Posted on: November 19, 2021 Posted by: Aaron_George Comments: 0

After the utter devastation of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic that affected businesses across all industries around the country, as winter and Christmas approaches, your employees certainly deserve a well-earned break. Furthermore, in times such as these, camaraderie and even friendship between co-workers is even more of a priority than ever before.

As any professional and successful business owner knows and understands, the key to a productive and efficient workplace and working atmosphere is the formation of genuine bonds and connections between colleagues.

With that being said, continue reading to discover the top four ways to encourage bonding and friendship amongst your employees.

Organize a Brunch

There are a wide plethora of benefits to inviting your team members to bond over brunch, away from the pressures and time constraints of an office setting.

If you are planning on organizing a brunch on a working day, you can book an allotted time slot and let everyone know of the date in the morning briefing or else in the proverbial ‘round robin’ e-mail. Conversely, however, if you would like to organize a much less formal get-together with yourself and your employees, a delicious and boozy bottomless brunch at a truly authentic Italian restaurant, such as fratelli-italian.co.uk, would be just the ticket.

Place an Emphasis on Team Activities

When tasked with, for example, heading up a first-aid refresher course in the conference room, or perhaps a team-sales drive, the more you encourage team activities, and group work, the more natural and organic the bonds between your individual staff members will be.

Alternatively, you could always think like the Americans and arrange a team outing for an experience or activity day. If you do decide to pursue this avenue, endeavor to make the day feel natural and in no way anywhere near ‘forced fun’, which is possibly the most cringe-making and generally hideous ordeal to put your employees through (although they would be sure to bond over how awful your planned day out is).

Cultivate a Relaxed Atmosphere in the Staff Room

As the staff room in your office is going to be one of the only places where your employees can truly relax, the more warming and inviting you invest time in making it, the more likely natural conversation between individuals will flow.

Ways to encourage a relaxed and informal atmosphere in your staff room or breakout space include the addition of a small snack bar, an office library to encourage employees to discuss and share their favorite books, and by ensuring that the chairs and sofas provided are aesthetically pleasing and genuinely comfortable.

Be an Approachable Manager to Set the Example

There is no feasible way you could possibly expect your employees to be open, authentic, and honest with each other on a personal basis if you are not this way yourself.

Listen to the worries and concerns of your staff and always ensure to praise and celebrate individual employee achievements as and when.

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