Why you should go to happy hour

Sometimes, chatting with your colleagues is more productive than sitting at your desk.

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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 do something social with your colleagues,
not every day, but at least every few weeks. Many
years ago, I got a question from a woman who

(00:24):
was a new mom and was also newly in management.
She knew that it would be a smart career strategy
to take her team members out for dinner or drinks.
Doing so would help them see her in a more
relaxed setting. They'd start to trust her more. That way,
if she needed to give tough feedback, it would feel different.
It wouldn't feel so harsh. It would feel like she

(00:45):
was on their team. The problem, though, was that she
commuted on top of her full time job, so she
only got to spend about ninety minutes with her baby
before the child's bedtime. She understandably hated the idea of
giving that time up. So this seemed like quite a dilemma,
one of those no one can have at all moments.
But I had a question. Did her team want her

(01:08):
to take them out every night? Well? No, I don't
care how cool you are. No one wants to go
out with her boss every night. So I suggested broadening
her time frame. If she took her team out every
two weeks or so, that would go a long way
towards building a better relationship. Her team members would definitely
feel a lot closer to her if they went out

(01:29):
every other week. It also meant she'd be spending twenty
eight out of thirty evenings per month with her baby,
which seems pretty good to me. Rather than pitt work
against family, she could take the long view of time.
Taking the long view of times, she could be the
kind of manager teams liked and the kind of mom
who was there pretty much every night. More broadly, as

(01:51):
we look at this topic, I am always fascinated to
see how many people think that socializing with colleagues is
a nice but not critical part of the job. Indeed,
I've had people tell me that they consider themselves good
at time management because they don't waste time chatting with
their colleagues. They shut themselves in their offices, work through lunch,
and get stuff done. I understand why people might do this.

(02:15):
Many times, it's because of family responsibilities. People have to
make a five thirty p m. Daycare pickup, or they
hate the idea of bringing work home, but there are downsides.
Being promoted and then managing effectively isn't just about getting
work done. It's about inspiring other people to want to
do their best work for you. People want to do

(02:37):
their best work for people they like and trust. The
best way to get people to like and trust you
is to spend relax time with them when you're not
just giving orders. Even if you have no intention of
ever moving into management, professional relationships still matter. Other people
might have insights into office politics, or might have made

(02:58):
stupid mistakes that they can warn you from making. Learning
this over a beer can save you all sorts of time.
Of course, it doesn't have to be happy hour. You
could take your team out for lunch or breakfast. A
few managers have told me they intentionally start the happy
hour at four o'clock so people can still leave by five.
That's a great way to include people who might have

(03:19):
to get home by a certain time. As for informal
get to gather as colleagues just do occasionally. If people
ask you, I'd encourage you to say yes. Sometimes you
don't have to say yes every time, but if the
answer is always know, people stop asking Saying yes occasionally
means you stay in the loop. So figure out what

(03:42):
socially you can do with your colleagues in the next
week or two. If your office has a creative way
for busy people to get to know each other, I'd
love to hear about it. You can email me at
Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart Media dot com. 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

(04:09):
hear 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 the number four,
then Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media

(04:30):
dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out 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

(04:51):
your favorite shows. Two