Extracurriculars
Our workplaces are social arenas. The connections we make are useful to us as we go about solving our work tasks – but they are also personally enriching – and essential to nurture a healthy workplace culture.
One of the most rewarding aspects of workplace interaction is discovering that you and your colleagues have mutual interests. You may both be dog-persons, fond of sci-fi, poker, or mountaineering. Or you may share a sartorial passion – as do the members of the Double Denim community at Telenor.
This group, namechecked by Benedicte at the recent Global Townhall and also previously featured on Workplace, share a visual identity: denim shirts and jeans. But that’s pretty much the only requirement they have for their members.
They meet every Friday morning for free Expo coffee – and on your third turnout in required attire you’re entitled to a Telenor branded denim shirt – which you can then add to your collection. Everyone is welcome and part of the idea is to bring in people from a range of communities.
“There wasn’t really a lot of planning going into this. Just a couple of colleagues at Consumer Norway who suddenly found themselves wearing similar outfits – and on the spur of the moment we decided that this was an opportunity to set up a club,” explains Frederick Gideonsen. Over fresh coffee, they agree that their only concern is that as popularity grows, they will run out of reward shirts. The Double Denim format seems to be picking up across the Nordics, and a Danish branch in Aalborg has now been established.
If denim is not your thing, how about e-sports? Did you know that there is a vibrant business league for Counter Strike gamers? And if you want to polish your rusty skills, or make a first stab at online gaming, there are opportunities to join good colleagues for an old-school shootout. Counter Strike is a classic first-person shooter that has committed players all over the world.
This is a huge sport, not only in Norway, but on a global scale. Telenor currently has one team in the second tier of the Norwegian Business League and two teams in the third tier.
Administrator Susanne Nirisen Olsen explains how it all works: “Anyone interested in joining must first sign up to Telenor's Employee Sport Association and then they can reach out to me. And there is a small fee involved. Everyone’s welcome to join, although you must own a computer with a bit of muscle. Don’t worry about your skill level, we will find a team that works for you,” she adds.
Competitive games are played on Sundays, once every month, and Telenor teams have so far come face to face with teams from Posten, Sopra Steria and Global Connect. And this is a social activity. Players keep in touch through the Discord platform, where they discuss everything Counter Strike – and a fair bit of other stuff as well. “This is such a generous and fun community to be part of,” ends Susanne. Look her up if you are keen to find out more.