Things look different at our MoDOT offices. As many of us continue to work remotely, the Communications Department has a new way for employees to reconnect.
Introducing the Virtual Water Cooler.
What
is it? The Virtual Water
Cooler is an opportunity for co-workers to connect through a phone chain.
How
does it work? Each week
participants will be assigned a person to call. The VWC coordinator will send
out the phone tree list to the first person on each list. The first person will
call the second person, who will call the third person, etc. Each participant
will email the list to the person they call so the phone chain can continue.
Each week there will
be an ice-breaker question, or you can simply use this as a time to say hello.
These VWC conversations can range from 5-15 minutes.
Who
can join? Any MoDOT employee within the Kansas City District
Why
should you participate?
Scientific studies
have shown that short conversations with co-workers promote positive emotions and well-being.
You may not feel
like you need connection while you are working virtually, but you never know
how much your call could mean to a co-worker.
Social connection can boost your health, even when
you are physically distanced.
People who suffer from mental illness are more
vulnerable to the stress of social isolation.
And one in five adults is affected by mental illness
each year.
Why
this?
While there are apps
that provide space for connection, this classic phone tree approach offers
something that those apps don’t- connected human-to-human communication
throughout. Each participant chats with two employees per week, creating a
chain of chit chat. Whereas apps rely on participation through technology.
Different hormones
are released when people hear another voice, versus read text via email, chat,
or text message. Voice to voice interaction is important to happiness.
Why
now?
The Covid-19
vaccination gives us hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. But despite the
vaccine, we do not know when we will all be back in the office. Now, more than
ever, we need to maintain connections to our MoDOT family and keep spirits
high.
How can you sign up?
Email kccr@modot.mo.gov, to join.
