South Western Railway helps colleagues celebrate getting back together after work with free pub vouchers
- Over a third (37%) of workers say they have forgotten how to socialise since the pandemic first hit
- Over half (55%) miss the banter of the office and a quarter are missing our work friends
- South Western Railway has launched Thank Goodness It’s Thursday, an open fund to the public to claim a piece of the pot to use for post-work get togethers to use on food, drinks or snacks
- Simply follow and tweet @SWR_TGIT #TGIT every Thursday* between 2 – 5pm for a chance to claim
Thank Goodness It’s Thursday! South Western Railway is calling on colleagues to put their out of office on every Thursday for the next month, as it encourages co-workers to get back together in a new age of remote working.
In today’s “new normal”, Thursday is officially the new Friday, and South Western Railway is looking to bring back the much-missed, post-work get-togethers, to remind people of the fun to be had back in the office – with co-workers able to claim themselves a food and drink voucher , every Thursday from 7th April.
The TGIT (Thank Goodness It’s Thursday) fund comes following research conducted by the train company, which found that with over half (53%) of British workers spending much less time in the office post-pandemic, unsurprisingly post-work socials have not yet fully recovered, and it’s having a negative impact on our sociability and confidence.
Research of 2,000 office workers across the UK found over a third (37%) say they have forgotten how to socialise since the pandemic, with a fifth admitting they now feel less confident (22%). And as a nation, we’re calling out to re-connect, with over half (55%) of us missing the banter we have with our work colleagues.
63% of people said that the biggest positive to getting back into the office was being able to see their work colleagues, however whilst over a quarter (26%) of us miss our work friends, only 16% of colleagues are meeting up a least once a week – which is where South Western Railway comes in!
William Hanson, etiquette consultant to the stars says: ““Our much-missed after-work soirées are not only the highlight of the working week, but key for developing relationships with colleagues, and will help to restore the confidence lost over years of working in isolation. When you do start to get back together, however, please remember to not chew the boss's ear too much, and leave some of the snacks for others.”
South Western Railway’s TGIT fund has been set-up to encourage workers to get back together, and re-connect after work every Thursday, with a free food and drink voucher – with a staggering 51% of people claiming they’d be more likely to go out with work if the first round was free!
*The promotion will run across a 4-week period from 7th April to 28th April and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis each week; to claim your free voucher, simply follow and tweet @SWR_TGIT with ‘#TGIT’ every Thursday between 2-5pm to be in for the chance of claiming a piece of the pot.
For more information, including terms and conditions, please visit www.southwesternrailway.com/tgit
About TGIT Fund
Those able to claim this promotion must be over 18. People will be selected at random and contacted via direct message with a voucher code to redeem at 1500+ pubs and bars across London. This promotion will run every Thursday from 7th April until 28th April, between the hours of 2 – 5pm.
About the research
The research was carried out online by Research Without Barriers – RWB. All surveys were conducted between 24th March 2022 and 28th March 2022. The sample comprised 2,074 office workers (excluding sole traders).
All research conducted adheres to the UK Market Research Society (MRS) code of conduct (2019). RWB is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office and complies with the DPA (2018).
Additional stats:
- Over half (53%) of British workers said their time is much less than it used to be, or that they haven’t physically been back in the office at all
- Seeing and socialising with co-workers is the number one positive reason to be back in the office (63%), closely followed by over half (52%) agreeing they were just happy to be out of the house
- 55% miss having banter with their co-workers, and a third (30%) miss gossiping with co-workers and the buzz of the office
- More than any other reason, 37% said the pandemic has meant they’re less sociable, 26% miss they work friends and 22% say it’s even made them less confident
- 16% go out with colleagues once a week, 23% less than once a month
- 51% would go out with work more if the first round was free
