Even though we spend an average of 40-50 hours at work weekly, we don’t really talk to each other while we’re there. Accounting is here. Finance is there. Executives are over here. Everyone works in a silo.
Holding a corporate retreat dismantles those silos, where you actually get to talk to Bob in Accounting. Such interactions are invaluable in creating an emotionally healthy corporate culture.
That’s because we all have feelings, every day, every hour. We are creatures driven by our feelings. This can be a good thing or become a nightmare, when factions in an office unite against one another in an ugly turf battle. In most cases, those strong, negative emotions that may arise among coworkers take a deep bite out of productivity.
Corporate retreats are the perfect time to reflect, refocus, and build stronger employee relationships through spending time together. Plus, they also provide a great excuse to have fun, wind down and reconnect with your co-workers. Yet, one of the most compelling reasons to have a corporate retreat is to provide staff with an opportunity to gain insight into how inner feelings affect outward performance. The field of emotional intelligence explores that invisible inner life that either boosts or drains an enterprise.
Training that focuses on helping workers understand how to manage their emotions can and does prevent those office blow-ups among staff members. But investing in increasing emotional intelligence among workers yields a payback, as there’s less stress, more contentment and higher productivity.
The goal of every manager should be to help employees and managers become more self-aware of unsettled emotions because upset people are less productive. Such conflicts drain staff members who otherwise would be doing just fine, if it weren’t for disruptions caused by an unhappy crew.
The disturbance in work routines and emotional tenor can take a big bite out of a company’s profits. You’ll see smiles spreading from one desk to the other when you learn how to help workers find contentment on the job.