Press Release
Toronto, ON, June 24, 2020 — Today Care/Of officially launches an exciting program of team learning workshops aimed at strengthening businesses during COVID-19. The workshops will bring artists into the virtual workspace to help employees develop tactics to thrive in the new, prolonged reality of remote work.
While focused on strengthening employee teams, the initiative explores new ways of connecting arts into the business sector, carving out space for diverse voices and providing increased opportunity for artists.
From mitigating burnout, combating Zoom fatigue, and strengthening team communication, Care/Of's programming uses arts and culture alongside organizational psychology foundations in order to build team cohesion, stimulate creativity, and bring people together.
From surveying stakeholders in multiple industries, Care/Of has identified that the key business challenges companies face are psychological in nature, naming Zoom fatigue, blurring of work-life boundaries, communication breakdowns, and lack of team cohesion at the top of the list. While many companies have reported that productivity has remained at pre-pandemic levels, or even gone up, working hard in isolation leads to loneliness, burnout, and the unraveling of company culture. Without an end in sight, supporting employees psychological and emotional health is crucial. Care/Of has built workshops to support business teams as they learn to thrive in our new, prolonged reality of remote work while creating valuable opportunities for artists who are out of work due to the pandemic.
"While watching the world adjust to the 'new normal' of COVID-19, we knew that now was the right time to build a new program to respond to the challenges businesses are facing. By working with artists to help employees develop tactics to navigate new and uncertain times, it creates a unique opportunity to stimulate fresh perspectives, fuel community, and increase engagement in a moment where interpersonal connection is needed more than ever before."
- Bridget Love, Founder
Bringing a creative approach to team learning, Care/Of's workshops are relevant and refreshing.
Cooking workshops with local chefs Maggie Skelton of PLANTA Yorkville or José Matamoros of El Catrin Destileria build social connection across teams and teach healthy work-life boundaries.
A workshop with visual arts collective Blank Canvases uses painting to teach relevant tactics for combatting Zoom fatigue, managing stress, and building effective listening skills.
Leveraging analog tactics to cope with increased screen time, illustrator and cartographer Daniel Rotsztain encourages participants to rediscover the potential of working with pen and paper to develop ideas, communicate effectively, and stay focused while on video calls.
About Care/Of:
Care/Of facilitates online team learning programs that help remote teams build cohesion, stimulate creativity, and perform better by addressing the key business challenges that come from working remotely. Built through an arts and culture lens with organizational psychology principles, our programs are engaging, impactful, and relevant.