Gone are the days when office meant only work. With the increasing pressure to deliver and extended hours, the workplace has now broadened to include casual luncheons, dinners, outings and fun activities. In fact, many offices in the city are organising exciting weekend getaways for their employees, as a chance to socialise with each other and also build better team bonding in the process.
Pushpa Dindur, an agile expert at Cisco, says that the company has a quarterly fun fund which is used for organising team lunches, dinners, movies, bowling and even for extending help to orphanages. "Weekend getaways are also organised once a year for every team. There is a different kind of bonding altogether during these short trips. We usually conduct them on three occasions — to celebrate a milestone (like a project release); while embarking on a new project with new team members; and an offsite outing wherein strategies are discussed, solutions are offered and consensus building happens," says Pushpa.
She highlights that employees appreciate such endeavours of the company. "Everyone has a different takeaway and each person gets a bit of what they want."
Siddarth Sen, an employee at hardware firm Western Digital, states that they usually go on a full-day outing once a year on a weekday. "We stay at a resort, indulge in fun games like 'tambola' and even enjoy sports like football, volleyball, cricket and swimming. Engaging in activities like these transports me back to college and rejuvenates me. For me, it's a great stressbuster. For others, it's also a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other better and build interpersonal relationships," he says.
"Our last outing was to a resort on Kanakapura Road and the attraction was the rain dance that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone just let their hair down and it was great to see that side of my colleagues," adds Siddarth.
Pushpa Dindur, an agile expert at Cisco, says that the company has a quarterly fun fund which is used for organising team lunches, dinners, movies, bowling and even for extending help to orphanages. "Weekend getaways are also organised once a year for every team. There is a different kind of bonding altogether during these short trips. We usually conduct them on three occasions — to celebrate a milestone (like a project release); while embarking on a new project with new team members; and an offsite outing wherein strategies are discussed, solutions are offered and consensus building happens," says Pushpa.
She highlights that employees appreciate such endeavours of the company. "Everyone has a different takeaway and each person gets a bit of what they want."
Siddarth Sen, an employee at hardware firm Western Digital, states that they usually go on a full-day outing once a year on a weekday. "We stay at a resort, indulge in fun games like 'tambola' and even enjoy sports like football, volleyball, cricket and swimming. Engaging in activities like these transports me back to college and rejuvenates me. For me, it's a great stressbuster. For others, it's also a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other better and build interpersonal relationships," he says.
"Our last outing was to a resort on Kanakapura Road and the attraction was the rain dance that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone just let their hair down and it was great to see that side of my colleagues," adds Siddarth.
Meanwhile, Ajai Tirumali, a software engineer at Google, says that he looks forward to the annual overseas trip organised by the company. "The getaway is all about fun and relaxation with no formal agenda. Sometimes, our families are also invited to join us. In the past few years, we have been to Maldives, Mauritius, Thailand, Singapore and some other places," he details.
The trips, he adds, have helped employees in a number of ways. "We go beyond our profession and forge a personal connect. We also get to learn about each other's creative skills and talents like singing, dancing and sports. Besides that, it's great to get to know the family backgrounds of varied people. It's a small world and people have sometimes found out that they are connected to each other in some way. At times, it's also a place to brainstorm and come up with new ideas related to our work. All in all, it proves to be a meaningful initiative."
Gone are the days when office meant only work. With the increasing pressure to deliver and extended hours, the workplace has now broadened to include casual luncheons, dinners, outings and fun activities. In fact, many offices in the city are organising exciting weekend getaways for their employees, as a chance to socialise with each other and also build better team bonding in the process.
Pushpa Dindur, an agile expert at Cisco, says that the company has a quarterly fun fund which is used for organising team lunches, dinners, movies, bowling and even for extending help to orphanages. "Weekend getaways are also organised once a year for every team. There is a different kind of bonding altogether during these short trips. We usually conduct them on three occasions — to celebrate a milestone (like a project release); while embarking on a new project with new team members; and an offsite outing wherein strategies are discussed, solutions are offered and consensus building happens,” says Pushpa.
She highlights that employees appreciate such endeavours of the company. "Everyone has a different takeaway and each person gets a bit of what they want.”
Siddarth Sen, an employee at hardware firm Western Digital, states that they usually go on a full-day outing once a year on a weekday. "We stay at a resort, indulge in fun games like 'tambola’ and even enjoy sports like football, volleyball, cricket and swimming. Engaging in activities like these transports me back to college and rejuvenates me. For me, it’s a great stressbuster. For others, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other better and build interpersonal relationships,” he says.
"Our last outing was to a resort on Kanakapura Road and the attraction was the rain dance that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone just let their hair down and it was great to see that side of my colleagues,” adds Siddarth.
Pushpa Dindur, an agile expert at Cisco, says that the company has a quarterly fun fund which is used for organising team lunches, dinners, movies, bowling and even for extending help to orphanages. "Weekend getaways are also organised once a year for every team. There is a different kind of bonding altogether during these short trips. We usually conduct them on three occasions — to celebrate a milestone (like a project release); while embarking on a new project with new team members; and an offsite outing wherein strategies are discussed, solutions are offered and consensus building happens,” says Pushpa.
She highlights that employees appreciate such endeavours of the company. "Everyone has a different takeaway and each person gets a bit of what they want.”
Siddarth Sen, an employee at hardware firm Western Digital, states that they usually go on a full-day outing once a year on a weekday. "We stay at a resort, indulge in fun games like 'tambola’ and even enjoy sports like football, volleyball, cricket and swimming. Engaging in activities like these transports me back to college and rejuvenates me. For me, it’s a great stressbuster. For others, it’s also a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other better and build interpersonal relationships,” he says.
"Our last outing was to a resort on Kanakapura Road and the attraction was the rain dance that everyone thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone just let their hair down and it was great to see that side of my colleagues,” adds Siddarth.
Meanwhile, Ajai Tirumali, a software engineer at Google, says that he looks forward to the annual overseas trip organised by the company. "The getaway is all about fun and relaxation with no formal agenda. Sometimes, our families are also invited to join us. In the past few years, we have been to Maldives, Mauritius, Thailand, Singapore and some other places,” he details.
The trips, he adds, have helped employees in a number of ways. "We go beyond our profession and forge a personal connect. We also get to learn about each other’s creative skills and talents like singing, dancing and sports. Besides that, it’s great to get to know the family backgrounds of varied people. It’s a small world and people have sometimes found out that they are connected to each other in some way. At times, it’s also a place to brainstorm and come up with new ideas related to our work. All in all, it proves to be a meaningful initiative.”