We've known since at least the Covid crisis, which forced many employees into home office work, that team building matters a great deal for remote teams too. Virtual team building events are possible too, but it doesn't always have to be a whole evening or morning. Regular shorter check-ins are just as important. Virtual coffee and lunch breaks over video call are a digital alternative to shared breaks by the coffee machine or in the office kitchen.

With our tips and ideas, we want to give you inspiration for establishing virtual coffee breaks in your team too.

6 reasons for regular virtual coffee chats within your team

Weekly, or even daily, team meetings are part of everyday life at many companies. But there are equally important reasons to make informal meetings a regular fixture too.

1. Maintaining social connections

We spend a large part of our lives working, and sometimes we see our colleagues more than our friends. Just as important as fulfilling, enjoyable work are the social connections within a team. During shared breaks, we maintain these connections, get to know our teammates better, and maybe even lay the foundation for good friendships, or at least a good collegial relationship.

2. Strengthening mental wellbeing

Especially during a pandemic, but also for teams that always work remotely, or under a hybrid work model, social interaction is very important for our wellbeing. Anyone who doesn't connect with others, who doesn't feel part of a team, risks becoming isolated and feeling left alone with their problems. Virtual coffee breaks strengthen the feeling of not being alone.

3. New motivation and inspiration

Exchanging ideas with others can spark new ideas and inspiration, and that's not just true for creative work. Anyone who always stays within their own bubble gets no outside impulses and risks stagnating. Conversations with others, even ones not focused on work, can provide fresh motivation and inspiration.

4. Team building

Maintaining, or even building, a sense of togetherness while working from home can be a challenge. With virtual coffee or lunch breaks, teammates get to know each other better, discover common ground, and grow closer as a team.

5. Better collaboration

Cross-disciplinary exchange between teams that otherwise have little to do with each other can be especially valuable for work. That naturally applies especially to teams that work together directly too. When employees get to know each other better, this can significantly improve collaboration. Especially at large companies, team building shouldn't just happen within teams, employees working on different projects or in different areas should be brought together too. Marketing and customer service. IT and accounting. And so on.

6. Better internal flow of information

During informal breaks in particular, information is often exchanged that would otherwise only reach certain employees indirectly, or not at all. Encouraging communication within and between teams can therefore also help important news and information spread faster.

10 tips for successful virtual coffee or lunch breaks

Maybe you're wondering how to establish a virtual coffee or lunch break in your team, and what to keep in mind. Informal meetings at the coffee machine or in the cafeteria happen naturally, no outside coordination needed. If such breaks don't happen naturally, they need to be actively started. Of course, every team has its own quirks, and you'll surely develop your own routines. We've put together 10 tips to give you a starting point and initial ideas to help you plan and run your first virtual coffee breaks.

Don't make the group too large

The whole point of a virtual coffee break is exchange among each other. In too large a group, individuals risk not contributing or not getting a chance to speak. Larger teams should therefore be split into smaller groups. Experience will vary here, but 10 to a maximum of 20 people is a good number; of course, smaller groups, or even 1:1 coffee chats, are possible and useful too.

Turn on your camera

As tempting as it might be to only join by audio, so colleagues don't see the laundry pile in the background or that you haven't washed your hair yet, virtual coffee breaks without video just aren't the same! When we see each other, we pick up on facial expressions and gestures, important parts of communication and individuality. And even though interaction in video calls is different, since we can't look each other in the eye directly, seeing the team regularly can still contribute significantly to a sense of togetherness.

Only one person speaks at a time.

In video calls, it's even more exhausting when several people speak at once than in in-person meetings. So the rule should be: only one person speaks at a time, not several simultaneously. For larger groups, it helps to introduce a signal participants can give when they want to say something. Some tools include a "raise hand" feature. Chat can also be used for this.

Ensure a safe space

To build a sense of belonging and trust, it should be clear from the start: virtual coffee and lunch breaks are protected spaces where confidentiality is guaranteed. If someone on the team opens up and shares how they're feeling, it must be ensured this doesn't leave the virtual room, and that everyone is treated with respect and trust.

Change your location.

Especially during a forced home office period, the walls can start to close in on some people. Options for working outside your own four walls are quite limited, but still treat it as a challenge not to always sit on the same chair at the same table. Maybe you could meet for a virtual lunch break "outdoors," on a balcony or terrace?

Plan a shared experience

Especially for a virtual lunch break, it's a good idea to do something together. Order food to home offices for the whole team, send everyone a home office care package, or cook together, maybe even under guidance. For a shared coffee break, it's a nice idea to have a special coffee delivered to all coffee drinkers' homes, or a small snack package.

Repeat the coffee break regularly

Doing it once is better than not at all, but even better are regular shared virtual breaks, for example as a weekly event or a short, informal daily check-in. Some companies even set up a permanent coffee channel that employees can dial into anytime they feel the need for a short virtual break in company.

An overarching theme can help, but it can also reduce spontaneity

At the coffee machine, there are no rules, people talk about everything and nothing, depending on who happens to meet. There's a lot to be said for that spontaneity, but it can also be a challenge, especially when bringing together people who don't know each other well (yet). Icebreakers or a set topic can lighten the mood and provide structure. For example, a specific question could be given as a starting point.

Rule: no talking about work!

Informal exchange about work, projects, and the company can be very helpful too, for example for the flow of information within the company. But it's also important to switch off and forget about work for 5, 15, or even 30 minutes. Dedicated breaks where work is off-limits can create that balance.

Create rituals

Regular virtual coffee or lunch breaks can be a great opportunity for small team rituals, giving the meeting a fixed structure. For example, a round-robin check-in on how everyone's doing, a question about the last weekend, or an emoji check-in.

9 ideas for varied digital coffee breaks

What do you actually do during a virtual coffee or lunch break, besides having coffee and eating together? For more variety in your routine, we've put together 9 ideas.

The virtual coffee chat channel

An idea especially for larger teams and companies: a permanently set up coffee chat channel that's always available and meant to simulate a walk to the coffee machine, sometimes someone else is already in the kitchen and a quick chat happens, sometimes no one's there. The goal is to always have a place to go, regardless of set appointments. As a complement, a chat channel focused not on work but specifically on other topics works perfectly too.

Work speed date

Speed dating with colleagues is a great way to get to know each other better, especially between different teams. For a very limited time, two people meet 1:1 over video chat and exchange thoughts. You can prepare set questions, or leave it entirely to chance. Unlike actual speed dating, of course, this isn't about finding a partner, but sometimes unexpected common ground, or even new friendships, emerge within the company.

Short quiz round

Quiz games are a great idea for slightly longer virtual coffee breaks. Everyone competes individually, or teams play against each other. Questions can be general, or specifically about your industry and company topics. Preparing these quiz rounds can be another creative team building measure: the first team comes up with questions and answers in advance, and the other teams compete against each other guessing.

Recipe exchange & cooking challenge

Do many of you enjoy cooking? Are there teammates with similar dietary habits, allergies, or intolerances? Exchanging favorite recipes can be a welcome change from talking about work or the weather. For your virtual lunch break, you could hold a cooking challenge, everyone cooks their favorite dish, or everyone cooks the same recipe, whoever presents it most beautifully and finishes within the time limit wins a small prize, or at least the team's recognition.

Coffee mug challenge

Who has the nicest coffee mug? Or: who can dig out the funniest or ugliest mug from the cupboard? Maybe there's even a special story behind a mug or cup. An object and its story can be a great starting point for getting to know your teammates better. Instead of a mug, this could also be any other object everyone has at home.

Playlist exchange

Very few people don't enjoy listening to music. New music is usually welcome, so why not create a company playlist that everyone adds their favorite songs to? Maybe give the playlist a theme and play it at your next team building event, the best summer songs, or particularly cheesy holiday tunes, alternative holiday songs, or spooky Halloween music. There's no limit to your imagination. During the coffee break, everyone could play their favorite song and share why they love it and what it means to them.

Tip/hack of the day

Everyone knows something others don't. Everyone has experiences that could be valuable to others. An interesting topic could be a "tip or hack of the day," where someone teaches the others a quick trick or gives a tip, not necessarily work-related. It could also be about any other topic relevant to many on the team, parenting, nutrition, sports, travel, and so on.

Tool tip

Every company has a set of standard tools everyone has to use. Email software, project management systems, CMS, CRM, and so on, need to be consistent to ensure efficiency. But individuals often use additional tools to make work easier, and in their personal lives too, browser add-ons or apps, for example. Anyone using such helpful tools can introduce them to teammates during a virtual coffee break, who knows whose life or work might get easier thanks to these tools!

A shared breathing exercise

Most people don't breathe consciously, and even breathe "incorrectly." For a moment of relaxation, lead a shared breathing exercise during your virtual meeting, maybe even guided for the first time. Bonus: another exercise where you need to get up from your chair and move. Especially in the middle of a long workday, or right at the start of the morning, even short exercises can significantly improve wellbeing!

How heycater can support you and your team

At heycater!, we do a lot for our own team building and have supported numerous customers in strengthening team cohesion, including during the pandemic, whether through goodies for home office, shared digital experiences, or complete virtual events. Take a look around our Marketplace, from virtual yoga sessions to cooking boxes to all-inclusive virtual events, there's something for every team.

Did this give you inspiration for virtual coffee or lunch breaks in your team? Feel free to share this article with your teammates and let our ideas inspire your next virtual coffee chats!