There's a bad atmosphere in my team. How can I improve it?

Short answer: a bad atmosphere improves when you find the cause and change daily work, not with a one-off team-building day. Run an anonymous survey, share the results and pick 2 or 3 visible changes.

Common causes

• Overload and constant urgency.
• Lack of recognition.
• A manager who is absent or over-controlling.
• Perceived unfairness in how work is shared.
• Unresolved conflict.

Changes with quick impact

• Shorter meetings with an agenda.
• Rules on out-of-hours messages.
• Regular one-to-ones with each person.
• Specific, weekly recognition.

For an offsite that does more than entertain, see wellbeing team retreats in Portugal. To find the cause first, see psychosocial risk assessment in Ireland.

Assess your team's work environment →