It’s no secret that being cooped up in an office or huddled in a cubicle can impact everything from an employee’s mental state to their work ethic – especially if they see more of their desk than the park just outside the window. Just like energetic grammar school kids need recess, your team needs frequent changes to their office environment. Mix things up. Let your team ditch the desk for the day. We promise you’ll see a difference in work ethic and team morale just by getting out of the office.
From inspiring creativity to encouraging team bonding, getting out of the office is one way businesses battle group fatigue. We’ve pulled together 5 awesome reasons to help you understand why getting outside is good for business.
Inspiring Creativity
There are lots of factors that contribute to the loss of creativity. From work environments, stress levels, and our inability to disconnect from technology, creativity commonly falls by the wayside. Getting outside actually helps counter this creative-fatigue! How? Well, being outside stimulates the creative and problem solving parts of our brains. If your brain is overloaded or overwhelmed, getting outside in nature gives it a boost of energy.
Tip: Encourage employees to take a 30-minute walk during lunch. Move a daily meeting to a park or coffee shop. A simple change like this acts as a mini-retreat for your team. The new environment will revive them, helping them get back that creative spark.
Encouraging Team Building
Your employees are together for ⅓ of their entire day, 4 to 5 days a week. You can learn a lot about a person from sitting next to them at work but you’ll learn more if you interact with them outside such a confined space. The best way to up the ante for inter-office team building: Remove teams from their work spaces. Being outside the office will relax your team, encouraging them to share more and connect.
Tip: Fun team building activities, like scavenger hunts, are awesome ways to build camaraderie. Scavenger hunts and similar activities encourage teams to talk about non-work related topics. They’ll even foster friendly competition and communication skills! Plus, who doesn’t love a good field trip?
Boosting Productivity
76% of employees feel like they’re more productive outside of normal work hours. Why? Because removing workplace distractions is difficult. From chatty co-workers to delivery interruptions, there are no surefire ways to provide your employees will a distraction-free environment. If you can’t control the distractions, control the environment!
Tip: If you have the flexibility, allow your employees to work from home or a coffee shop once a month. The change of environment may actually inspire them to do better work. Freedom like this is a powerful tool for productivity.
New Spaces Inspire New Ideas
Inspiration is a finicky thing. It can strike in the oddest places but it can also hide from certain places, like the office. Whether you teams are staring at a computer screen for 8 hours a day or stuck in the motions of everyday work life, changing the environment can make a huge impact on their thought processes. New situations and surroundings are a great way to spark inspiration because they challenge your teams to think outside the norm.
Tip: Try a museum tour or team building cooking class! Just because you’re a software company doesn’t mean your employees won’t be inspired by a team building trip to the Museum of Natural History. A lifesize model of a blue whale or painting with a really good back story can get their brains working in ways the office won’t.
It’s fun!
Your teams deserve awesome rewards for their hard work, especially during stressful and busy days or months. Think of fun activities you can do as a group outside of work. Whether it’s post-work drinks or a volunteer day, doing fun activities together is always a good idea! Giving your teams something to look forward to is a great way to boost not only morale but also work ethic.
Tip: Take your team members out for cocktails on a Friday. Try unique team building activities like axe throwing or karaoke. The thrill of getting out of the office to relax and have fun will work wonders on all aspects of workplace culture.
We hope these tips inspire you to break down cubicles walls and traditional office work spaces. Let your teams work in a park! Set them free in an art museum! The possibilities really are endless.
