Law firm Greenberg Traurig encourages employees, with some fun and camaraderie, to come back to the office

Pop” goes the work week

Ordering cheeseburgers and milkshakes. Sure, any office can do that. But can it add a jukebox blasting ’50s records? Serve everything on plates that look like records (remember those)? Encourage employees to find a poodle skirt or leather jacket?

That’s what happened recently at the Florham Park office of global law firm Greenberg Traurig during the latest version of “Pop Up Thursday,” a back-to-the-office idea that not only is bringing employees back to the office, but adding a level of excitement and fun that hasn’t been seen since before the pandemic.

Pop Up Thursdays are the brainchild of Kristine Feher, a member of the management committee at the firm, a top-notch litigator for labor and employment most of the week and the self-proclaimed “Minister of Fun” every Thursday.

Kristine Feher, the self proclaimed “Minister of Fun.”

Feher said the weekly effort, which includes everything from free massages to a quick golf lesson to cupcake decorating and more, has been a huge hit since it began last spring.

“I think it’s really done what we wanted it to do, which is give people a reason to want to come to the office,” she said. “I judge by the mood in the hallways. I judge it by the engagement of people when we’re doing things. I judge it by the responses I get when I send out an email before every event — and judge it by the responses I get afterward.”

With Feher leading the way, Greenberg Traurig has managed to turn a negative into positive.

Feher said that was the hope when she pitched the idea at a management meeting last spring — when the group was trying to find a way to encourage employees to come back to work (at least three days a week) rather than forcing them to do so.

“I said, ‘Here’s a little out-of-the-box thinking: What if we try a carrot instead of a stick?’” she recalled.

The firm, which always encourages entrepreneurial ideas among its attorneys, was all in favor of giving it a try. As long as someone stepped up.

Feher said she was happy to — and, with just a small budget, she’s made it happen.

The idea was simple: A 15-minute activity that would bring some fun and camaraderie into the office.

It has developed into a labor of love for Feher.

Here’s how she does it.

She puts the ideas into four categories:

  • Food: Cake decorating, lesson on cheeses and creating a cheese plate, etc.
  • Sports: Ping pong tournament, pop-a-shot contests
  • Animals: Learning about and petting therapy dogs; goat yoga (yes, it’s a thing)
  • Learning/doing: Rubik’s cube demonstration, water painting class

Feher said there’s no official budget, but unofficially said that, one time a month, she’ll spend a little more than the rest.

Of course, the payoff isn’t the activity, but what comes out of it.

“Like a lot of firms — and a lot of businesses — we found that, when we started bringing people back after COVID, the attitude and the mood in the office wasn’t the same as it was before,” she said. “People had gotten used to working remote.

“Pop Up Thursdays reminds everybody that we are all friends and that we can have fun together.”

And connect in ways like never before.

“During the pingpong tournament, I had a junior labor and employment associate not just playing against, but laughing and chatting with a very senior shareholder who does trusts and estates work,” she said. “They would never have had a reason to talk, to interact before. Now, when they see each other in the hallway, they are talking and laughing together.”

The impact on the staff is more than anecdotal.

During year-end reviews, Feher said many associates mentioned Pop Up Thursdays as something they enjoyed — and something that made them feel more a part of the firm. Some employees have asked if they can bring their kids on these days, too.

Word is spreading around the entirety of the firm, too.

Feher said she has heard from other offices, which are thinking about implementing a similar program.

Feher said she understands why.

“It creates this fun in the office,” she said. “We’re all here doing serious work for some of the biggest clients in the world. It’s high-pressure. To be able to just take a minute and be stupid together, goof around and be silly for a second, is really a good outlet for people, and they’re liking it.”

Feher said organizing the day can be time-consuming. (She had her entire family in the office late one Wednesday night, setting up the putting green.)

But she said it’s been worth it — and she feels it will be self-sustaining.

“The goal is to get through a year,” she said. “Then, it will get easier. We can repeat the days we really liked and add in some new ones.

“It will be fun.”

Conversation Starter

Reach Greenberg Traurig at: gtlaw.com/en/locations/new-jersey or call 973-360-7900.