Search Desktop Diversity: advice > Q&A index > Can I Make Them Socialize? Can I Make Them Socialize? Dear Management Geniuses: A small group of my employees has come to complain to me. A couple of mothers in the office feel like they're not invited out after work to social events at the local watering hole. From comments they have heard, they think it's because their coworkers believe they should go home to their kids after work. Another employee, who is in a wheelchair, hasn't been invited along because her colleagues have kidded her saying things like, "We don't want you drinking and driving." It's affecting my team. Do I have the right to police my employees about who they invite out to the bars once they leave the office? Confused in Kansas Dear Confused No. That's the short answer. The long answer? You don't have the right to police your employees' social lives outside of work. If it's important for you that they connect with one another outside of work, your best shot is to do a really good job building their connections as a team while at work. Take time in your regular meetings to do some kind of connection exercises so they get to know each other better. Go to the ACT section here on Desktop Diversity™ and you'll find many. Don't just do it once. Make it a regular part of each meeting. You can also arrange a few educational/social outings (that everyone can do easily) on work time such as a field trip to a community event that you can link to your work or organizational goals in some way. For example, our team went to a multimedia exhibit about Martin Luther King during Black History Month. We followed that with a discussion over lunch. Of course, the link is pretty easy to make for a diversity firm, but you can do it. You can also provide a group lunch once in a while to celebrate some hard work the team has done. If you do that, they may choose to hang out with one another but, remember, it's always their choice. back to top Submit a Question Can't find the answer? Submit a question and our experts will see what they can come up with. Related Content ARTICLES: > Religion In The Workplace: An Uncharted Journey We Must Take > Critical Success Factors for a Diversity Council > Four Business Issues > Q&As on the ADA CASE STUDIES: > New Employee with Wheelchair > Ignoring the Disabled? > Caring for Mother > Daddy Doormat Q&As: > The Attorney is Expecting > A Matter of Mental Health > Qualified or Given a Pass? > Newly Revealed Transgender Employee DOWNLOADABLES: > So Your Employee Has a Medical Condition... > Your Employee is Expecting > Support Employees With Senior Parents > Relationship vs. Task Copyright © 2008 Novations Group, Inc. All rights reserved.