtually, they can build it into their schedules.
As for a late Friday lunch, well, hosting a lunch
from one thirty to two thirty or so on Friday
afternoons acknowledges that not much happens after that point. Anyway,
it's kind of like a happy hour, but doesn't need
to center around alcohol. And Hey, if the company pays

(02:55):
for lunch, which would even mean paying for people's door
dash with a virtual workforce, then most people will at
least be engaged until the end of it, which isn't
always a given on Friday afternoons. A late Friday lunch
also allows for a more ritualistic ending of the work week.
In life, we tend to be better at starting things

(03:16):
than ending them. We drift out at different times and
don't pause to reflect. A late Friday lunch allows everyone
to chat about what happened and how it went, and
to thank everyone for their contributions. So think about whether
a late Friday lunch would work in your office. If so,
how could you make it happen. If you're in charge,

(03:39):
talk with your team about what would work best. If
you're not, try mentioning it to your supervisor as a
possibility you might just start ending the week in a
far more productive and social way. In the meantime, this
is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

(04:08):
from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the
number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i
heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

(04:30):
with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward
to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of
I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.