Co-worker hobbies encourage synergy, productivity

Staff sing from one hymn sheet

Take a leaf out of these corporate bibliophiles' book, FT, Oct 14, 2008

"Reading, especially high quality reading, is the mental equivalent of losing weight, eating better or going to the gym and has similar benefits."

2 articles from the Financial Times highlight that corporate programs done for seemingly frivolous entertainment have led to synergy and increased productivity.

The Sony Philharmonic Orchestra, composed mostly of engineers in Sony's divisions, has had the positive side effect of collaborations between departments. Reading programs have led to reading groups and book clubs. Reading not only improves communication skills but also, research of brain scans indicate that people who read literature, such as Shakespeare, have dramatic spikes in positive brain activity.