What is the Team-Building Approach to “Disconnect to Reconnect”?

We know that building relationships of mutual trust, respect, and even friendship between colleagues and bosses improve the quality of the team as well as the level of job satisfaction and team performance. Why, then, do so many teams in all industries dominated by technology struggle with building these relationships?

The answer is simple: relationships can’t be forced by relying upon instantaneous business communication (texts, emails, online platforms). Instead, relationships can be fostered by giving teammates the opportunity to build, grow, and maintain bonds through in-person interaction. Creating synergy through team building has never been more relevant than in this technology-dominated era. Humans are hardwired to seek connection and positive experiences to feel understood, supported and included and this drives decision-making in all aspects of our lives, including careers too.

The latest research suggests 69% of employees aren’t satisfied with the opportunities for connection in their workplace and 52% of employees want more connection at work with 38% even not trusting their coworkers as a result of disconnection.

There is also evidence that well-being remains a key issue for workers, with longer hours making it even harder to disconnect from work. According to this O.C.TANNER report, when team leaders feel less connected at work, burnout increases by 90%. Burnout is described in three dimensions by the World Health Organisation:

Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
“Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job” and…
“Reduced professional efficacy”

In another report due to the low social connection experience, there are far more employees developing mental health issues such as anxiety and depression at +158% with stress on the up at +77%.

If you're reading this post and you can’t remember the last time you had a productive meeting with your team, then you’re likely to be suffering from disconnection and it’s costing you. A 1-hour meeting with six attendees, each earning £100,000 a year, costs £50 per person for a total of £300. If half of those meetings don’t end with clear expectations and the next steps it becomes expensive and that isn’t just financial but also the emotional cost of feeling frustrated, drained, and even more lost than before a bad meeting.

In this post, I will define what it means to disconnect to connect, show a few examples of how it can be used in business today and provide best practices for getting started with disconnecting to connect at your company.

What is the ‘Disconnect to Reconnect’ team-building approach?

This is a trend that many technology-using companies are beginning to use as an approach for team-building. It involves removing the team from technology to nurture relationships in person in order to foster trust. A digital detox allows relationships and team connections to form organically.

For example, while a status update shares critical information, it doesn’t strengthen the bonds among team members. A face-to-face team builder activity like asking thought-provoking and revealing questions in an outdoor setting can foster those connections.

Why is the approach ‘Disconnect to Reconnect’ important for team-building?

As many of us already know, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Despite the many benefits of technology, there are downsides to “always-on culture” and being available to others and the internet. The rise of video calls has magnified the problem of “meeting inertia” i.e. lack of desire to engage or take part in a meeting without some serious prompting because videos make the collaboration feel like it’s happening on TV, leaving team members feeling more like viewers rather than participants.

Always being available can increase stress and anxiety which is not the feelings you want to install in a team. In the modern age, we have less time to relax because even the sight of your phone on the table can leave a part of your brain that is active in preparation for a distraction at any moment and this can make it more difficult to focus and tune into what you are really doing. Research shows it takes approximately 23 minutes to refocus after being distracted.

The always-on culture pushes for higher productivity, and there is in some cases an unsettling trend for businesses to force employees to work past the end of the workday. Some even offer higher pay or days off as incentives to keep their employees productive after hours. Work-life balance suffers when this happens, and it's not uncommon to see employees experiencing burnout as a result. Disconnecting can actually contribute to the 5 Ways to Wellbeing practices also, access a quick guide on this for your workplace here.

In order to fully engage in a team setting, let’s be real, multitasking is a myth that results in decreased productivity and accuracy in both professional and personal realms. So being on your phone whilst in a meeting, or answering MS Teams/Slack text app notifications while you’re trying to reply to deep dive on some work are both ways you are dividing your attention and not truly focusing on either task.

Always being connected can decrease the creativity that comes from boredom. When you are constantly stimulated by readily accessible information, you are not allowing your brain time to process and digest the information you are getting in order to be innovative and creative. We live in a world that is so information overloaded that our brains do not have the time to be creative, which often comes about through boredom. When people have time to disconnect, they are given more mental capacity to bring creativity into their work. When employees are given the opportunity to unplug at night and on weekends, they are recharged and refreshed and come back to work with higher levels of creativity and engagement. When employees are more engaged they are more innovative and productive.

A recent LinkedIn poll showed that 31% of workers tend to stay connected to work even when on holiday. Employees who can take time off to unwind also tend to feel more valued by the company as an individual, rather than feeling like a replaceable piece of the business. This means that companies that encourage time to disconnect will actually have increased retention rates because employees aren’t burnt out and dissatisfied with work.

Shared experiences are the beginning of every relationship and they form in companies during the pursuit of a common goal. Even traumatic experiences can create connections that produce positive growth. The concept of “identity fusion” research from the University of Oxford suggests that shared challenges create cohesion that “can be channelled into peaceful and consensual forms of prosocial action”. There is an opportunity for leaders to simulate this effect with outdoor adventure experiences which provides platforms for connections that don’t exist in offices.

Tips, Strategies and Reminders for Disconnecting to Reconnect the Team

Shared team-building experiences

Bring the team together away from technology to help restore, rebuild and create connections that last, propelling business objectives in the process. A recent study discovered that 54% of employees want more friends at work and 54% of employees were willing to trade some of their compensation for more meaningful relationships with colleagues. When implemented effectively, shared adventure experiences help teams cultivate emotional safety and relational connection as once-unfamiliar employees will become acquainted with each other's habits, emotional cues and interpersonal personalities. Some examples of extraordinary team-shared experiences like the below bikepacking journey Isaac led in Wales. More experiences like this can be found on Isaac’s website.

2. Emails during working hours

It is too easy for employees to feel the need to answer every email. One practice is to ensure managers are not contacting employees after hours. An easy fix is for managers to schedule emails to be delivered during work hours.

3. Encourage undisrupted time off

Encourage employees to take vacation time -- employers can deactivate their email service during their vacation and reactivate it when they return. It is advised to set autoresponders to let people know when team members will return to work with information in the auto responders on who to contact for urgent matters.

4. Encourage Work-Life Balance

Encouraging employees to disconnect after work promotes work-life balance. Work-life balance enables employees to rest, do hobbies and spend quality time with their friends and family. Promoting this will lead to increased employee engagement, enhanced employee productivity, reduced burnout and improved company brand perception.

5. Headspace check-ins

Start a weekly green/yellow/red check-in to be sure that everyone is well-rested and eager to be productive at work. Employees may need some time to themselves depending on the check-in to get back to 100%.

6. Have team members create a separate workspace when working remotely with a set start and end time

If your team works from home, it's important to have a dedicated office or workspace where you can work away from the rest of your home. There should also be a remote working policy in place. Not only does this setup help you separate your work life from your home life, but it may also mean fewer distractions and greater productivity. If team members work from home, they often have the liberty to choose when to start and end their shifts. To help them disconnect from work, they can establish a routine so they know when it's time to step away. Having a set time range can also help them to stay focused during those hours so they can end their shift when they originally planned. If they plan to work certain hours, they should let their team know when they’re available and unavailable.

7. Encourage setting screen boundaries

During work people stare at screens all day, only to go home and stare at more screens after work. Here are some basic setting screen boundaries to combat this:

Create a less tech-centred environment - If your team member doesn’t need the tech for certain tasks place them out of reach so you are not motivated to use them.
Avoid late-night device usage - replace devices with something else like a book which can give the brain a rest, rather than stare at screens for longer than needed.
Use a screen time commitment application - a device/app that alerts team members when they’ve exceeded their screen time limit. You can also limit certain websites and apps on your devices too.

8. Suggest spending time alone

Most jobs involve meetings, calls and collaborating with colleagues and supervisors. Whether your team members are an introvert or an expert, setting aside time to be alone with their thoughts after work can be very beneficial and a form of disconnection to unwind and recover. Examples of spending time alone after work is: reading a book, going for a quick walk after dinner or meditating.

9. Plan time to disconnect ahead

Planning ahead can help your team to schedule a couple of times to disconnect from work. Every Monday, encourage team members to plan their schedule for the rest of the week and find some time to take a break and unwind. Knowing the times of their meetings and when they’re often the busiest at work can help them schedule quality time to relax and destress. If calendars are filled to the brim with meeting after meeting then how can any work be done within a jam-packed schedule? It may be worth defining what meetings should actually be meetings, to cut down the number of meetings. Another option is to have no-meeting Fridays, this can be done by hosting office hours instead of scheduling individual meetings.

10. Set aside time for real lunch breaks outdoors

Whether your team work onsite or at home, make sure they make time for a lunch break. Consider encouraging them to set a recurring time on their calendar for them to take lunch. While they can eat at their desk, a change of scenery can help them properly disconnect. Consider suggesting they take their lunch with coworkers or eat alone with their thoughts. Outside lunches are even better.

11. Ask for employee feedback about optimal benefits

Employees may suggest rethinking company initiatives addressing sick leave, productivity and other existing gaps in a company’s offerings.

12. Warm-ups and energizers

When you prioritise making space for your employees to build healthy relationships with each other they are less likely to feel isolated. These warm-ups are short exercises to be performed at the beginning of a meeting to introduce new team members, conquer awkwardness and help teammates get to know each other. They can be performed in person or online (depending on the distance between teams). Here are some examples.

13. Encourage learning something new

Engaging in inspiring activities outside of the office can help teams to disconnect from work. It can also foster creativity and be highly beneficial. Learning a new language, learning how to play the guitar, taking up a gym class and finding other ways to engage in an activity that is as removed from work as possible can help to disconnect. It also means there is more to share when teams reconnect from the learnings they have gained.

14. Analyse how much time each team member is spending online and set goals

This is essentially setting disconnection goals. For example, turning off notifications completely at lunch breaks means your team are not being distracted in their time of relaxation and resetting from work. If there are apps that aren’t supporting your team’s work productivity then these can be uninstalled which removes them completely and means one less thing to check for each employee. Try to minimise the number of apps by consolidating, which means less time logging in and out of so many apps for different work processes.

Disconnecting strategies is a no-brainer for teams!

Regardless of the approach of using disconnect to reconnect, these tips/tools and strategies will provide teams with an opportunity to support one another. Disconnection happens when collaboration is an afterthought, by fostering an environment of engagement, inclusivity, and belonging the team will grow a flourish.

No matter the job title, it’s important for everyone's health to take regular full breaks from work. Returning to work after a proper disconnection means employees will be refreshed, recharged and raring to go.

In business people are the greatest asset for companies and when they are reconnected by reducing the use of technology, providing opportunities to recover, create connections and collaborative opportunities the companies can become sustainable and make a positive impact that lasts. Whilst adventure experiences can guarantee that people will come together, creating shared team-building experiences is a powerful neurological and relational tool to help companies to solve their disconnection problems. See team-building experiences here on Isaac’s website.

Want to start your team-building reconnecting journey and reduce the disconnect at your workplace? Book a discovery call with Isaac for a free consultation on how he can help your teams! Booking Link.