Defined Terms and Documents      'Aboriginal Teenager Life Skills' RTV Social Inclusion Early Intervention Programme 

Team Bonding means -

a)        often occurs when individuals jointly commit to train or work together to achieve a future task(s) or event(s) which represents a Challenge which could be through team sporting activities (netball, basketball, football, cricket, athletics, swimming clubs etc) which compete against other teams;

b)         joint Challenges -

            (i)         designed to create team experiences that bring the team together, stimulating team identity, spirit and a sense of belonging; and

            (ii)        which need to be fun and/or adventurous, so they are long remembered with the experience having created a common bond between team members; 

c)         is about team spirit, feeling that you belong and getting to know each other to facilitate succeeding at an agreed future task(s) or goal(s);

d)         focuses on 'relationships which enhance performance' through synergies which enhance Social Skills and Interpersonal Skills, and establish a Local Community Common Bond Support Group which facilitates humans to better cope with the highs and lows of life; and

e)        the utility value of the 'bonded team' is greater than the utility value of the 'individual team members', as Team Bonding enables synergies and builds individual respect and trust in the team, which inspires greater commitment, confidence in oneself and the other team members thereby increasing Social Capital;

f)         some teenagers first experience of the benefits/economies of Team Bonding is when they start work at a local fast food outlet (ie Macca's, Pizza Hut etc);

g)        over 80% of Australian adults work for employers where Team Bonding is the foundation as they rely upon the support of other co-workers.  From the largest retailers, law firms, mining companies, accounting firms to the small coffee shop, workers need to cooperate and rely upon one another.  The exception may be sole traders or contractors and some 'Tradies', but they will have informal alliances and work relationships with others that they rely upon, in particular their suppliers; and.

Team Bonding is a vital component of Social Inclusion which 'inter alia' mitigates Violent Extremism And Radicalism.

Below are excerpts from article Don't underestimate the power of friendship

            "It turns out, for instance, that friendships share some the same life-changing qualities of great art. One theory in cognitive science holds that much of our personality builds from the qualities we first copy and then absorb from our friends. Smarter friends make us smarter; more social friends make us more outgoing; healthy friends make us more health conscious. Who they are becomes part of us.

            Recent findings suggest, too, that friends have life-sustaining practical benefits. It also appears that adults who socialize often with several good friends live longer than those with few friends who socialize less.

            A main conclusion of the Grant Study at Harvard, which followed its subjects for 75years, was that strong relationships are the most important ingredient to well-being over a long life.

            What's more, friendship alone is a kind of wealth. Kids who have close friends in school earn more later in life than those without. Adults who have a friend they see on most days add as much to a their overall well-being as making an extra $100,000 a year. Having a best friend at work likely makes you far more productive than colleagues who do not.

            It turns out that friends, just as much as family, can give people the connection they need to stay happy and well.

            We cannot determine how many siblings or cousins we have, but we can build lives rich in friendship. What might happen if we made friendship as important a private and societal goal as family? We could facilitate friendships with programs in schools, the places we work and worship and where we act as citizens. There are good models for this already. More personally, we can push friendship more to the center of our lives. There's no guarantee that any one individual will become or remain one's friend. What is clear is that staying social creates a garden of friends out of which can enjoy those that keep us healthier, smarter, happier and more."