Software company HubSpot released their 2023 Hybrid Work Report, further entitled “the Age of Connection”. As workplaces continue to become transformed through the implementation of digital technologies as well as sociocultural changes, they discovered insights on how to build a connected workforce.
Among their findings, team-building events were mentioned as a driver for strong workplace culture. The ever-evolving workplace cultures globally mean that employers should consider new ways to maintain connectivity in the workplace. The pandemic has caused the normalisation of remote working, which has led to many still implementing some form of remote work – such as hybrid working – long after pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted.
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Not being in physical proximity with co-workers may cause concerns of a disconnected workforce, and thus many employees have expressed their desire for more team-building events.
Findings of the Report
As a background, the report is based on a survey in December 2022 that involved employees in the USA, UK, Australia, France, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Singapore, Germany and Colombia. They comprised full-time employees over 18 years old, across three working models – remote, in-office and flex (hybrid). These employees come from various ethnic backgrounds.
The report mentions that prior to the pandemic, a connected workplace was the default state. As the world transitions to a more hybrid working model, it is more challenging to create spontaneous moments of human connection in the workplace. It is important to create a workplace culture that can help foster the best work out of employees, and it is proving to become more challenging now.
Although 70% of people felt connected to their company’s culture, only 34% feel strongly connected to their co-workers. This is a key issue to focus on, as the connection between colleagues affects retention – 70% of remote workers, 65% of in-office workers and 67% of flex workers admit that having a close friend at work affects their intention to stay.
Employees are now seeking more meaningful ways to connect with each other, both online and in person. Across all countries in the survey, 43% of employees would like to have more team-building events. For employees in the UK specifically, 45% would like team-building events.
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Team Building Events
Team building events and strategies have long become a part of workplaces. However, as mentioned before, new challenges are now presented as many workplaces move towards more technologically mediated work models.
A solid workforce is created not just through the recruiting of competent and skilful talent, but also through the fostering of a connected company culture that will enable employees to bring their best work to the table. Among other things, having a solid team means that work can become more enjoyable as colleagues have a good sense of trust with each other and can improve collaboration.
The importance of team building has been discussed by many, including Indeed and LinkedIn, in which they discuss the benefits of team building in the workplace. Overall, it is widely known that team building is beneficial to boost trust, innovation, productivity, communication and company culture.