From the time you are born, your life is defined by the people you love and those who love you back. When you’re a child, those relationships naturally form with your family and other children around you with shared experiences in schools, clubs, and extracurriculars. Once you move beyond higher education, though, your circle begins to stagnate with the friendships and relationships you have successfully maintained to that point. For some people, that’s still a large circle, but for many who have grown used to constant companionship, the loneliness of adulthood begins to set in. Because those connections are so important to someone’s level of success, it is beneficial to both employee and employer for the workplace to fill that hole through making friends at work and building new relationships that can last a lifetime and even help your career.

Here are the top three reasons you should call Small Group Team Building and get those workplace friendships started today:

1. Although breaking the ice takes effort it gets you workplace friends!

Today’s adults are sorely inept at interacting with the world around them. Smartphones, social media, and shifting interpretations of personal interactions have created a world of insular individuals. Something as simple as an icebreaker – the opening activity of any successful Small Group Team Building event – can remove employees from their comfort zones and get the conversation flowing. With any relationship, a conversation is the starting point so team building events are the first true step in creating friendships in the workplace.

2. A happy life requires relationships

The ultimate goal is to get employees communicating so that relationships can then grow and blossom into friendships. When true friendships are formed, they begin to transcend the work environment, providing employees with a healthier work-life balance and a stronger feeling of connection. As study after study has shown, employees who are happy in their personal lives will ultimately perform better at work and there will be an increase in workplace productivity, so it benefits all involved when the office becomes a breeding ground for friendship building.

3. It’s easier to work with friends than with enemies

It’s no secret that a conversation with someone you love is more productive than one with someone you hate. Now, that’s not to say that the office is responsible for facilitating positive friendships for everyone; however, it is to your benefit for your employees to get along well in order to have the focus remain on the job and not watercooler gossip. Using a team building event to increase connections and build relationships is a smart and simple way to go about establishing and maintaining friendships – and better communication – in the workplace.

For a company that is looking to expand productivity through the growth of relationships, Small Group Team Building events are the perfect start. The only downside to scheduling one will be asking yourself why you didn’t do it sooner!