Hi, welcome back to Eat Your Cust Podcast.
I'm Crystal.
And I'm Jisoo.
So today we thought it would be fun to talk about work extracurriculars, which I think is a pretty funny way to put it, considering we're no longer in school.
But Being at work especially for those who are in office, maybe a little bit more often now, there are a ton of opportunities to do cool stuff outside of your regular role and scope.
So let's start off by talking about some of the different things that you've seen at your work, current or past, where people do things outside of just their professional lives.
Yeah, I think maybe the biggest one off the top of my mind is organizing the holiday parties the big corporate holiday party or just like the mini ones people do in break rooms and whatnot.
The one for our organization.
Oh wait, I could be totally wrong here.
I think for us, our facilities people do it.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
So for us, like our facilities people do not do it.
It's people in our org.
And from my understanding, they're like part of a bigger program.
We call it the site program.
But the thing is the people in the site program it's not really necessarily part of their higher job description.
You join the site program in addition, I think.
Whoa, that's like a pretty big thing to take on, actually.
It's almost like when in high school, certain people in leadership or ASB would throw prom.
Yeah, I guess, like in a sense some of these funner activities, they're like an extension of of high school or even college.
It's almost like one-to-one actually, because I guess some of the clubs that we used to be in in high school or even in college are similar to what employee resource groups are now in the workplace.
Oh, true.
At my work, there's definitely like an Asian network and I've joined it.
Honestly.
I mean, the company I'm at is pretty big, so it can definitely be hard to truly get every single person in the same room for these resource groups.
There are definitely people in different areas who are willing to step up and do the work and then host different kinds of events for whichever area that they're in.
It's really cool because I feel like, in some sense, having the events that they throw really allows you to feel like work is almost a second home, in a sense.
Otherwise, it would feel so dry.
Like if you didn't celebrate Lunar New Year or you know all of these things that you kind of do celebrate at home.
I think it would make me feel even more disconnected from work.
So I really appreciate people who take time out of their days to host events or like, do the planning or even facilitate all the back end stuff for these ERGs.
Yeah, I feel like one cool thing I've noticed at work is, beyond ergs there are also just a lot of groups for almost anything.
So there's one group for wine actually that i've joined.
They try to kind of host their own little happy hours.
Like everyone bring a bottle that you like and let's meet in this area this wednesday of the month or something.
And it's pretty cool.
Like you get to meet people who you normally wouldn't meet and you get to bond over a common interest.
Wait, that's so cute.
So does that mean you've been to some of these meetings?
I've been to at least one or two, but lately I've been kind of busy, so I've missed a lot of them.
But that's definitely a group that I was originally thinking of getting more involved in, but the timing was not working out that well.
So hopefully I'll be able to attend more of their events soon though.
Wait, that's awesome.
That's like even more separated from work from the ERGs, because you're like actually just meeting up to talk about a hobby.
I used to be a part of a workbook club and it didn't last for that long.
I think I did it for maybe less than a year, but it was still really cool to read, show up and like talk about it.
But I think the only downside to that one is a book club is requires you to do homework, so you have to read it, at least a little bit of it, to be able to like show up and talk about it.
But especially in the months where work is really busy, people didn't have the time to do so.
So it'd be like me and then maybe like one or two other people who actually read it, and then we would talk about it and everyone else would just watch and I was like okay, this is like too much pressure, Damn.
Maybe you guys should have offered the alternative like oh, if you didn't have time to read the book, you could totally just watch the movie.
Honestly, that would have been a great idea.
It's just hard to, like, enforce the homework for that one.
Also, having a book club for an entire year, that's pretty long in my books.
You know, doing the homework aside, it is really cool to just get to know your coworkers on a more intimate level.
I think something like a book club is actually quite personal, because you pull in so much of your own, I guess, literary habits and also personal experience to be able to like dissect the layers of a book.
So I remember feeling really close to the people that would actually read and show up.
You're like my fellow reader.
Oh my God.
Then what kind of books did you guys read for work?
Were you careful about it, as in you tried not to read anything, to maybe polarizing your, Or did you just choose whatever was good?
So that's a really good question, because I think even across readers, people have such different opinions, preferences.
Some people might really be into fantasy and the other people might only read memoirs or something.
And then there's also like a sweet spot of what you can actually discuss.
My personal philosophy is that nonfiction is really hard to discuss because you're talking about things that happened versus why did the author write this?
So I remember what we did was at first it was the person who was running book club would just choose a book that they found on like a Goodreads list or something.
As more people got a little bit more involved, she made a Google sheet so that we could input books that we wanted to read.
And then of those books, she would choose books that were easy to discuss.
Okay, this person has a lot of power.
I thought you were going to say we would vote, but you're like, no, she just chose.
Okay.
I think at the time I was like damn, I wish there would be a voting system or something so that we were guiding the books to be like what the general population would want to read.
But, thinking back, it was smart because she would be able to weed out long books, for example, or like books that were too deep into their niche, whatever niche it was.
And then she chose generally popular books that were current, that most people could read like very palatable stuff, which I think is smart.
Hold the power and then let people think that they can have input, but at the end of the day, it's still her decision.
Honestly, that's true.
Sometimes you need someone to put their foot down and just make the decisions.
I'm not gonna lie.
If I were in that book club and like, voting were allowed, or if I were choosing the books, I would definitely go for the books that I know I've read already.
You're like ooh so down to read this.
I'm like, wait, guys, we don't have enough suggestions.
Can you all like put a few more in?
There's like a hundred already.
The interesting thing that I ran into doing that book club though, was at the time our work lives were very busy.
So then people were like, actually working till five or six hours we would have to meet from like six to seven or I guess, on like slightly less busy days five to six.
So then I was like guaranteed to stay at work past work hours, which I think brings up the question of what is your correct balance.
How willing are you to stay after five?
Or does it have to end by like four or five for you to be willing to like be a participant?
Oh, that's such a good point.
And I was actually just about to ask you, like, when did you all meet?
Yeah.
I think book club is so unique that it's still definitely a fun activity.
But like you said, there's a bit of homework behind it.
And when you meet, it's like discussion.
It's like kind of educational, all of this stuff, right?
So sometimes you just feel like you might not have enough brain power to stay and talk about it, right?
Totally.
But then, on the opposite end, if this were just like a happy hour or something, then maybe you'd be more inclined to stay, because you're like oh,
My brain can be off and I can just, you know, enjoy a couple of drinks before busing home, or something like that.
True.
I guess the other thing too is like it's hard to casually leave a book club meeting because someone is like passionately talking about something.
Versus happy hour, you can easily Irish exit.
So true.
Dude.
Now I'm just imagining someone on their soapbox at a book club meeting and then someone's like sorry, I really have to go pick up my kid right now.
See you guys next time.
Bye.
But I do feel like I really love the idea of a book club.
But I would be one of those slackers who aren't reading.
I feel like that's also totally fine, honestly.
Even though I said only a couple people would read.
The other people who would show up were like totally vibes people.
That's nice.
I'm glad they weren't upset about hearing all the spoilers.
Maybe they cliff notes it.
True, which honestly, fair enough. if you can pass it off as you read it.
Or sometimes people would show up and be like oh, I only read a couple of chapters, but I'm still interested to hear the discussion.
Because I think the beauty with books is that you don't actually have to read all of it to be interested in the discussion.
And even if the end is spoiled for you, if it's a really well written book, it's still interesting to go through and like read how the author plays it out.
Like the plot point might not be the only reason why you're reading it.
That's true.
And I feel like books honestly have a lot of re-readability on average.
Totally.
Going back to what you mentioned about happy hours, how often do you attend a work happy hour?
Oh my god.
Honestly, it's hard to pass up.
Oh, so you're like pretty regular in attending?
Yes, but we don't have that many happy hours just randomly.
But if there is one, I will always stop by for at least 30 minutes to see what's up.
And also there's times where I might actually be responsible for taking some photos at the event.
So I'm like, well, I'm already at the event.
Might as well stay at the happy hour and take some more photos there too.
I feel like work happy hours are very chill.
Oftentimes there's good food, decor and stuff.
So I do like going there.
Oh, that's so true.
We always have at least some finger food along with the happy hours.
But also, one funny thing is a couple of teams on my floor, they host their own little happy hours.
So everyone on that team brings their own alcohol and they set up their own fridge.
I don't know, maybe on Thursdays or Fridays, they'll have a little happy hour with themselves.
I guess to like celebrate the end of the week or if they completed like a big project or something like that.
And it's honestly very exciting to see, I think, because if there's other people around the office nearby, they're always very friendly.
So they're like, oh, feel free to join us for our happy hour.
And I think it definitely boosts office morale a little bit.
But those ones don't include food.
Just alcohol.
I think you bring up a good point about it boosting office morale.
Because sometimes I feel like the beginning of a happy hour could be kind of awkward.
But five, 10 minutes into it, when you're chatting with your coworkers about non-work stuff, it really takes the mood to a different place.
And you're reminded of, oh, yeah, these coworkers have lives outside of work.
Yeah, so true.
And that actually reminds me of sometimes at work, we have events that are outside of work.
So for example, maybe going to a baseball game.
And I feel like those are opportunities I try not to pass up, because you definitely learn a lot more about your coworkers there.
You can learn, for example, at a baseball game.
You know if people are actually interested in baseball.
Or you might learn a little more about their general sports interest.
And so I'm always very thankful for people who help organize those kinds of outings.
Yes, totally agree.
And sometimes it's also a good way to meet people outside of who you would interact with on like a work level.
I've been to golf outings, for example, through work.
And I met people outside of my org.
People I would literally just never talk to or interact with.
And I was like, this is really nice.
Dude, I'm jealous you had a golf outing.
I think I might be the only person on my team who... plays golf.
But I've heard about a lot of other teams hosting their little team outings at Topgolf.
And I'm like, damn, kind of jealous.
Well, yeah, that sounds so fun.
Oh my god, you totally jogged a memory of being on a smaller team in a smaller company and having to be the one to like, plan all the outings.
Oh my god.
It was so much pressure of like, okay, this was so much fun.
Fuck, I'm gonna have to plan another social event in two months.
Like, how do I make it not just dinner and drinks?
Wait, so you were like kind of the main planner back then?
Yeah, and then eventually I try to like pass it off to other young people on the team.
Yeah.
I feel like for teams where maybe it's smaller or your org doesn't necessarily set up the happy hours as often.
Sometimes it does get passed off to like maybe the youngest person on the team to host something fun.
I just remember thinking, do I even know what's fun?
Will you guys find this fun?
That's such a good point, though.
You're like, I don't know what you all like.
Yeah.
The safest option is just dinner and drinks.
Yes.
I don't think my team would have fun at Topgolf, but I would have fun.
Right?
It's like, should I just throw something that I enjoy?
Yeah.
And I remember at the time, the biggest question was always, is this going to be company sponsored?
Or like, are we splitting the bill?
Because then that changes the budget, right?
Dude, I wonder if you just plan something that you would like and then they would quickly be like all right Jisoo, can't plan the next one.
Oh, true.
Like, fuck it up really bad one day.
And then it's like, oh, okay, pass it off to someone else.
They're like, please, can someone else plan the next one?
Like don't make Jisoo drag us out onto a golf course again.
I'm like, okay guys, block out nine to one on Saturday.
So I'm assuming that a lot of your office outings that you helped plan was pre COVID times but now that most of us are kind of hybrid, slash back in office.
Have you continued that trend of helping plan fun events?
No, and I'm so happy that I'm not the one planning anymore.
The COVID time was kind of crazy.
I remember I was even tasked with planning COVID happy hours.
And then I would have to book Google Meet, meetings and whatnot for our team to have happy hour on a Friday.
But now that everyone is in office a little bit more, I think the ways to boost morale is kind of different.
One example is sometimes working.
I'll DoorDash in Boba, which sounds very simple, but on a Monday it's like huge morale booster.
Wait, that sounds awesome.
Right?
Also, let's be real.
Virtual happy hours don't work.
Oh, no.
They're so awkward.
Yeah.
Like, I know we tried to make it happen in COVID for a bit, but they're truly just so not worth it.
There's only so much you can really talk about.
The first 10 minutes are always like, what is everyone drinking?
There's like a couple of jokes.
It fizzles out.
And then as soon as one person drops, everyone else drops.
Especially if it was like a recurring thing.
The second happy hour, no one shows up.
Dude, yeah.
I think it's because in these virtual happy hours, everyone has to wait their turn to talk.
Oh.
But like in a real life happy hour, everyone can branch off into smaller groups of you know, like two to four, and have their mini conversations.
But- you know, in a virtual one that just can't happen.
Yeah.
You're like passing the conch.
And then when it's your time to talk, you have to like make it count.
Yeah, exactly.
You're like, I need something of substance to say when it's my turn.
Oh my God.
I'm getting like anxiety thinking about them again.
So then, I guess, now that we're doing real life happy hours, are you the type to like go to the corner with maybe one or two coworkers and chat.
Or are you the one at the drink station talking to people who come through?
Like, where are you situated in a happy hour?
Oh my God.
Okay.
I think you'll find this funny, but very true to who I am.
But I'm not like a super social creature in my normal habitat.
So I'm going to be honest.
There's like a ton of people in the office who I don't know.
I probably only know like five to 10% of the people there.
At a happy hour, I just like go down and I get a drink.
I walk around, survey the scene.
If no one I know is there, I might just go back to my desk.
Dude, fair enough.
I do that too, honestly.
I think actually it helps sometimes that I have a job to do.
I might be taking photos.
So then I'm like, oh, thank God I'm alone.
No one needs to bother me either because I'm busy.
I'm taking photos and I just happen to have a drink in my hand.
True.
And I feel like the positive of being like a photographer is, for some reason, the second you have the camera you're like invisible.
You know, you're like a prop.
Yes.
Also, luckily, getting food and getting drink, that takes up some time too, right?
Like I have to wait in line, fill up my plate, wait in line for a drink and decide what drink I want.
So that can take up like a good 10 to 15 minutes.
And then, as I walk around the space and survey the scene, that's like another.
You know three to five minutes.
True.
That's like full participation right there.
20 minutes on happy hour.
Dude, honestly, if I want to stay at the happy hour, I'll just sit down.
I'll be by myself.
I don't really care that much.
But okay, this is kind of anti happy hour of me.
But sometimes I actually don't like when people come up to me and try to like network or something.
I'm like dude, I'm just trying to enjoy this wine and like, chill.
So you go to happy hour for some good old alone time?
That is a very crystal answer.
But I will say, when I know that my co-worker friends are going too, it's also fun.
Yeah wait, that's like my favorite when it's your same squad, but just in a different setting with free food and alcohol.
Yeah, Going with people you know is always a safe bet.
So that's my preferred.
But sometimes... Actually, honestly, if there's no one I know going, I might not go.
Yeah.
I think that's completely fair too.
I definitely skip some happy hours, especially if the timing is not great either.
And I'm like, well, I think I'd rather just go home today.
Right, right.
There's some occasions where I'm really busy, but I know the food looks really good.
So then I'll go, grab food...
And then take it back to my desk and eat it while working.
Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
Yeah.
Do you ever go to a happy hour and like take food and then, okay, I need to go home now.
Dude, I've never actually taken it home, but I guess usually it's finger food, so it wouldn't take me that long anyway to eat it.
Okay, yeah, that's fair.
I will say though, if it's like an event or happy hour kind of thing that is hosted by my team, an adjacent team, sister team or something like that, I will definitely try to show face and be there longer.
And sometimes if it's a more elaborate happy hour like maybe it's themed for a certain holiday or something like that there might be a little bit of cleanup involved at the end.
So I guess I try to stay until then if I'm responsible.
Wait, that's so nice of you.
I don't think I've ever experienced one where like, we threw a big happy hour for other people.
So I'm usually kind of in and out with the food.
Lightning speed.
As you should be.
To be honest, I think I've only stayed till the end for like maximum two happy hours.
That's still pretty good.
I will say sometimes, on the occasions where I have stayed a little longer for happy hours, I feel like you can see people really loosen up as their BAC goes up.
And it's very interesting to watch.
Usually the drinks are just really casual, right?
Like maybe like a cocktail or like a fun margarita or something.
But there's like a couple of times where I've either seen or heard of people devolving into like taking shots.
And I'm always like, oh my god, this is terrifying.
Wait, that definitely happens sometimes.
I've started to notice that.
So for my company, when we have happy hours, we have our like catering.
Do it.
I've started to notice that on the table where they display the drinks and stuff, there's been like tequila and whiskey.
And I'm like, okay, who is drinking these and why?
Yeah.
I like steer clear away from those and go straight for like the beer or like the little girly pop cocktail.
Yeah.
So I'm going to bring us back in because I want to talk about some other extracurriculars aside from happy hours.
Happy hours are fun, but they're not the only extracurriculars.
I'm just so curious because I feel like every company definitely has their own kind of style with extracurriculars.
And sometimes it's even a team thing or an org thing.
So one cool thing that I've actually started to participate in recently is I don't even know what to call it.
Like facilitation group.
So basically you can sign up to join this and they put you through a week-long course where you learn the foundations of how to facilitate classes, or like workshops, and it's mostly virtual based, so you learn like tips and tricks for facilitating virtually.
And so once you pass that class then you have I'll call it an exam, but you have to do a presentation and you get graded.
And then, once you're graded, they'll either accept you into the program or they'll say maybe you need a little more practice.
And then once you're in, you basically lead workshops for your peers in our org.
And that is like a completely extra thing outside of everyone's job scope.
But Someone had started it and that's the whole reason why we have the program.
Wait, that's so cool.
So like what kind of workshops are people hosting?
One example that is being hosted this month, it's called Leading with Influence.
So the content and stuff has already been created, but there's the need for people to run the workshop and, you know, lead it effectively.
So that's what the whole like group helps coordinate.
Oh, interesting.
So is it kind of like the technical aspect and like sending stuff out before and after to make sure everything goes smoothly during the workshop.
Yes.
And then also lead the workshop as well, like walk everyone through the content and kind of teach it.
So there's like also prep time involved.
Like you would want to.
Let's say it's like a two hour workshop.
Then you might want to prep for like three to four hours.
Wow.
How has it been going for you?
So I only just completed it and got accepted earlier this this week.
I guess we'll see, but my plan is I also actually want to create some content for them because I feel like there's some stuff that I can help teach, like tips and tricks for slide decks, you know, stuff like that.
But yeah, I feel like it's just.
It's so interesting because sometimes at work you can make something your role.
Do you know what I mean?
Yeah, I think this was started as a passion project and it has grown to be this whole thing Whoa.
It is true.
And I feel like sometimes, when you're taking on assignments and stuff at work or like projects, you just complete it.
You move on and like you wait for the next thing.
But you're so right when maybe your workload is lighter or you have something you're really interested in that you feel like is worth sharing.
You might as well just do it.
Yeah.
And I feel like joining these kinds of groups is interesting because this kind of extracurricular experience, activity at work, is like work.
It's kind of like the book club, but I would say happy hours are on the end of the spectrum where it's just like fun.
And then book clubs are probably kind of in the middle where it's like fun but also a little bit of work.
And then this kind of activity would be closer to the like extra work.
Hopefully you're doing it because you're passionate about it.
Yeah, it kind of reminds me of.
I guess it's not like a week long workshop and a full program, but just like classes that sometimes companies will offer where you can enhance skills of if you want to learn more about a certain technological software or you know ways to manage up or like lead a team, or educational things that you can take to improve yourself as like a person, as like a professional working person.
Yeah, I think my org is really passionate about that kind of stuff.
So They always try to offer different classes and opportunities whenever possible.
Which, honestly, I'm like, this is really nice, but sometimes it's hard to dedicate the time.
Oh yeah, 100%.
You have to choose to prioritize it over stuff.
If your week is really free, then it's a lot easier.
But then sometimes you do have to shuffle things around, or you might even want to get off work early instead of going to this workshop.
But you're like choosing to go to the workshop.
And especially for us being earlier in our career.
I feel like there's a lot of benefit that comes from it.
But that doesn't always mean I'm like choosing to go to these things over having a chiller workday.
Dude, it truly is like high school.
Yeah.
Or maybe it's more like college because we can skip classes.
It's like optional seminars.
All right, I have a final question for us to discuss.
So all of these different extracurricular work activities, how do they make you feel?
Their pissed voice.
So I've been thinking about this a little bit because...
I guess we're now like seven years into our working careers.
And I feel like my attitude towards work and just the type of person that I am at work has changed a lot over the years.
When I first started working, maybe like the first three to four years of my job, I kind of wanted to have separation between who I was at work and who I was at home, because work to me was just like a means of survival.
I needed income and I wanted to grow professionally and I wanted to seem really, really professional at work, but my home life was a different story, right.
So then, I think having such a high separation between the two personas made me feel like I was really fake at work not myself and kind of like oh, these people don't know the real me.
That in turn would make work feel very like not myself.
I think it made me enjoy work a little less, honestly.
So now I've come to realize that the more time you spend at work, if you're going to be fake the whole time, it's too hard.
It's hard for me to remember who I am at what point of the day, and it also makes me Any sort of connections that I make with people at work feel less genuine and real, like if I'm putting up a front.
So I realize that there's a better balance to keep of.
Like you know, I can still be professional at work, but also be myself.
Doing these things, like the social activities or going to happy hours or like loosening up a little bit when talking to my coworkers, does make a big impact on like whether I like going to work or whether I fucking hate being at work.
So I think at the end of the day, it does benefit me mentally to be more involved, be more real and exist outside of a professional plane in the workplace.
I think I have a very similar point of view where I was totally okay with just being isolated at work.
I mean, I'm not gonna lie, I'm still fine with that.
But it's just like, really kind of nice to know people around the office.
And like have a friend at work who you can go to the different events with or, you know, discover that you have a shared interest, things like that, right?
I also think there's like two versions of me.
There's hard-working crystal and just trying to like lie in bed crystal.
In college, i feel like hard-working crystal was at her peak because i was trying to do a lot of things in school while also participating in some extracurricular activities.
And that honestly brought joy to my life, even though it was very tiring.
So then I guess I balanced it by being lying in bed Crystal for a few years after.
Now, in the recent years, hardworking Crystal not that I don't work hard, but extracurricular Crystal, I guess.
She's coming back.
And I feel like I've been like rediscovering my joy of doing extracurricular activities that I enjoy.
Oh, I love that.
I like love this journey for us.
It kind of takes me back to the beginning of my work journey where I feel like I had this attitude of oh, I'm having so much fun in my regular life.
So it doesn't matter if I don't have fun at work.
And I would see people who were older in their careers honestly, maybe similar to our age.
We are now and thinking whoa, it's kind of interesting that these people at work hang out with their co-workers all the time or like stay so late at work or like do all these things, like don't they want to go home and live their real lives.
But now i'm like wait, work is also real life.
It's not just not life because you have to work, you know.
I think i totally agree with you find joy in being busy, And just because it's work doesn't mean it can't be fun.
And there's just all of these different balances that you can achieve between your professional life and social life, and between work and having fun.
So I think this is like the journey.
It's like the new journey of, is work fun?
Oh my God, true.
And if it's not fun, how can we make it more fun?
Yes, totally.
And I think some of the recent realizations that I've had from watching...
You know, like the really fun people at work, like sometimes I just be observing what they do, right.
Because I'm like, you guys look like you're having so much fun at work.
And I realized that it's not always about like the big things.
It's about finding joy and like personality in the small things, whether it's like Slack messages or when you have small talk with a coworker, sharing a little bit more than you feel like you normally would or like you know the default that you do when you're tired, just leaning in a little bit more than that.
I feel like i have been trying to absorb that as well being more vulnerable at work, being more real.
Oh, i think that kind of stuff you have to put effort into it.
Oh my god, i'm just imagining.
In the past you were like a sim at work, like you're just controlling yourself to do the do the tasks, and now you're like actually, i will be there, i'll be present.
No, that's so true.
Before it was my representative.
I'm glad we talked about this because it feels like we're going through similar journeys in our own way of discovering more about ourselves in the work environment.
And for our listeners out there.
If you have any thoughts on work extracurriculars that you're passionate about or that you enjoy, let feel free to let us know.
We have social media at eatyourcrustpod and we also have email eatyourcrustpod at gmail.com.
And if you'd like to catch our other episodes, then don't forget to follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
We upload new episodes every other Wednesday morning.
Thanks for listening.
And don't forget to eat your crust.
