Who says you need an ocean to surf? An Innsbruck start-up company offers the opportunity to surf in the current of the river at the Inn. Even beginners can venture onto the board there. "Krone" editor Nicole Greiderer took a plunge into the cool water.
Hiking in the mountains is beautiful, yet variety does not hurt. In the Austrian mountains there are many alternatives. The Kurier has summarized some! Among them also UP STREAM SURFING!
For well over a year, corporate team building has had to resort to virtual options when employees want to try to come together, but there is nothing that can replace a face-to-face meeting or group event with employees and colleagues - just a real, in-person experience.
With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, companies have increasingly been looking for ways to keep their teams focused and maintain a sense of cohesion. But so-called "virtual fatigue," the tiredness and exhaustion of people triggered by Zoom conferences and constant work on a laptop, have become very common.
That's why it's important for companies that invest in team building to reconnect with their team in person, bond and create memories together during a unique outdoor activity and increase employee engagement.
As everything else besides work has moved to the Internet, including meetings with friends or cooking classes, team building has followed suit. However, this has brought its own problems.
Whereas before you had the incentive of getting a day off to do activities with colleagues or going away for a weekend, now you're even more tied down and have to spend even more time at your desk. With millions of people struggling not only with working from home offices and even longer hours, but also with a lack of social life and distance from colleagues and friends, virtual team building is arguably more agonizing than beneficial for everyone involved.
In a 2018 study, groups that ate raw chilies or did upright squats - painful experiences - were found to have a greater positive effect on team members and showed higher collective creativity than groups that were asked to eat only hard-boiled candy or balance on one leg. As simple as this fun may seem, it can provide teams with opportunities to experience mutual hardship that can strengthen cohesion.
But it doesn't always have to be painful or unpleasant to have a positive effect. Other activities in which employees learn new things, physically exert themselves and celebrate successes and defeats together also make a significant contribution to a better working atmosphere. A successful concept for companies to strengthen the team is therefore also a surf course in the river, as offered by UP STREAM SURFING in Innsbruck.
The special thing about it is that the participants have to pull each other upstream, because the system only works if the whole team works together. Past experience has shown that it is not only fun to surf a wave yourself, but also to watch your boss or colleagues fall into the water again and again, dropping all the facades.
At UP STREAM SURFING, colleagues can experience a different kind of outdoor team event. Amidst a breathtaking backdrop in the mountains, they can overcome challenges together and learn how to surf on the Inn with the help of experienced surf coaches.
Even the adrenaline rush from swimming in the water or the exercises on the static rope leads to a significant improvement in team cohesion. Afterwards, surfing is done on the UP STREAM SURFING system, which is only set in motion when several members of the team work together to enable another participant to surf.
Through this or other highlights, such as various workshops, sports activities, such as spike ball, raft building or beach volleyball and subsequent catering, the young company has managed to design a successful concept for outdoor team building, while complying with currently applicable Covid-19 regulations - even for larger groups - and ensuring safety for all.
UP STREAM SURFING therefore offers a unique outdoor experience for companies of all kinds, which strengthens team spirit, significantly improves the working atmosphere and is also incredibly fun.
Who is Michael Strobel? What is UP STREAM SURFING? What are our goals, our mission, what is our vision?
An exciting podcast with David and Phil from BaseFive, about Michael and how he sees the future of UP STREAM SURFING - we hope you enjoy listening!
