Study stresses the pros of shared experiences between various employee groups<\/p>\n
The department meeting is going to be a long one, or several team members need to put in a few extra hours to deal with an unexpected deadline. These situations often call for pizza \u2013 the world\u2019s most popular takeaway food.<\/p>\n
Did an overeager colleague burn her mouth? Did he belch because of the spicy topping? Surprisingly, it\u2019s such funny, awkward or even embarrassing moments that bring people closer together, according to an international team of researchers.<\/p>\n
Creating memories around shared experiences like having a pizza can build camaraderie. The findings were published in the \u2018Journal of Management Studies\u2019.<\/p>\n
The study also found that management can exploit the potential of shared experiences to strengthen working relationships across teams. Businesses stand to benefit by providing opportunities for employees to form lasting memories together.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne major takeaway from this research is that, for larger projects involving people in different occupations or experience levels within the same company, you\u2019ll need some kind of shared experience that enables them not only to work more effectively together but also be more comfortable sharing their ideas,\u201d explained co-author Matthew Lyle, assistant professor at Binghamton University in the United States, in a news release. \u201cIt could also be like a double-edged sword in a way because, if the event is strong enough to bring people together, it could also disrupt established groups.\u201d<\/p>\n
The researchers analysed a case study of the South Korean public broadcaster TelvCorp\u2019s major 170-day strike by reporters. Other staff members were cautious about joining the cause until the CEO fired union leaders. The action triggered conversations across workplace roles that resulted in powerful collaboration. This setting nurtured what the study refers to as a mnemonic community \u2013 a group sharing nostalgic memories of the past. The group outlived the strike.<\/p>\n
Despite this, a rift was caused between the striking and non-striking employees. \u201cWhen the strike was over, the situation became more complicated because things were unlikely to go back to the way they were at that workplace,\u201d stated Lyle. \u201cNow, there\u2019s a new group after the strike, with some people saying they could no longer see colleagues who chose an opposite side in the strike as good people.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, could trivial experiences such as those involving steaming hot or spicy pizza actually help to effectively solve a problem together?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re in the in-group, you\u2019re more likely to help each other out and have each other\u2019s backs,\u201d concluded Lyle. \u201cWe know we can create those things artificially, but why not create them around some shared experience that makes a memory, that makes people want to work together?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Study stresses the pros of shared experiences between various employee groups The department meeting is going to be a long one, or several team members need to put in a few extra hours to deal with an unexpected deadline. These situations often call for pizza \u2013 the world\u2019s most popular takeaway food. Did an overeager\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_scj_primary_category_id":130,"_scj_featured":true,"_scj_featured_from":"","_scj_featured_until":"","_scj_featured_order":201,"_scj_visibility_class":"current","_scj_layout_family":"standard","_scj_article_style":"","_scj_display_overrides":[],"_scj_intro_image_id":19183,"_scj_intro_alt":"Want to build teamwork at the office? Get a pizza!","_scj_intro_caption":"","_scj_intro_class":"","_scj_intro_float":"","_scj_full_image_id":19183,"_scj_full_alt":"Want to build teamwork at the office? Get a pizza!","_scj_full_caption":"","_scj_full_class":"","_scj_full_float":"","_scj_media_type":"","_scj_media_provider":"","_scj_media_external_id":"","_scj_media_url":"","_scj_media_poster_id":0,"_scj_media_width":0,"_scj_media_height":0,"_scj_media_aspect_ratio":"","_scj_media_description":"","_scj_gallery_items":[],"_scj_related_post_ids":[],"_scj_additional_authors":[],"scj_layout_family":"standard","scj_media_provider":"","scj_media_url":"","scj_full_caption":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"yoast_head":"\n