As the traditional happy hour fades, companies are investing in team-bonding events.
Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI
Sagar Risal has found plenty to like about company-sponsored social events.They've helped him open up to coworkers, meet people outside his immediate team, and celebrate shared successes, said Risal, a 25-year-old who works in financial technology in New York City.But they still feel different from spontaneously grabbing drinks with a few colleagues after work."At a non-company-sponsored event, it's usually with coworkers that you choose to hang out with," Risal told Business Insider. "With work events, it's the entire company that's there."While Risal's employer mostly throws holiday parties, other companies are going further to bring their workers together, organizing experiences ranging from barbecues and line dancing to custom hat making and high-intensity workouts.These increasingly elaborate events are part of Corporate America's attempt to revive a fading after-work ritual: the happy hour. The time-honored tradition was once seen as affordable, casual, and spontaneous, but now rising prices, hybrid work, and changing social habits have made these informal gatherings harder to sustain.Now, for better or worse, some employers are trying to create a replacement.
