Why rely on teams

A key pillar of the industrial revolution, a foundation of modern civilisation, was the division of labour. In a nutshell, teams make work more efficient.

That can lead to better productivity , reduced costs, greater profitability, and many other benefits. When one person does a task alone, they have total autonomy — but if that person starts to work slowly or ineffectively, who will set them straight? In teamwork, many people have responsibility for the same goal. Without management intervention, effective teams can often regulate their own performance. For any task or problem, there are usually countless solutions.

When one employee tackles a project, they might be able to think of a few different ideas given time. But when a team tackles a problem, the project benefits from multiple perspectives, skillsets , and experiences all at once. Diversity is a well-documented pathway to unlocking new opportunities, overcoming new challenges, and gaining new insights. It found teams made up of members from diverse backgrounds gender, age, ethnicity, etc.

Instead of looking at an issue from your individual vantage point, you get a degree picture, which can lead to an exponential increase in ideas. Research from Tufts University suggests that just being exposed to diversity can shift the way you think. A study on a diverse mock jury found that interacting with individuals who are different forces people to be more open minded, and to expect that reaching consensus will take effort.

We surveyed more than 1, team members across a range of industries and found that when honest feedback, mutual respect, and personal openness were encouraged, team members were 80 percent more likely to report higher emotional well-being. Having happy employees is a worthwhile goal in itself, but the company benefits, too.

Research from the University of Warwick in England suggests happy employees are up to 20 percent more productive than unhappy employees. You might discover new concepts from colleagues with different experiences.

Recognizing these strengths and addressing the weaknesses can make you a better team member, and even a better person. A recent Gallup study of nearly 7, full-time employees found that 23 percent of employees feel burned out at work very often or always. Another 44 percent say they sometimes feel this way. What helps? Sharing the load. In addition to providing team members with experience, benefits of teamwork include increased efficiency, financial savings, innovation and morale. Teamwork fosters creativity and innovation, blends complementary strengths, improves morale and provides greater flexibility in the workplace.

Teamwork allows employees to take greater responsibility for decision making and also allows team members to control more of the work process. This can lead to improved morale as employees gain more authority and ownership over the projects they are working on.

The extra responsibility can lead to a more rewarding work environment and lower turnover. Working on a team also gives employees a greater sense of belonging and of recognition, which helps them take more pride in their work, and their company.

In workplaces where teamwork isn't consistent, establishing groups helps build stronger relationships between employees and lets individuals learn to work through a disagreement. Establishing teams, even when they aren't necessary, creates an environment where workers continue to take pride in independent accomplishments while also celebrating the contributions of coworkers. When a dispute arises, the team must settle the issue and resolve conflicting ideas instead of a manager interceding.