Informal Meeting and Socialization of Employees After Work Hours

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Introduction

Since human beings are largely social creatures, it is important to study interpersonal interactions and relationships in order to learn about the culture of groups and communities. Ethnography is the research method that allows for these observations and conclusions to be made, ultimately contributing to anthropological studies of the world. This study focuses on the informal socialization of employees after work hours, using the famous local Chinese restaurant, Great Wall of China, as the target location. The primary purpose of this study is to understand the make-up of the people, the type of personality, how often they converge, and what attracts them to this local restaurant.

Choice of Scenario

The choice of after-work meetings of employees as the scenario for this study was made due to several reasons. The setting of the scenario is public and informal, and numerous conclusions about the company culture can be made depending on the observations made. Depending on the customs of the particular groups of employees, they might have more or less of an outside-of-work relationship. In the former case, employees might dedicate some nights to socializing together outside work, often in a neutral environment such as a local bar or, in the case of this study, a local restaurant. This observational space is easily accessible for the researcher, as the location is not exclusive. Therefore, it can be easy for an observer to dedicate some time to study the subjects in a relaxed environment and grasp the relationships between them. In particular, the interactions between same-sex employees versus those of the opposite sexes, the general mood of the employees, and other behavior. The observations took place Tuesdays and Friday evenings since these are the most likely days for people to leave the office and hang out at the local bar or restaurant.

Literature Review

Although there is no data available for the specific scenario of this study, there are numerous ethnographies freely available on the Internet for the researcher to consider. The motivation for this ethnography lies in the significance of informal corporate culture, especially during the global pandemic. As Church & Conger (2018) noticed, in-person meetings are the most effective way to influence people and their decisions in some organizations. According to Harvard Business Review, Covid-19 has affected corporate culture as many companies opt for a hybrid environment (Hinds & Elliot, 2021). Therefore, it is even more fascinating and valuable to watch the interactions of employees outside work since many of them would be working from home. Regardless, there are links that have been established between informal cultural structures and corporate social responsibility, highlighting the importance of informal meetings even in the middle of a pandemic (Aderum and Bejnarowicz, 2018). There are likely other important connections between informal corporate culture and business, which can be deducted from the observations of this study.

Observations

The observational part of the study was aimed at answering a number of questions that were set in the preparatory stage. Some of the specific issues that were addressed included, but were not limited to:

Do the employees arrive in singles, pairs, or groups?
Do males talk to just male counterparts only?
Do female employees talk to just their female counterparts?
Are there mixed up of interactions among both male and female employees?
Do these employees feel relaxed?
Would they sit or stand as they mingle?
Do they just come in to socialize, order meals, and beverages?
Do they leave the restaurant at the end of the evening individually, in groups, or all at once?

In the process of the observation, detailed notes were taken, showing the differences between different days and different companies employees.

As mentioned in the previous sections, the observations were made on two days during the week Tuesdays and Fridays. On those days, anywhere from 3 to 6 different groups of employees were observed in the restaurant, staying for the duration of an hour to three hours on average. For the sake of consistency, the researcher focused primarily on three groups of employees that were coming to the restaurant every Friday and every other Tuesday. While other groups were also noted, fewer details were recorded.

Throughout the study, it was noticed that the Friday groups tended to stay for longer, feel more relaxed with each other, order more alcohol and food, and stay for longer. On the other hand, the Tuesday groups were more likely to stay for less time and order less food and beverages. It was also noted that the groups that had more communication between the mixed-sex employees appeared to be more relaxed and stayed for longer. On the other hand, the groups that were separated into male and female interactions often had the female employees leave the restaurant earlier than their male counterparts. The groups that stayed for longer tended to sit down around a table, while the shorter interactions were often conducted standing around the bar. The groups that appeared more comfortable with each other appeared to leave in groups or pairs, and mostly at roughly the same time as everyone else in the group.

The following coding has been developed as a result of the observations and patterns within the conversations:

Gender Patterns:

MMC Male-Male Conversation
FFC Female-Female Conversation
MFC Male-Female Conversations
Behavioral Patterns During Conversations:
RLXCNV Relaxed Conversation (Easy-going and friendly conversations)
AGTTCNV Agitated Conversation (Employees argue or act anxious)
MNTCNV Monotonous Conversation (Employees appear tired, bored, or uninterested)

The coding is inductive since the aim was to examine the behavioral patterns, and the subsequent outcomes have been derived and identified during the analysis. This has allowed for a more open-minded approach to the observation and a less restricted overview of the possible behavioral characteristics identified in employees spending time in an informal environment. Since repeated incidents have occurred and were identified, inductive coding was introduced for easier data collection.

Analysis

While the main purpose of the study was an observation rather than analysis, some deductions could be made according to the interactions of the employees. According to Bruskin (2018), the interactions between different people can signify whether the individuals are perceived as insiders or outsiders. Inclusion of the different employees in the informal social setting is important to the confidence of the individual and increases the satisfaction with the company overall, increasing motivation. Therefore, organized and non-organized meetings outside work contribute to the general corporate culture and add to the loyalty of the employees to the company. While there is no information available to the researcher about the formal corporate culture of the employees, the commitment to meet after hours is likely to signify company loyalty.

As mentioned in the previous section, there were some patterns that were noticed during the observations. For example, the length of the meetings often depended on the day of the observation. Furthermore, the openness and fluidity of conversation added to the comfortable environment, at least from the third-person perspective. While during this study, in particular, the researcher merely observed the subjects, without direct communication, this would be an interesting addition to further research.

Conclusion

Further research, expanding the demographic and increasing the length of the study, is required for generalized conclusions about what informal corporate culture means for the business. However, numerous deductions can and have been made based on the observations made. Therefore, the purpose of this study, as stated in the introduction, has been achieved, and the observations can be used in the broader field of anthropology.

References

Bejnarowicz, A., & Aderum, T. (2018). Employees participation in a companys CSR: How do formal and informal cultural systems affect employees participation in a companys CSR activities. JIBS.

Bruskin, S. (2019). Insider or outsider? Exploring the fluidity of the roles through social identity theory. Journal of Organizational Ethnography, 8(2).

Church, A. H. & Conger J. A. (2018). When you start a new job, pay attention to these 5 aspects of company culture. Harvard Business Review. Web.

Hinds, P. & Elliot, B. (2021). WFH doesnt have to dilute your corporate culture. Harvard Business Review. Web.

Lubet, S. (2018). Interrogating ethnography: Why evidence matters. Oxford University Press.

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