三和一善 | チームのメンタルリセット
Need a mental reset for your exhausted team? Try to dine al fresco
For a team working remotely and moving back and forth between the office, this is a strange 18 months. As a result, burnout is rising. In fact, in an Indeed survey in 2020, 52% of workers said they felt tired and stressed due to overwork and burnout, which is a 9% increase from the previous survey of COVID.
Burnout is not just a blow to team morale; research shows that job burnout can also lead to a decline in the productivity of individual workers. Moreover, every year American workers lose 550 million working days due to work pressure, causing losses of more than 500 billion U.S. dollars. Employers and team leaders need to find ways to reduce employee burnout and allow them to easily return to the workplace. Therefore, the question is how to accurately achieve this balance. One way I have seen success is to hold outdoor events, where your team can gather together in nature for an unforgettable dining and intimate experience.
Recently, I participated in a rich outdoor dining experience led by Mona Johnson and Jaret Foster, founders and chefs of Tournant, a company that creates immersive dining experiences. The group event was held in the evening on a hillside south of Portland, Oregon, overlooking the Starlight Mooring Farm. This is not only a unique event, but the community, dialogue, and spiritual reset it triggered in my heart make it a perfect low-risk, low-stress environment for team building and morale boosting.
"When they came to the table," Mona said, "They already feel that they have put their energy into the meal and become part of the experience."
Benefits of dining outdoors as a team
How can something as simple as outdoor dining improve team performance together? It boils down to one of these main benefits.
It connects the team together. Most office interactions usually involve talking about work. However, knowing who you spend hours with each week can help build deeper social relationships with colleagues. A study conducted by Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois found that nearly two-thirds of employees treat each other as strict colleagues or even strangers in the workplace. A high-pressure work environment can make it difficult for your employees to communicate with each other. But in leisure activities, such as eating outdoors together, this tension will disappear.
It can improve physical and mental health. Studies have shown that due to reduced cortisol, muscle tension, blood pressure, and brain activity will drop within a few minutes of exposure to nature. A 2015 Stanford University study responded to this, reporting that outdoor activities have significant benefits.
"When we cook together in the wild, guests can feel a certain kind of alchemy," Foster said when asked why Tunant prefers to cook for their customers outdoors.
It improves concentration. Whether it's a lunch break or relaxation after get off work, research shows that time spent outdoors can relieve brain fatigue and improve concentration and concentration. Therefore, by spending more time outdoors, the team will be more focused; more focused teammates can do more work.
Why outdoor activities help us reinvigorate
A 2015 Cornell University study found that when employees eat together, they do better than those who skip meals. Organizing team dinners outdoors will elevate this impact to a completely different level.
"Time and time again, we have witnessed people becoming disconnected from work, worries, mobile phones and the stressors of daily life," Mona said. "[Then,] They reconnected with the present, the people around, the beautiful environment, and the joy of sharing the food with their good partners."
She continued to share that she believes that people have realized that the meal they are enjoying will never be enjoyed by the same person in the same place again. This thought process creates a sense of intimacy and connection in the shared experience. As a work team, time sharing common experiences (such as outdoor dining) with colleagues can strengthen these connections.
My outdoor dining experience was an extraordinary spiritual reset, and it was also an unforgettable experience that I found very special. You and your team can also promote connections through the outdoor dining experience-not only with your team, but also with culinary experts and the benefits of nature. Next time you are looking for a simple team building event, you might as well organize an outdoor dining experience. It may be a literal and figurative breath of fresh air that you and your team need.
