Why do team building events? To recover 

Whether onsite or virtually, the elephant in nearly every company boardroom is fear! COVID19 has transformed every nook and cranny of the American entrepreneurial landscape leaving fear in its wake. Team building events can help us all recover our sense of reality and stability in a very unreal, unpredictable world.

The Twilight Zone in living color

The American economy is making history every day—but not in a good way. 

At 15 percent in April, unemployment in the United States is now as bad as it was during the Great Depression of 1929. And the picture just gets bleaker. From cars to clothes, sales are plummeting. 

On a month-to-month basis, March 2020’s 8.7 percent drop in retail sales is alarming. In fact, it’s the largest drop since the Census Bureau began to track them! A 2 trillion dollar coronavirus stimulus bill has provided a temporary lifeline for millions of struggling families—but this relief is just that, temporary. 

Viral videos of people fighting over toilet paper should be a joke—but they’re not. They’re real. Surreal. One of my old TV favs, the Twilight Zone has come horribly to life! 

Nevertheless, life does go on, and so can we—together. We’re better together. It’s how we’re built. And nothing bonds us together better than a common focus. That’s where a  team building event can help.

Why do team building events? To reboot and retool

A complete systemic shutdown requires a reboot. The virtual business model could be a virtual pain in the neck, or it could be a fantastic opportunity to explore new ways of doing things. Team building should be about collaboration, inclusion, brainstorming, and creativity—these are the attributes that can really transform a group of people into a cohesive team.

Consider a staff survey of what is and isn’t working for them while working from home during this social distancing norm. It could make everyone feel more connected again. And this may be a great time to retool certain procedures and policies to make them more flexible, you know, like a virtual “break glass in case of emergency” kit.

Why do team building events? To restore connectedness

In spite of their best efforts, many managers are struggling to make their workers feel less adrift and more grounded. That need for stability, the sense of being anchored is probably subliminal, but nonetheless universal throughout corporate America.

Daily uncertainties generated by the pandemic can also generate fear and a sense of powerlessness. Hopelessness. Fortunately, nothing is more empowering than kindness. When you take your eyes off of yourself and help someone who’s in worse shape, your view of the world changes. Brightens. 

Virtual charitable team building events are the perfect way to restore corporate culture and help neighbors in need in your community.  For example, in addition to donating meals to health care workers and other heroic first responders, your colleagues could provide some comforting gifts to hospital patients.

For some of the COVID sufferers in your city, you could coordinate the donation of puzzles, books, journals, stationery, and magazines. Chapstick, lotions, aromatherapy gels, and other toiletries. Doctor-approved snacks and nick-nacks are always welcome. Fuzzy footies and flannel blankets can be as consoling to ailing adults as they are to most little kids. 

Why do team building events? To inspire hope

Thanks to COVID, pet therapy is also in the headlines. While this form of therapy isn’t new, we’ve all developed a heightened awareness of just how comforting pets have become to their lockdown families. In fact, animal shelters across the country have reported a serious uptick in adoptions since the pandemic started. What wonderful news when so much of what we hear is so bad!

No doubt, there are lots of people who would love to adopt a cat or dog but can’t afford the expense. Pet parenting is a lot like people parenting—the costs add up! Even before the pandemic, the initial cost of pet adoption could cost more than a thousand bucks during that first year—and that’s way out of reach for lots of cash-strapped families.

Your team could donate pet care products for an animal shelter to gift a prospective pet owner. Leashes. Fluffy beds and bedding. Water and food bowls. Scratching posts. Chew toys. Treats. This starter kit can bridge the financial gap and make it easier for a family to make that commitment.

 Charitable team building events can sow seeds of hope and healing in troubled, anxious hearts—for both the donors and the recipients.