10 Wines You Need at Office Happy Hour to Re-Engage and Improve Your Culture

By Molly Spelts:

Did you know? 89% of Millennial employees cite workplace happiness as a reason they stay with a job, with 66% saying that unique perks like food and beer are what keeps them interested.

Here at RBM, we are all about our wines and happy hours. In fact, we have our own Eat’n Meet’n every Friday for our employees to bond, showcase our “proud of’s” for the week, and build relationships with our fellow branchers.

A lot of companies are starting to embrace the happy hour culture in their unique way, whether it be midweek beer carts, or ending their Fridays with a glass of wine and cheese. Employees are loving it, and candidates are noticing those perks too. That’s why I’ve created a comprehensive list of wines that your company can offer at your next happy hour to help your employees unwind:

1. Dreaming Tree Sauvignon Blanc

2. Chloe Rosé

3. Broadley Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Re-Engage

Employees can quickly become distant and get stuck in their routines, leading them to feel unhappy and no longer connected. So how can you pull them back in and get them motivated? Office games are great, but sometimes you have to break some bread, or in this case, uncork and unwind with a happy hour. Putting a little effort into your company’s happy hours can help increase your employees’ happiness, help connect them back to their team, and reduce stress.

Did you know happy employees are 31% more productive, generate 37% more sales, and are three times more creative? 

4. Cupcake Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc

5. Rogue Vine Itata Valley Grand Itata Blanco

6. MoonX Red Wine (Exclusively at Trader Joe’s)

Improve Culture

Company culture plays a massive role in your employees’ perspective towards the company, as well as prospective candidates. The modern worker is no longer looking for just regular benefits, but unique ones, such as happy hours, gym packages, unlimited PTO, and killer company culture. Keeping your current employees retained and attracting new ones can be easier with the right culture in place.

So how does office happy hours improve the culture? Friendships can be easily built over drinks and a good time than by the water cooler in a stuffy office. The pressure and stress of deadlines are less when you can kick back and enjoy a Friday afternoon with your co-workers and a glass of wine. By getting your employees away from their desks and meetings to take the time to know their co-workers can elevate the company culture and help with relationship building. Who knows, you could have the same hobbies as Jill in accounting or share the same love of football with Tim in marketing. When friendships are created in the office, it makes the environment better for everyone and gets your employees through their tough days.

Office happy hours offer an excellent opportunity to bring the team together and recognize each other’s accomplishments. While I do suggest avoiding talking about work during happy hours, there seems to be a wholesome feeling of appreciation and support from your peers and managers when you get recognized for your accomplishments. Here at RBM, we are firm believers in our “proud of’s” tradition during our happy hour by giving credit to those who knocked it out of the park that week. These are just a few of the benefits of office happy hours that can boost your culture and keep your employees happy and retained.

7. Lolailo Red Sangria

8. Cupcake Vineyard’s Pinot Noir

9. California Roots Pinot Grigio

10. Sterling Vintner’s Collection Cabernet Sauvignon “Central Coast”

Companies such as Evernote, embrace the happy hour culture with “Beer Fridays” along with Yelp and Sendgrid, who have keg fridges available all the time. The Muse also follows this trend by offering whiskey during their Friday sessions.

Now that you have a great list of wines that we love, you’re prepared for your next happy hour to start building relationships and boosting your culture. Curious to learn more about employee engagement, company culture, and more? Check out our other blog posts or subscribe to our newsletter!

The Branchers

We build the best damn marketing campaigns on the planet. And we do it for industries and companies you might not identify as easy to market (right away). Working here takes a very special kind of person.