Working from home, remote working, hybrid working. Whatever work model your company chose to go for in the post-pandemic world, there’s an element that’s universal to all of them (and probably one of the main challenges for the HR people): how to make sure connections between team members are maintained.
Let’s be honest: some of the best things cannot be done alone. Think of the Avengers heroes pulling the world back from the brink of disaster, or Apollo 13’s crew working together against the odds to return to Earth. They have all required some pretty amazing work with two or more brains thinking in close proximity.
And while meeting team members after months of seclusion might not be a great experience for everyone, there are quite a few benefits to spending a good part of your day with your work pals.
From increasing the levels of happiness to boosting self-esteem, here are some of the main reasons why it should be part of your work routine - and how Desana's new functionality can help you do that.
Working together makes you happier
To start with, teamwork makes people happier. According to a study by Atlassian, in companies that encourage their teams to practice honest feedback, mutual respect and personal openness, employees were 80% more likely to report higher levels of happiness and emotional well-being. It’s no secret we all like to work with nice people around us and apparently the more we do, the happier we are.
Some of our users said that a big part of the excitement of using Desana is because they can meet up with their colleagues.
Apparently, the act of meeting peers also changes us on an individual level: being part of a team helps with our growth. A report from McKinsey & Company shows that by working closely with other people, we are exposed to new ideas and perspectives, especially when immersed in environments with people from different backgrounds and experiences.
And beyond that, by maintaining these relationships we might end up learning something new about ourselves: “we all have blind spots about our behaviours and strengths that we may be unaware of, and feedback from a team member can expose them,” says Susan McDaniel, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Working with colleagues boosts morale and motivation
We are social creatures, and although we did pretty well in isolation in the past year, being together with other people plays a fundamental role in our self-esteem and motivation.
Think of the moments when you were tired or under pressure. In a traditional office scenario, you could take a break to meet a colleague for a coffee, or have a quick chat while enjoying the company roof terrace. When working by ourselves, we often miss the opportunity to connect and unwind.
Our teammates can provide us with an extra energy boost that we need to power through, especially when we are working in the same environment.
Being close to our peers also helps with our motivation and sense of belonging. Sharing success improves team motivation while talking about failures brings light to gloomy days.
Also, when we are physically together as part of a communal goal - whether it means reaching a target or spending quality time with the team - we feel more connected to the company and thus more fulfilled and proud of our work.
Finding your team members with Desana
At Desana, we love working with our colleagues. Not only because we are a bunch of amazing, smart, talented and gorgeous human beings (hem hem), but also because we know how important it is to our mental health and personal growth. We’ve also seen first-hand how frequently teams choose to book the same space so they can be together.
So we decided to make it easier to connect: our users can now find their colleagues when choosing their workspace and book it together.
No longer do you have to spend ages working out logistics or going back through screeds of messages to find out where people are working. Instead, it's easy to click on the Team Booking section of the app and choose a booking you want to join.
And to protect your privacy, if you don’t want people to know where you are working from, for whatever reason, that’s possible too.
Thinking about the best way to connect with your team? Find out how Desana can help you.