In any workplace, it is important to develop and maintain a cohesive and supportive atmosphere for all employees. When an organization has high morale and camaraderie among colleagues, it is likely to be more profitable and benefit from lower turnover numbers. If people enjoy being at their place of employment, they will work harder and more efficiently, and enjoy an overall healthier lifestyle both at work and at home. One way to encourage this type of atmosphere in an organization is to offer team building activities. Team building is a vital practice that helps to promote companionship, communication, and collaboration among employees in any workplace. Team building activities often involve problem solving across a variety of fields and skills, so it encourages communication among your employees. By offering tasks that favor different kinds of talents, it allows workers to step up when they are needed and learn from their coworkers in areas where they may lack the knowledge or skill necessary to solve the problem. Colleagues will get to know more about their strengths and weaknesses and learn to support each other when assistance is needed. This can translate to improved productivity at the office. Employees that may not have known each other before the team building activities might now be willing to reach across the aisle to a different department and offer advice drawn from their unique experiences and expertise. With this strengthening of inter-departmental relationships will come increased willingness and ability to collaborate. Not every project in a work environment can be completed by one department alone. In a corporate environment, a project may require sales, accounting, and marketing to come together to create a thorough and informative presentation. Restaurants need to have harmony between wait staff, management, and kitchen workers if they want to function as a well-oiled machine. Team building exercises can help your employees to understand their roles in every process and feel confident in their abilities to contribute to the overall health of the organization. Companionship is another benefit derived from the practice of team building. Many people start their job at a new organization not knowing any of those around them and avoiding social interaction. With the proper team building methods, these workers can get to know their colleagues and start to enjoy their conversations and camaraderie. This contributes to a healthier work environment in which everyone wants to talk to each other and come to work every day, rather than simply punching in and watching the clock waiting for the time to go home. When workers can enjoy the company of other employees, it makes the day go by faster and it helps them feel motivated to contribute to the organization. Any organization that is suffering from low morale or high turnover should consider booking a team building outing for its employees. They may just feel like individual cogs in a machine rather than part of a caring and supportive team. If they work together to solve new and interesting puzzles and problems, it can help them to see each other as companions rather than just coworkers. This is a major benefit to any company that wants to succeed.