Firms seeking to boost the morale and togetherness of home-working staff over the past year have created a pandemic novelty – the virtual away day.

Jen Ferguson doesn’t usually wear fake facial hair in front of her workmates, but she was determined to get into character.

She and her colleagues at Edinburgh-based business consultancy Remarkable were playing a murder mystery game over Zoom, and they had all been asked to wear fancy dress.

Ms Ferguson had taken on the role of the detective. “I had a bowler hat, and a selection of fake moustaches,” she says.

“Every time I came on screen I had a different moustache, with no explanation whatsoever.”

Ms Ferguson says that the event, which was organised by Murder Mystery Games, a London-based company, was just what she and her team all needed.

“I’m very aware of the tough times that everybody has gone through over the past year, the sense of isolation [caused by working from home], the difficulties that people are having, and how important human connection is,” she says.

“Having these [online] social events, and having people participate, is something that I’ve felt was really, really important.”