Let's be honest; this year has been tough. Social isolation, fear of the unknown, and a long list of canceled plans have been shared experiences by nearly everyone. As the holidays get closer, many people are wondering how to connect with people during this time of year. That's why this holiday season, Preciate decided to give away free virtual holiday party subscriptions powered by Preciate Social to a variety of organizations who could use some extra holiday cheer. These include organizations like nonprofits, educational institutions, and healthcare providers. All you have to do is let us know you're interested, and we will be in touch shortly.

Let's face it: virtual happy hours can be super awkward. When Preciate first went completely remote at the start of the pandemic, we had a couple virtual get togethers that were lackluster at best. And it wasn't because we don't get along or have a good company culture. It was simply because those online meeting tools weren't designed to help people connect and build relationships while socializing virtually.

With the recent increase in remote work due to the pandemic, many companies are experiencing a wide range of positives and negatives when it comes to working from home. While there are plenty of positives such as increased productivity and flexibility, there can certainly be some challenges as well. One of the major challenges companies face with remote employees is maintaining employee engagement.

Slack is a workplace communication tool worth over $20 billion. It's popularity has been largely fueled by its ability to adapt to user needs quickly and its slick, user-friendly design.

Maybe your company just did an employee engagement survey that came back with concerning results. Or perhaps the organization recently expanded, causing a greater need for tracking employee recognition digitally. Whatever your reason is, it can be intimidating when you first dive into the world of employee recognition.

Remote work has become noticeably more popular the past few years, and now, it's more prevalent than ever. The global pandemic has caused companies as prominent as Facebook, Twitter, and Slack to make what may have once been a radical announcement: all employees can work from home forever.

Despite a historically critical attitude towards working from home, remote work has become more and more popular in countries across the globe. Research has shown a huge advantage for remote employees in terms of performance and productivity, with an almost 13% increase in performance over a nine-month period. For years, these studies continued to fuel the trend of companies moving to remote working and more flexible schedules for their employees.

Remote working comes with its benefits, and it also comes with a host of challenges. Depending on factors such as childcare, office space, and other logistical considerations, remote working can become a lot more complicated than it might initially sound in fun articles on future generations.

Depending on the nature of the company you work for, creating and maintaining a healthy work-life balance can be extremely difficult. When you work on the clock and have set hours, it's a bit easier to mentally separate time at work and time for yourself. On the other hand, if you're a new lawyer or working at a startup, your working hours are bound to bleed into your personal life.

With Microsoft Team's rapid growth since its release, there are surely some good reasons why so many companies are making the jump to MSTeams.

If your team or company is considering implementing Microsoft Teams as its primary workplace communication tool, check out our list of the top four reasons why your team should start using Microsoft Teams.