USA TODAY International Edition
Is it last call for pandemic era’s virtual happy hours?
With restrictions lifting and “Zoom fatigue,” some are ready for real mingling.
Carrie Fabris has taken the big step – away from her computer screen. Are you with her?
“I think we’re about 80% there,” said Fabris, founder and CEO of CareerFrame, who is vaccinated. “I’m slowly seeing the masses getting out and about.”
The Dallas- based corporate leadership coach and trainer has met in person several times over the past few months with her friends and colleagues for social events and happy hours.
Now that a good portion of the USA is vaccinated and many states are easing COVID- 19 restrictions, there has been an abundance of in- person gatherings this summer. After we spent most of 2020 planning how to socialize and bond online with friends and co- workers, even some we’d never met before, and endured various forms of “Zoom fatigue,” are we seeing the beginning of the end of virtual social gatherings, happy hours and partying that helped keep us somewhat sane?
More than half of Americans eligible have been vaccinated against COVID- 19, and about 67% of adults have received at least one shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC).
Those statistics made Lisette Paras, founder and president of San Francisco- based Gravitate PR, an agency that works with tech startups, comfortable enough to have a small, “low- key picnic” with her staff in Golden Gate Park last month.
Her company hired several people during the pandemic, and most hadn’t met each other face- toface since the office closed in March 2020.
“I told my team we’re not going to be chained and tethered to our screens as this gave us a chance to get to know each other in a different capacity,” said Paras, who is vaccinated. About 10 people attended, she said.
“We had more natural, organic conversations.” Paras said her company will move into a hybrid working format, allowing her staff to interact in person if they choose.
“I definitely want to make sure we are very deliberate and have all of the right precautions in place as I’ve had some teammates who specifically have told me they want to work, talk and socialize in person,” Paras said. “I don’t think it’s the end of virtual
happy hours and such. There’s no single approach to handling this.
“At the end of the day, we’re all social creatures,” Paras said.
Mental health experts said there are those who are all in with gathering in person and those who are reluctant.
“We’re setting our own goals,” said psychologist Susan Clayton, chairwoman of the psychology department at the College of Wooster.
“I think right now there’s a wide range of attitudes. Some are accommodating, embracing the opportunity to gather, some are trying to put this all behind them and some are still very nervous and aren’t ready yet.
“People are in different places, not everybody’s responding the same way.”
Lee Anna Clark, a psychology professor at the University of Notre Dame, said, “There will be extremes on both ends. The hard part is going to be respecting others’ perspectives.”
Clark said that although America is becoming more socially engaged, some may not want to give up virtual gatherings because they are uncertain whether the vaccines can handle COVID- 19 variants such as the delta.
“Some believe this is far from over,” Clark said. “I think this is going to be a long transition period.”
That transition “back to the way it was” will take “a great deal of flexibility, patience and grace,” said Ariane Thomas, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania.
“For some folks, getting rid of a virtual happy hour maybe means only going to outdoor happy hours, especially when it’s summertime and caters to good weather,” Thomas said. “For others, they may be ready to go to full capacity, and others may not feel safe to be in that space due to personal health concerns.”
“Some are accommodating, embracing the opportunity to gather, some are trying to put this all behind them and some are still very nervous and aren’t ready.”
Susan Clayton
Chairwoman, psychology department at the College of Wooster
Thomas said she’s cautious. Expected to teach classes of 25 to 30 students at Penn this fall, Thomas said she would be comfortable only in a large classroom with plenty of space.
“And I will be wearing a mask because I don’t know if they are all vaccinated. That’s a personal choice for me because I’m not going to assume that everyone I engage within a professional setting will be vaccinated, but there are workarounds for everything, right?”
Accommodations have to be made, said Eric Bramlett, who owns a real estate company based in Austin, Texas. Three weeks ago, Bramlett hosted his first company happy hour event in more than 18 months at a Topgolf.
“We basically had been waiting to make sure everyone’s comfort level was good,” said Bramlett, who is vaccinated. It took about a week to put the outing together, he said. “Everyone’s spirits were high. There was lots of relief, and everybody was happy to have that human connection again.”
Bramlett said the goal is to do at least two in- person events a month with his staff. “You need a lot of that time to decompress, have fun with your colleagues,” he said.
Jason Hochman, vice president of sales for Teza Technologies in Austin, wasn’t immediately a fan of online meetings and gatherings. He adjusted. After getting vaccinated, Hochman welcomes the opportunity to interact with his colleagues and sales contacts face- to- face – safely.
“If I’m in Austin and they’re in New York, that’s fine to meet online. But if we’re in the same city and we’re talking about closing a multimillion- dollar deal, I’d rather do that in person if possible,” Hochman said.
After spending the past year doing executive leadership coaching virtually and in person, Fabris is still up for doing virtual happy hour with her best friend – also named Carrie. “Anytime,” Fabris said.
But she also relished having dinner and drinks in person with three other close friends.
“I missed hugging them,” Fabris said.