Article updated on 15 July 2024
We believe in letting people live their lives flexibly regarding when and from where they work. Our team of 500 people is free to decide whether they work best from one of our offices, their home, or a mix of both – with only a small window when we should all be active together.
These hybrid work models empower individuals to lead more flexible lives, offering the freedom to balance professional responsibilities with personal pursuits in a way that traditional office settings often cannot.
However, this flexibility comes with its own set of challenges, particularly in cultivating social cohesion and fostering a sense of community among employees, especially for new onboarders.
The absence of face-to-face interactions can make it difficult for newcomers to form meaningful connections and feel integrated into the company culture.
To address this issue, we have established the NETCONOMY Social Club, which initially emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since evolved into an extended program and offers events around knowledge-building, team sports or game nights. The initiative aims to enhance social connections at NETCONOMY, ensuring that everyone, regardless of their location, feels part of our community.
Recognizing the importance of strengthening these bonds, we are continuously reworking our offer to meet the evolving needs of our hybrid workforce. Stay tuned to this blog for:
- why we should build good interpersonal relationships at work
- the start of our NETCONOMY Social Club
- the current status of NETCONOMY Social Club 2.0 and our ongoing efforts to evolve it
The Power of Workplace Connections
Interpersonal relationships have a direct effect on the culture of an organization. A study by CPP, Inc. shows that 60-80% of conflicts in the workplace are rooted in strained relationships among employees.
Consequently, fostering and building good interpersonal relationships can have a significant positive impact on the overall functioning of an organization. Here’s why:
- We humans are social beings by nature. And since we spend a big chunk of our lives at work, it’s clear that having positive relationships with our colleagues can make our jobs more enjoyable. We need people around that appreciate our hard work and motivate us from time to time. Or even that one workplace “bestie” with whom we can share our secrets fearing them getting leaked.
- When we feel comfortable around our colleagues, we become more confident in expressing our opinions, brainstorming ideas, and accepting new concepts. This teamwork is crucial for embracing change, fostering creativity, and driving innovation. And when we witness the positive outcomes of working together, it boosts morale and productivity within the entire group.
- Having good work relationships also brings us freedom. Instead of wasting time and energy dealing with negative relationships, we can focus on grabbing opportunities, like developing ourselves further.
At NETCONOMY, we know just how vital interpersonal relationships are. So we focus on connecting our employees and giving them a space where they can get to know each other and spend time together outside of work. This includes team-building activities, team dinners, or cross-department milestone events to celebrate joint achievements.
The Start of the NETCONOMY Social Club
Even before the pandemic, our teams were used to remote work as we adopted a distributed setup long ago. Our internal ‘Distributed Collaboration Clan’ always kept an eye out for the latest trends in remote working – so when the pandemic forced everyone to work from home, we had all the tools, processes, and the right mindset to be a successful and productive distributed team.
What we were missing, however, was that feeling of togetherness. We didn’t get to know new colleagues in person during onboarding, didn’t see each other at teambuilding events, or had spontaneous conversations during coffee breaks.
And the same was true for socializing with people from other offices since trips to other locations, as well as our yearly company parties, were paused for the foreseeable future. So we asked ourselves – how can we bring our people together and foster connectivity without being in the same room?
The answer was our NETCONOMY Social Club – a program that offered our people virtual activities in five different categories aimed at supporting their mental and physical well-being as well as keeping them connected by participating in fun events together:
NETCONOMY Social Club 2.0
As the effects of the pandemic receded and restrictions were lifted, we realized our people loved this format since it was a great way to stay connected with colleagues from different countries. That’s why we decided not only to maintain the NETCONOMY Social Club but to expand it.
Today, our Social Club team organizes remote events open to anyone. However, we also offer in-person events that are held at or near our locations.
The categories have been revised or partially merged, and now offer both old and new formats in three areas:
- Connect: Connect events allow colleagues to meet and engage in joint activities outside of work either directly in the offices – like the “Pizza and More parties” where people can enjoy food, board games, billiard, or Mario Cart – or excursions to kart racing tracks or arcades.
- Health: Health events are still all about our employee’s well-being, with a strong focus on physical activities. There are weekly activities such as soccer games and group hikes, alongside larger initiatives like our Healthy Spring program. This program was designed to enhance both mental and physical health, while also providing valuable insights into health-related topics and fostering stronger connections among colleagues.
- Grow: The Grow Category features all former “Know” and “Grow” events – including everything that falls under knowledge sharing and personal development. Events in this category include CodingDojos or remote Philosophy Corners for curious minds to discuss philosophical topics without prior knowledge.
A big part of the NETCONOMY Social Club 2.0 success are our people, who are continuously working to expand, evaluate, and modify the program further.
To achieve this, we have specialists like Victoria who plan events and develop initiatives, support colleagues in realizing their own ideas for events, and regularly evaluate their impact and success:
After-Work’s on Thursdays
When you think of classic after-work events, you picture business people enjoying a drink together on the terrace during a sundowner. We don’t exclude this image with our fixed appointment every Thursday, but it includes much more.
At our locations, employees can come together every Thursday for a relaxing, enjoyable time. This often involves teams gathering at our offices to play billiards, challenge each other on the PlayStation, or simply share a pizza or a drink.
One of our employees, Natasa from Belgrade, often takes the lead in hosting these events. Well known as the queen of party organizing, Natasa hosted the first After Work Thursday for our Serbian colleagues, transforming it into an engaging game and quiz night.
On another occasion, she organized an event at the Sava River, featuring a variety of fun activities and games.
We understand the importance of nurturing relationships within our team, especially in a distributed work environment, and believe that positive interpersonal connections directly impact our organization’s culture and overall functioning. That’s why we will continue to evolve and expand our NETCONOMY Social Club, driven by the dedication and creativity of our team members and the active participation of our entire workforce. If you want to be part of this team and support us on our way, check out our job openings.
Two after-work events organized by Natasa
