TEAM-WORK OR TEAM-PLAY?: HOW PLAY IN TEAMS FOSTERS TEAM COHESION

Abstract: Despite the increasing attention paid to improving team outcomes, we have a less clear understanding of how to foster cohesion to optimize team functioning. We take a novel perspective on the topic by proposing that the activity of play may represent a particularly powerful form of improving team processes via cohesion. We conceptualize play as an activity conducted for entertainment, involving active participation, and governed by unconventional norms of behavior. We use a critical incident technique study to distinguish play from other forms of contact that have been studied in the intergroup literature (i.e., work, leisure, intimate conversations) (Study 1) and a field experiment to show the effects of a brief play intervention on team cohesion (Study 2). Overall, these findings provide experimental evidence that play is a novel and potent means of enhancing social cohesion among adults in team contexts.

Keywords: play, teams, relationships, psychological safety, interventions