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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.<\/b><\/p>\n
Jen Ferguson doesn’t usually wear fake facial hair in front of her workmates, but she was determined to get into character.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Ms Ferguson had taken on the role of the detective. “I had a bowler hat, and a selection of fake moustaches,” she says.<\/p>\n
“Every time I came on screen I had a different moustache, with no explanation whatsoever.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“Having these [online] social events, and having people participate, is something that I’ve felt was really, really important.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n