Due to the fact that we live in an increasingly fast-paced and competitive work world, many companies have realized the importance of team cohesion and team feelings. To achieve this, many companies have decided to start team building activities.
But what is team building?
Team building is a set of activities that can be dynamics or strategies designed to strengthen relationships and cooperation among team members. Its main objective is to improve communication, trust and coordination between members of the same team. In addition, they help develop soft skills such as leadership, empathy, conflict resolution and collective decision making.
But these activities can take place in many different environments. Such as at work, in workshops, or even outdoors. That's where interaction with nature enhances the benefits, including stress reduction and increased creativity.
Due to these benefits, the alternative of carrying out team building activities in nature has become much more popular.
Below, we explain the benefits of outdoor team building and give you some options.
Benefits of team building in nature
Encourages collaboration and communication
The first benefit of these types of outdoor activities is that they foster effective communication and collaboration. Some of the activities that can be done are group hiking, orienteering challenges or outdoor problem-solving exercises. By taking place in natural environments, the team must interact and cooperate in ways that differ from the office environment.
In these activities, the absence of hierarchies (managers and employees) and the focus on common goals make the team feel freer to express their ideas and make decisions together.
An example of this is in a company, the sales team goes on a rafting activity in a single boat. In this activity it is necessary to coordinate completely in order to avoid obstacles and reach the end of the route without problems. This activity strengthens team bonding, trust in all members and improves communication between them without obstacles such as hierarchy. Seeing how each member of the team contributes to a smooth arrival makes the trust between the team increase. As a consequence, communication in the office improves, as well as collaboration among the team. This improves cohesion and efficiency in joint projects.
Improves physical and mental health
Another major benefit is the impact of the natural environment on physical and mental health. Being outdoors reduces cortisol levels and promotes an overall sense of well-being. Activities such as hiking, yoga in nature or simply spending time in a green environment can decrease anxiety and improve the mood of workers.
A pilot study found that workers who spent at least 30 minutes a day working outdoors for five days reported a reduction in self-perceived stress of 15% compared to a normal week. This is very significant, as it shows us the importance of contact with nature.
Therefore, if we mix active team building activities and in nature can make, by the fact of being in nature, a reduction of stress, improvement of physical well-being by performing physical activities and all this together with an increase in teamwork and confidence in colleagues.
Stimulates creativity
Another of the most important benefits of nature is that it has the unique ability to stimulate creativity.
Research has shown that simply being in a natural environment can significantly increase the ability to solve problems in innovative ways. Without the constant distractions of digital life and the office environment, employees have a free mind to wander and explore new ideas.
For example, a brainstorming session in a park can be much more fruitful than in a conference room. Fresh air, the sound of water or birdsong can provide sensory stimuli that trigger new perspectives and creative solutions. For example, a marketing team hosting a mountain retreat might find brainstorming much more productive than in their usual office environment.
A study by the University of Utah and the University of Kansas (Creativity in the Wild: Improving Creative Reasoning through Immersion in Natural Settings) showed that people who participate in outdoor activities have a 50% increase in their ability to solve creative problems.
Strengthens Personal Bonds
Another benefit of team building, especially outdoor team building, is that it strengthens personal bonds among team members.
An example of this is an engineering team spending a weekend in a mountain or rural environment. There they engage in activities such as hiking, fishing, bike tours or evening barbecues. This provides fun and relaxation with their team members. Also, by being in an environment outside the office, they can get to know each other on a more personal level and away from the roles and stress of the office. Upon returning to work, these strengthened personal bonds can translate into greater collaboration and a more cohesive work environment.
Real cases: There are several technology companies in Spain that conduct retreats in the mountains or rural environments for their teams. In these companies they have observed a significant increase in the commitment and cohesion of their team.
Promotes a positive corporate culture
Incorporating nature into team building activities reflects a commitment to employee well-being and the environment. This perspective not only benefits current employees, but also attracts talent that values a positive and sustainable company culture.
After seeing these 5 benefits, here are some team building ideas that you can do outdoors.
Some ideas for team building in nature
Some of the initiatives that you can implement in your company may be the following:
- Hiking with dynamics: guided mountain routes with stops to solve group tests, such as orienteering tests, riddles or trust games.
- Team rafting or kayaking: ideal to promote coordination and work under pressure.
- Multi-adventure circuits (such as zip-line circuits, suspension bridges): help to overcome fears and promote cohesion.
- Gymkhana by teams.
- Natural escape room: outdoor version with tests hidden in the environment.
- Quad biking route through natural environments.
- Creation of community gardens at work.
As we have seen, contact with nature during team building not only offers a respite from the office, but also provides benefits for the company and employees, such as improved collaboration, health, creativity and relationships within the team. If you are thinking of doing a team building activity team building in La RiojaContact us, as we have a wide variety of team building activities to suit your team.
