· Three studies on what working, connecting and moving together actually changes.
Team building is easy to have an opinion about. It is harder to find the numbers. Here are three pieces of research, what they measured, and what they found
1. TEAM BUILDING WORKS, MOST OF ALL ON HOW A TEAM FEELS AND FUNCTIONS
In 2009, a group of researchers led by Cameron Klein pooled the results of earlier studies into one meta-analysis, published in Small Group Research. It looked at four kinds of team building: goal setting, interpersonal relations, problem solving and role clarification.
Their conclusion: team building “has a positive moderate effect across all team outcomes.” The effect was strongest on two things. How team members feel about each other and about the team. And how they work together, day to day.
Moderate is the honest word. Team building is not magic. But across many studies, it moves the things that make a team a team.
2. FRIENDS AT WORK MATTER, AND THEY ARE RARE
Gallup has asked employees for years whether they have a best friend at work. In the United States, just two in ten say they do.
The difference shows. In Gallup’s 2022 data, 44% of employees who strongly agreed they had a best friend at work said they would recommend their organisation as a great place to work. Among everyone else, the figure was 21%.
Gallup also finds that people with a best friend at work are more likely to get more done in less time, to share ideas, and to have fun at work.
This is a link, not proof of cause. People may find friends more easily in places that already work well. But it shows what is at stake when colleagues barely know each other.
3. MOVING TOGETHER, NOT JUST MOVING
In a 2017 study published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 69 medical students chose one of three paths for 12 weeks: a weekly group fitness class, exercise on their own, or no structured exercise.
The group exercisers reported 26% less perceived stress, and better mental, physical and emotional quality of life. The solo exercisers improved their mental quality of life by 11%, but their stress did not change significantly, even though they exercised about twice as long.
This is one small study, with students who chose their own path. It points in a direction; it does not settle the question. But the direction is worth noticing: the “together” may matter as much as the exercise.
WHAT THE THREE HAVE IN COMMON
Read side by side, they point the same way. A shared goal. Real connection between colleagues. And effort made together, not alone.
WHY WE CARE
LACTIK is a team race for colleagues: walk or run, exercise, and cross the finish line together. Every team starts together, and the clock only stops when the last teammate crosses the line.
A shared goal. Colleagues who may rarely work together, on one team. An effort they carry from start to finish. We built the race around the same three things these studies point to.
SOURCES
Klein, C. et al. (2009). Does Team Building Work? Small Group Research.
Yorks, D. M., Frothingham, C. A. and Schuenke, M. D. (2017). Effects of Group Fitness Classes on Stress and Quality of Life of Medical Students. The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 117(11).
· Four actions, in plain terms, and an honest look at where physical activity fits.
World Mental Health Day is on Saturday. This week, a lot of advice about mental health at work will circulate.
The World Health Organization has its own: the WHO guidelines on mental health at work, summarised in a fact sheet it updated in September 2026. Here is what it recommends, in plain terms
WORK CAN PROTECT MENTAL HEALTH
The WHO starts from a positive point. Work can give people “a livelihood, a sense of confidence, purpose and achievement, an opportunity for positive relationships and inclusion in a community and a platform for structured routines.”
The scale of the challenge is also clear. Globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, at a cost of US$1 trillion per year in lost productivity.
THE FOUR ACTIONS
1. Organise work well
Organisational interventions “assess, and then mitigate, modify or remove workplace risks to mental health.” In practice: workload, schedules, clarity, and how people are treated. The guidelines include approaches where workers take part in shaping the changes.
2. Train managers
Here the WHO is firm: a strong recommendation, backed by moderate-certainty evidence. Manager training helps managers “recognize and respond to supervisees experiencing emotional distress” and builds skills “like open communication and active listening.”
3. Train everyone
Training for workers in mental health literacy and awareness, “to improve knowledge of mental health and reduce stigma against mental health conditions at work.”
4. Support individuals
Interventions that help people “build skills to manage stress and reduce mental health symptoms, including psychosocial interventions and opportunities for leisure-based physical activity.”
WHERE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FITS
The guidelines give examples: “resistance training, strength-training, aerobic training, walking or yoga.” They say these “may be considered for workers to improve mental health and work ability.”
“May be considered” is deliberate. It is a conditional recommendation, and the WHO rates the certainty of the workplace evidence as very low. So it frames the advice with care.
Outside the workplace, the WHO is more direct. Its physical activity fact sheet states that being active “reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, enhances brain health, and can improve overall well-being.”
The honest reading: physical activity is a useful part of the picture. It sits alongside the other three actions. It does not replace them.
WHY WE ARE SAYING THIS
LACTIK is a team race for colleagues: walk or run, exercise, and cross the finish line together.
We are a sport company, so it would be easy to claim that movement solves everything. It does not, and the WHO does not say so either. A race is one opportunity for leisure-based physical activity, shared with the people you work with. That is where it belongs, and that is what we build.
The other three actions are the work of managers, HR teams and everyone who shapes how work is organised.
This Saturday is a good day to recognise it.
SOURCES
World Health Organization, Mental health at work (fact sheet, updated September 2026)
· On 13 October, the EU launches Together for Mental Health at Work. What it is, what the numbers say, and where any team can start.
On Tuesday 13 October, in Brussels, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) launches its new Healthy Workplaces Campaign: Together for Mental Health at Work, 2026–2028.
It comes three days after World Mental Health Day. One day of attention becomes three years of work.
WHAT THE CAMPAIGN IS
The campaign runs for three years and already counts more than 100 official partners. Its aim, in EU-OSHA’s own words, is to “raise awareness about the impact of psychosocial risks, to demonstrate the importance of preventing and managing psychosocial risks and promote the creation of supportive, inclusive, and mentally healthy work environments across all sectors.”
“Psychosocial risks” sounds technical. EU-OSHA defines them as risks that “arise from poor work design, organisation and management, as well as from poor social context of work.” In plain terms: workload, clarity, support, and how well people work together.
THREE REASONS THIS IS GOOD NEWS
It starts with prevention. The focus is on how work is organised, before anyone needs support.
It treats body and mind as one. In the campaign’s words: “Physical health and mental health are connected. It is important to take on a broad and holistic approach to prevention.”
It is built on cooperation. Good mental health at work, the campaign says, “can be achieved if workers and employers work together, in consultation with each other.” Employers, workers, HR professionals and safety representatives are all invited to join.
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY
A recent EU-wide survey of workers, Flash Eurobarometer OSH Pulse 2025 (25,688 interviews across the 27 EU countries), gives a clear picture.
- 58% of workers say they would feel comfortable talking about their mental health with their manager. The conversation has opened.
- 44% say they face severe time pressure or work overload.
- 29% point to poor communication or cooperation within their organisation.
The last two figures are about how work is organised and how people work together. That is exactly where the campaign puts its focus.
A second EU survey, ESENER 2024, covered more than 41,000 workplaces in 30 European countries. The risk factor they report most often is physical: prolonged sitting, named by 64% of workplaces.
WHERE ANY TEAM CAN START
The campaign will share tools and good practice over the next three years. Three starting points already follow from its principles.
Ask. Consultation sits at the heart of the campaign. Ask your team what makes their work harder, and act on what you hear.
Move. The World Health Organization notes that physical activity “reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, enhances brain health, and can improve overall well-being.” With prolonged sitting the most reported risk factor, moving more is a natural first step.
Connect. When nearly a third of workers point to communication and cooperation, time together matters. Colleagues who know each other work together more easily. A shared moment away from the desk is one of the simplest ways to start.
WHY THIS MATTERS TO US
LACTIK is a team race for colleagues: walk or run, exercise, and cross the finish line together. We built it to bring co-workers together and to make sport part of company culture.
Europe’s campaign says the same thing in its own language. Health at work is physical and mental, and it is built together.
Treat your team like athletes.
SOURCES
EU-OSHA, Healthy Workplaces Campaign launch, 13 October 2026, Brussels