Smells like team spirit!
A recent report (Gallup’s State of the Global Workforce 2025) has recorded a disappointingly low global employee engagement of 21%. This figure drops further to 10% in relation to the UK, with 83% of employees reporting that they are not engaged in their work and workplace and 7% that they are actively disengaged. Regardless of whether we think this is a true reflection of UK workplaces, one way to encourage engagement is to help foster good workplace relationships. While not everyone can be besties with their colleagues, having a team that can communicate with one another and feel comfortable collaborating can make for a much more productive and happier workforce and one way to achieve this is to get on board with team building. Team-building events can improve workplace communication and, when done right, can have a long-term positive impact.
New takes on tired traditions
The suggestion of a team-building event is often met with groans and a healthy dose of scepticism, with traditional team-building approaches sometimes seen as somewhat artificial and tiresome, but weekend yoga retreats and trust falls aren’t the only way to help build team spirit. Employers can start small, with events such as company-funded team lunches or coffee and cake breaks to encourage people to down tools and socialise with one another. Holding company-wide activities or events which require people to work as a team, like paintballing, going to an escape room or working towards a common cause, such as raising money for charity, can encourage staff to work together in a more organic and less contrived way. Perhaps hold a staff quiz or drinks nights to provide a more relaxed, out of office opportunity for people to mix. Consider sending groups of people to relevant conferences. This allows for networking and learning opportunities but also for them to spend time together outside of the office.
Putting people at ease
When opting for more formal team building, be mindful of making sure that nobody is made to feel uncomfortable. Speaking in front of groups of people isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and if it isn’t a necessary skill for an individual’s role, there’s no real benefit to making such participation a requirement in a team-building exercise. Equally, avoid putting anyone on the spot: going round the room and asking everyone to introduce themselves is unlikely to be too controversial, but tagging on requests such as, “tell everyone something interesting about yourself”, may feel too personal to some people or have others feeling under pressure to up their game when they have to follow their colleague’s announcement that they were the under-18 world domino champion!
Encouraging good relationships between employees can make for a more harmonious and collaborative workforce but there’s a fine line between facilitating connections and trying to force them. Take cues from employees as to which type of events they would enjoy and which ones they would rather resign than have to attend, and with the right approach, team spirit (along with productivity!) should hopefully be soaring!