Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/smgTvepind4
Team building has long been known to help improve workplace relationships and bring team members together. The shift to remote work has helped many workers find enhanced work-life balance, but remote work has also increased the demand for team-building activities. Whether your team is working remotely due to health concerns or if you are separated by distance, virtual team-building activities can bring you all together and help your team work together. Here are some of the benefits of virtual team-building activities.
What is Virtual Team Building?
Team building is the practice of getting everyone together to complete activities, attend an event, share a meal or just enjoy one another’s company. The activity helps coworkers connect outside of work, which can prove beneficial when working together and taking care of business. Virtual team building is a type of virtual corporate events that comes in many forms, allowing team members to connect and share an experience without being together in person.
Due to the time and cost involved, team-building activities are often overlooked. It may seem crazy to bring everyone together and to purposefully not work. However, team-building activities can provide long-term benefits. Selecting a virtual event that is already organized will save team members time and allow everyone to enjoy the event as an involved and engaged participant.
Team Building Benefits
Team building events can come in many forms, but similar results can be expected from whatever type of event is organized. Getting everyone together to share an experience can help coworkers connect, translating into improved working relationships.
1. Improved Communication
Team building activities create a more relaxed and fun environment separate from demanding and sometimes stressful work situations. The laid-back team-building event can allow coworkers to learn more about one another and give people something to talk about besides work. This increased communication can help team members connect and better discuss and take on work-related issues.
2. Increased Productivity
Improved communication leads to increased productivity. When employees are comfortable communicating with one another, they are more likely to reach out, discuss concerns, and troubleshoot possible issues. Improved communication and collaboration lead to increased productivity.
3. Keep People Connected
Remote work has proven to be a great experience in many regards, but it can be isolating. Many people find themselves lonely after working from home, especially for an extended period of time. That regular interaction of chatting with someone after running into them in the kitchen or passing in a hallway is gone. Getting everyone together, even if it is over Zoom or some kind of virtual meetup, replicates the experience of working in the same physical location. Virtual team-building events provide an opportunity for coworkers to catch up and interact with each other outside of the requirements of work.
Team building is also a great way to bring people together who may not usually have a reason or a chance to talk. Getting people together can help strengthen bonds across departments and may prove helpful for future projects and endeavors.
4. Build Moral
Team building activities can create excitement about working together and being part of a team. Employees will also appreciate the effort taken by management to organize a team-building event. Organizing a team-building event shows employees that their bosses care about and value them and that their supervisors want to invest in the team.
5. Mental Health Improvement
Work can be stressful as deadlines approach and unexpected problems surface. Also, the past couple of years have been stressful for team members in different ways, so it is possible and likely that some people may be dealing with more anxiety and worry. Increased stress and uncertainty can take a toll on individuals and can negatively impact the team.
Taking a step back to enjoy time spent together without the responsibilities of work weighing on everyone can help team members clear their minds and improve mental health. Taking a mental health break can help each individual, which will build a stronger team.
6. Have Fun
Virtual team-building activities help strengthen a team by bringing everyone together, which is undoubtedly good for the team. However, team-building activities are also an opportunity for individuals to have fun, relax and take a break from the demands of their job. Enjoying one another’s company or sharing an experience can simply be an entertaining way to pass some time.
Help Your Team
Planning a virtual team-building activity will keep your team connected even when distance keeps them apart. Team building activities have also been practical and helpful in creating a solid and effective team, and as remote work becomes the new normal, there is an increased need and demand for virtual team building. Team building activities provide a host of benefits that will ultimately help each employee and the team as a whole. If you are looking for a way to help improve communication and productivity while building morale and relieving stress, then a virtual team-building activity may just be the thing.
