The new happy hour: why employees are choosing clean-ups over cocktails

The era of awkward after-work drinks and mandatory pub quizzes is drawing to a close. Once the default way for teams to ‘bond’, the classic happy hour is now facing stiff competition - from park clean-ups, food bank runs and handcrafting cards for hospitalised children. And it’s not just a quirky trend. It’s a sign of a broader shift in how people want to connect at work and what modern employees actually value.

Inclusion, purpose and sustainability are replacing pints as the glue that binds teams together.

A different kind of team bonding

Let’s face it: pub socials were never for everyone. Religious beliefs, cultural norms, health reasons, parenting responsibilities - there are a hundred reasons why alcohol-led events often exclude as much as they include. That’s particularly true for younger workers. As many as 28% of Gen Z choose not to drink, nearly double the rate of older adults. The message is clear: meaningful, inclusive alternatives are long overdue.

And it turns out that volunteering and sustainability activities aren’t just “nice to haves” anymore either. Instead, they’re proving to be deeply effective tools for engagement, connection and culture-building.

We are seeing this first-hand. Imagine a small team event centred on creating handmade cards for children in the hospital. Initially billed as a quick, feel-good activity, it morphed into something much more. Staff skipped the usual post-session drinks in favour of a fierce (and friendly) design competition, staying late to outdo each other’s creations. The event has proven to be joyful, wholesome and with a real impact. For the employees, it was a shared moment of purpose, which created much more value and inclusivity than a drink at the pub.

Engagement with purpose

The UK is facing a growing employee engagement crisis. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2024 report, nearly 90% of UK workers are either quietly or loudly quitting. That’s disengagement at a staggering scale. And disengagement doesn’t just affect morale, it directly hits productivity and revenue.

So, how do you reconnect employees to their work? For today’s workforce, the answer increasingly lies in purpose. Deloitte’s recent study revealed that nearly 90% of Gen Zs and over 90% of millennials want their work to have meaning. For many, that means sustainability, community action and social impact. We are not talking about corporate slogans and greenwashing initiatives, but real policies that are baked into the company’s DNA.

But translating purpose from a slide deck into daily life isn’t always straightforward. It takes more than one keynote speech or a charity donation. What sets successful efforts apart is leadership involvement and ongoing action.

To be truly authentic, execs need to roll up their sleeves, too. Whether it’s joining a volunteer clean-up or publicly participating in sustainability challenges, when leaders get stuck in, it sends a powerful signal that goes beyond your typical lip service. The companies that really lead here go further, explicitly calling out purpose - for example, helping their local community - into their ethos and reason for being.

And culture, when it’s real, is contagious.

Some companies are even weaving social impact and sustainability into job descriptions and onboarding materials. We’re seeing companies include local volunteering options as a listed employee benefit, without being prompted. This fundamentally changes the expectations for community and impact, before a new hire even steps through the door.

The gamification of ‘good’

Of course, purpose alone doesn’t drive momentum. Sometimes, what works is a bit of playful competition.

Gamification - yes, that buzzword - has found a sweet spot in the sustainability and volunteering space. But instead of being gimmicky, it’s creating meaningful engagement. Leaderboards for things like CO2 reduction, volunteer hours or social actions inject a bit of banter into Teams and Slack chats. People start comparing notes, sharing photos and participating in conversations they might never have had otherwise.

Importantly, the competition creates visibility and momentum. Employees can track their individual impact or rally their team to the top spot. Adding monthly and quarterly leaderboards helps newer hires jump in without feeling left behind.

You’d be forgiven for thinking these kinds of initiatives are just fluff. But many businesses, from B:corps to PLCs, are now integrating them into their annual reports, impact statements and even performance metrics. Imagine formal reporting where trees planted and hours volunteered are included as part of the annual review. Others are using these programmes to boost their employer brand on social media, celebrate internal champions and strengthen recruitment efforts.

The data is starting to support what many instinctively knew: the most active employees in purpose-led programmes are often among the most engaged, productive and retained. And the inverse is just as telling. For the legions of disengaged staff, many of whom are quietly checked out, volunteering can be a powerful re-entry point. It offers a low-pressure, feel-good way to reconnect with their colleagues and their company.

Even small actions, like buying an extra tin of soup for the food bank or boiling just the right amount of water for your tea, add up. Change doesn’t have to be massive and earth-shattering. Collectively, small actions like these build into something meaningful and measurable when spread across whole organisations, offices and countries.

Hybrid connections that stick

The classic post-COVID challenge of “culture in a hybrid world” finds an elegant answer here. Instead of trying to replicate old ways of bonding, companies are creating new ones that reflect today’s workforce and values.

Whether someone is fully remote, hybrid or office-based, shared activities and goals bring people together. Remote employees might not join a local clean-up, but they’ll see the photos, contribute to the cause and join the leaderboard. It’s a way of building belonging that doesn’t depend on proximity. Or pints.

As Gen Z and Gen Alpha grow into the workforce, the demand for ethical, environmentally responsible and socially engaged workplaces is only going to grow stronger. These generations have grown up with climate anxiety and a hyper-awareness of systemic challenges. They don’t just expect their employers to “care” - they expect them to act.

For companies competing in a tight talent market, it’s a critical part of attracting and retaining tomorrow’s leaders.

Building culture without the hangover

It turns out that when you trade drinks for a park clean-up, you don’t lose connection. You gain it. These moments of shared purpose, light-hearted competition and visible, tangible impact are the new bonds that build resilient, inclusive teams.

So maybe it’s time to reframe the question. Instead of “What are we doing for team drinks this month?”, it’s “How are we doing good together?” And who knows? You might skip the pub altogether.