There’s no need to head off on expensive team-building weekends when you want some staff bonding time, staying in the office is just as good, according to the Institute of Employment Studies.
Companies that usually spend hundreds of pounds on going out to carry out bonding exercises off the job can easily carry out activities in the workplace, including office space in London, Manchester and Milton Keynes.
Penny Tamkin, associate directors of the institute, suggested that team bonding in and out of the office can complement each other, making for a stronger outcome.
She added: “We have seen organisations use projects at work where loads of people will be working together on something that’s really difficult, really new, and different to their day job. You don’t have to do it ‘off job’, but what that does give you, which nothing else will, is a really sharp injection of not taking it too seriously. That really helps if you are trying to get people to open up and be more like themselves. The fun stuff is a way of getting past a particular problem.”
The Team Building Directory suggests that the benefits of staff bonding include improved morale, defining barriers which inhibit creativity and identifying strengths and weaknesses in staff.
