Is happy hour a thing of the past? Not necessarily. The pandemic has to turn the corner at some point and you can look forward to fun and camaraderie albeit with altered behaviors and new social distancing protocols.
Work-life balance
Work life certainly needs to be balanced with home and social life if we are to avoid burnout. That balance was usually found when sharing a beer with colleagues at the end of a work week. While the work has turned remote and meetings are now being zoomed across offices in different locations, the need to get together for unwinding after work remains strong as ever, if not even stronger under these isolating circumstances.
New social protocols
Co-workers sitting in a bar and enjoying a couple of drinks has been a good way to take a break. Similarly, going somewhere together to take in a game or sport event has been a poignant way to spend an evening or two. However, under present circumstances, such meetings will need new protocols.
It could include slightly distant seating arrangements, fewer people allowed inside closed bars or rooms, employing preventative measures at entry, etc. Such things are likely to become the norm. Fortunately, these protocols are not going to act as deterrents for social bonding.
Barring new protocols, nothing stops you from that special place with exceptional eats! It is only more exceptional when you find healthy food as well as those yummy fried treats that go over easily with your cocktail. Good places to find food and drinks are not uncommon. But, one that hits all the spots including ambience, food, and drinks can be rare. It takes skill and experience to create an atmosphere that promotes good cheer and camaraderie.
Work from a bar
Can you work out of a bar? Why not? With smartphones acting like an extension of your hands, it is very rare that you don’t receive a work mail or a message through the day. That 5 pm end to a workday almost always gets extended especially if you are in a hurry to get out of the office. You can still get out and sit in a bar and shoot out a few messages or replies instead of leaving it for the next day.
Of course, the actual work to be done can probably keep till the morning. But, acknowledging the assignment is doable even as you are sipping a beer. All you really need is to find that bar with a WiFi password prominently displayed so you don’t have to ask the bartender for it.
It is a time to be hopeful and to look forward to getting back together with friends and colleagues. It could also be a time to practice safe social protocols and hit the bar for happy hour!
