"Let's go get a coffee." Without fail, that was the battle cry from the cubicles every morning at about 8:15, fifteen minutes before the daily team meeting. This was followed by a walk to the Keurig machine and 10 minutes of chatter about the project on the return to the conference room.
Some managers concerned with productivity may want to eliminate workplace socialization time during the business day. However, that mindset is somewhat flawed.
The daily morning and afternoon walks and chats were important to foster relationships between team members, and in doing so, improved the overall team performance. Happy, well-connected employees are more productive. Maintaining interpersonal connections during the pandemic, in remote work environments, will be key to maintaining productivity.
