Where ex-smokers go to bond

Quit campaigns and healthy lifestyle initiatives have cleared the smoko benches where people used to congregate. Here are the new haunts in the workplace for colleagues to connect and chew the fat:

Break rooms: “We see more and more companies putting in rooms where people can go and have a bit of a breather,” Great Place to Work director Zrinka Lovrencic says. Top-end break rooms include ice-hockey and table tennis tables, video games and other activities to help employees release stress and get to know their workmates.

The gym: Lovrencic doesn’t think there’s much time to talk while running on a treadmill but for others, the company gym is a hot bed for intra-company connection. “I got to know a couple of people in the gym who were outside my team,” Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal economist Edward Mullin says. “Its a great place to go, especially if you like talking sport.”

Coffee room: Distribution Central puts on a fresh fruit morning tea once a fortnight to help employees meet more people across the company. “If you think about smokers going outside and shooting the breeze, well, they’re talking to the same people all the time,” IT wholesaling business Distribution Central HR director Jeanne Scott says.

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