Why do employees quit despite frequent team building and happy hours?

Each year, companies organize many activities for employees such as group trips, movie nights, environmental protection initiatives, New Year parties and more. While companies often conduct employee satisfaction surveys after events, does this truly improve employee relationships?

Team building activities and happy hours aim to help employees better understand each other and even resolve conflicts. However, rather than focus on organizing events, companies could ask themselves what actually impacts employee relationships, such as employee and manager needs.

Many high-tech companies in Vietnam have transitioned team bonding activities to an employee relations department tasked with proactively caring for employees and strengthening work-life relationships.

As such, employee relations departments typically organize end-of-year parties, tours, family sports games, BBQs, movie reviews, karaoke nights and visits to retirement homes or kindergartens. While these annual events include surveys, do they effectively boost employee bonds? Alternatively, could they become routine activities that lose special meaning?

To improve employee relationships, companies should consider:

1. Who truly drives employee relationships? Do employees' families care?

2. What are employees' care needs? Are needs from basic to self-actualization being met according to Maslow's hierarchy theory?

Learning about Maslow's theory of needs can help maintain good employees with Aniday.

Compared to the budget, the popularity and reasonableness of the policy are more important!

A company wants to meet employees' and their families' care needs through a fair, reasonable budget accommodating all. One example is its scholarship program – implemented for years for both employees and their children from primary to university levels. The best candidates are selected annually based on academic results regardless of school prestige to ensure equality and education development encouragement.

While trips and small groups don't actually enhance understanding between employees. From a needs perspective, employees primarily focus on salaries, bonuses as well as needs for food, clothing and safety. While activities like dinners, trips and movies boost familiarity, there is doubt they truly improve relationships.

In fact, such activities usually only create temporary harmony without helping people understand partners. To genuinely improve relationships, Aniday believes professionally-hosted company conferences may achieve better results by allowing opinion exchanges and sharing of important information to enhance understanding and motivate team progress.

Whether going out or creating small groups, it is impossible to increase mutual understanding between employees.

From a needs perspective, employees primarily focus on salary and bonuses, as well as needs for food, clothing, and safety. While activities like dining out, traveling, and watching movies enhance a sense of camaraderie, the question remains: do these activities genuinely improve relationships between employees?

In reality, these activities often create temporary harmony but may not deepen the understanding of their peers. To truly enhance relationships, Aniday believes that specialized conferences organized by the company may be more effective. Here, employees can exchange opinions and share information on important topics, thereby increasing understanding and motivation for team development.

In other words, while entertainment activities foster short-term harmony, to address deeper issues, employees need to open up about their emotions and show genuine interest in their personal development. This helps people understand each other's values and goals, forming the basis for understanding and consensus within the team.

No matter how many activities are organized, if they are not managed well, they will still be useless.

No matter how many activities are organized, poor management renders them useless. Major deductions originate from ineffective management, creating uncomfortable work environments. Performance evaluations, promotions, salary adjustments and other tasks undertaken by leaders can negatively impact the most. 

Management styles, work abilities and insufficient guidance for subordinates disappoint employees. Ineffective inter-departmental communication and intra-team politicking also breed negativity. While employees may be satisfied with their company but not their direct department or manager. In this case, boosting formal employee relationship activities may prove a more effective solution.

When promoting a supervisor lacking employee consensus, internal ruptures persist regardless of teambuilding or happy hours. For a positive, innovative work environment, employee relationships need sound, ample management and support to promote innovation and satisfaction. Simultaneously, actively encouraging participation in important projects can motivate and inspire creativity. In conclusion, continuous appreciation and encouragement rather than brief enthusiastic periods may be most crucial for sustaining long-term work relationships. 

Aniday hope this article is useful!