iscover
Team sports are a great way to get exercise, socialise, have fun, and learn important life lessons. The skills and experiences that a team sport can bring an individual are transferrable to most areas of life, especially work.
Benefits to children
Some of the benefits that team sports bring to a child, according to Australian Sports Camps (ASC), are listed as follows:
- Happiness
- Learn important values, such as respect, discipline, and patience
- Build self confidence
- Improve communication skills
- Time management
- Support system
- Making new friends
These core values are transferrable to all corners of life, the workplace is no exception.
Coppice HR’s benefits of workplace sport
Participating in team sports as a child is not the only way to enjoy the benefits.
Coppice HR discussed the rewards that playing sports together as a workplace can bring: “Encouraging employees to take up sports together would foster a sense of team spirit that could be reflected in how they get on during working hours. Playing sport also would often introduce a competitive edge, let alone improve workforce health and fitness. Absence levels improve when the workforce is active.”
A study by Hudson, referenced by Coppice HR, found that 80 per cent of men and 70 per cent of women believe that sports in the workplace would increase productivity. Forty-five per cent of men and 43 per cent of women said that playing a team sport with workmates would boost morale.
Even Hollywood is promoting team sports with workmates, with the recent Top Gun: Maverick film showing beach volleyball as a team building activity.
The Sydney Morning Herald agrees
The advantages of bringing team sports to work were further discussed in an article by The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).
Referencing research by the Journal of Sports Sciences, SMH stated: “The researchers reviewed every credible workplace study conducted on team sports ... What they found, of course, was that there were a number of proven health outcomes – less fat, fewer body pains, more energy, that kind of thing.”
SMH continued: “But what the scholars were especially interested in were the organisational benefits of promoting and facilitating team sports among employees. And what they found was evidence they can lead to better performance at work and more effective social interactions. They’re also a way through which hierarchical barriers can be knocked down, thereby also improving trust, communication, approachability, collaboration, and even a greater appreciation of diversity.”
With plenty of life lessons that team sports can bring both children and adults alike, participation brings more than just physical benefits. If you’re a parent tossing up whether to enrol your child in a sport or not, or an employer deciding if it would be a good addition to your workplace, the evidence above supports team sports.
RELATED TERMS
The goal of team building is to instil a culture of interdependence and trust among employees so that they feel appreciated for the work they do and appreciate what others bring to the table. Although this may be implemented as a training programme, it mainly depends on morale and company culture to develop a long-lasting, maintained feeling of team.
Jack Campbell
Jack is the editor at HR Leader.
