3 Important Reasons to Do a Virtual Take Our Kids to Work Day in 2021

Like almost everything this year, National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work^TM Day is going to look and feel pretty different. But there's enormous value in continuing the tradition, especially in a year when our home and work lives are endlessly overlapping. 

Why should your company adapt your Take Your Kids to Work Day if there's no office? Will kids take away valuable learnings from a virtual experience? The answer is yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Here's why.

1. It's more than just "shadowing."

Despite their proximity to parents working from home, children may not fully understand what "grown-up" work is, means, or looks like. And this year is a great opportunity to show them!

But Take Our Kids to Work Day is much more than a day out of class for kids and a distraction for parents. It's an opportunity for children to see and understand professional work life, so they can envision what their careers might look like after school. 

It's really hard to be what you can't see, so exposing your kids to a professional environment is a great way to set them up for long-term success!

2. It's a chance to build deeper connections!

If done well, a virtual Take Our Kids to Work Day will not only include observation but also engaging group sessions, where everyone can interact, ask questions, and even play together.

Involving family in work events will make your team feel more connected. Suddenly, colleagues will learn more about each other and their families. They'll have more to talk about, more reasons to relate, more common ground. Building these personal connections is hugely important to foster a positive work culture while working remotely. And employees' families will feel more connected, too. Future summer picnics will be even more of a blast!

3. It's fun, and fun is important.

Thanks to the pandemic, many families are home—parents and kids alike—crowded but coexisting, everybody just doing the best they can. Our bedrooms and kitchen tables have become our home offices, and our families have accidentally invaded our Zoom calls. Even with childcare or schools opening, it's been challenging for everyone.

So, let's have a little fun and learn a little bit, shall we?

We recommend doing a team-based virtual scavenger hunt, with challenges that can be customized and targeted to be fun for both kids and parents. Or what about team trivia, where we underscore the lessons from Take Our Kids to Work Day while adding int questions about your company and professional life... but don't sleep on those tricky 4th grade science questions either!

This year, National Take Your Kids to Work Day will help us all become more empathetic and curious about what we're doing and learning. And those are immensely valuable lessons.

Looking for help planning virtual programming for your Bring Your Kids to Work Day? We can help!