The State of Disconnection
Though the “pandemic” caused by COVID-19 is officially over, we are still dealing with the way our world was turned upside down, especially related to increased feelings of disconnection. From levels of disagreements around politics and policies to feelings of disconnection at work caused by working remotely, we are playing catch up about how to talk to each other respectfully, work together collaboratively, and live side by side among people who might have fundamentally different values from ourselves.
Add to this, disparate workforces trying to figure out if they are going to remain remote, have a hybrid schedule, or be forced back into the office together. Companies have to figure out a way to bridge the divide between their employees because disconnection in the workplace has tangible downsides including higher employee turnover, “lower productivity, more missed days at work, and lower quality of work,” according to Harvard Business Review.
The situation seems dire, the stakes are high, and many of us are looking for answers along with someone to blame. At times, our differences can feel like the natural scapegoat for these issues.
The Power of Diversity
More companies are starting to realize the power of understanding and leveraging variety among their workforce. From diversity in age, ethnicity, and culture to socio-economic backgrounds, physical ableness, and personality types, studies show diversity is a (really) good thing for businesses.
You might be thinking, “This all sounds good, but creating events to connect a diverse team is HARD. There’s no way everyone will participate and have fun.”
The Myth About Fun
Once in a while, we hear from concerned clients before an event asking if our Team Connecting events work for everyone. What they’re really worried about is whether our games are only fun for certain types of people, such as high-energy, extroverted sales groups or outgoing, confident leaders.
What we’ve witnessed first-hand is playing games works for all types of people and teams, including attendees who have confessed to us they don’t like games at all. This includes introverts, extroverts, highly analytical types, spontaneous risk takers, accountants, engineers, doctors, NFL players, entertainment network executives, and more.
Here’s the secret: the game doesn’t matter. It’s the shared experience that does.
If you create an environment of psychological safety and cultivate a shared experience with others, the vast majority will take away something positive from it.
Witnessing the Transformation
One of the best parts of our jobs is the chance to witness a group of different people having fun together. Event after event, we watch the transformation occur right in front of our eyes. We LOVE when attendees share they had doubts before our event but were pleasantly surprised by how much fun they had after.
It usually goes something like this:
- We sense apprehension and low energy from some participants.
- Our team makes a point to make sure everyone in the event feels seen and included.
- During the course of an event, we watch the apprehensive ones open up, smile, laugh, and by the end, even sing and dance.
We think singing and dancing are great indicators of people having fun!
But don’t take it from us – here’s what one of our clients from an accounting firm shared:
John and Team led a totally fun, engaging, and “shell breaking” event at our firm’s 100-year celebration. We had team members from five different offices and the events mixed up the group so we didn’t hang out with only our own offices. They also encouraged a bunch of CPAs to let down their hair and get to know each other a little bit more through games! Grin Events knocked it out of the park!!
Ready For Fun?
We make it as easy as 1, 2, 3
1.) Contact us:
- Email: smile@grin.events
- Website: web form
- Phone call: 619-972-4746 (we’re old school and actually prefer this method!)
2.) Tell us what your event goal is and we can suggest an event type.
3.) Let us know how many participants to expect and pick a date and time.
We take care of the rest!
