Creative ways to keep your team in touch and connected

Emotions can be contagious 

Stress and anxiety can spread among a group. It is therefore important to mitigate stress and anxiety before they escalate between group members.

The role of supervisors

Emotion is even more contagious between supervisors and their staff. Staff look to their supervisors for cues about how to react to sudden changes or crisis situations. If the leader communicates stress and helplessness, this will have a trickle-down effect on staff.  

As a supervisor in a crisis situation such as this, you should: 

• Pay extra attention to your own wellbeing and be sure that you're physically and emotionally able to help others.
• Take care of yourself so that you can best care for others.
• Show positive emotional expression to uplift your staff's mood.

Building a social identity

Social identity is our internalised sense of membership in a group, like a team at work.

When a group’s sense of shared identity increases, members provide each other with more social support and resist the adverse effects of situational stressors.

You can develop a strong social identity through:

• A common goal – this can resolve conflicts and facilitate cooperation
• Positive group perception
• Shared norms and values.

These are three types of social support you can offer to your team:

1. Practical support (practical help, assistance, or financial support) 
2. Informational support (providing information and advice to help in problem solving)
3. Emotional support (comfort, sympathy, encouragement).