Different types of group work

Group work is used in advanced training, at school, for entrepreneurial projects and in many other places. It should bundle competencies and skills in order to cope with the task as best as possible and within a certain time. Other groups get together without this kind of pressure and realize projects or find solutions according to different criteria and at their own pace. From voluntary groups to self-help groups, anything is conceivable. In the following I have given you some more information about group work.

Group work: different approaches and goals

The cooperation depends on how a group finds itself, what its task or objective is and what resources are available for it. In the case of completely new groups with strange people who have to solve a task that is unknown to everyone, the basis should first be created. Who can what? Who is reliable and how? Who can plan better and who can execute better?

In groups in which the individuals already know each other and know about their abilities, this is of course not necessary. Here, unknown tasks or problems can be solved much more quickly, because tasks are distributed more quickly. Perhaps in such a constellation, those who propose a “shortcut” to the desired goal with an unconventional idea are more likely to be trusted. Here you can build on experience.

A very different kind of group work to bring contrast to the subject would be group therapy. This can e.g. B. in the form of conversations or through occupational therapy / courses. The primary goal is not to solve a problem for a higher authority or to develop something abstract. This is more about overcoming difficult stages in life, opening up or pursuing a therapeutic activity. Types of group therapy are for example at BetterHelp demonstrated.

Advantages of group work

The advantages of group work are the pooling of competencies and the distribution of work. At school, in training, at the university and also in companies, groups can e.g. B. composed of experts for these individual tasks (or should ideally be composed like this):

• Planner: breakdown and delegation of tasks
• Editor: source search and information research
• Copywriter: Processing and textual design of the information
• Graphic artist: technical processing and presentation
• Speaker: Presentation and presentation of the results

Of course, that's just the ideal case. But even if a group is made up of people who cannot delegate and are better at research than at presentation, there are always some who are better than the rest in individual points. Here it is important to nuanced the strengths seek and work together on a solution that will iron out the weaknesses of the group in order to make the strengths more visible.

Technical solutions for digital collaboration

The coronavirus pandemic has shown us that group work is possible even if you have to stay at home. Via video conferences, text pads in the cloud, team options in Office programs and many other possibilities, it became clear: the home office is not only something for creative freelancers, but also for employees from the open-plan office. Only some company executives with backward views still have to internalize this.

Of course, it takes some getting used to. Those who are only used to the office will not be super productive in their own four walls - but then they will work in a healthy and sheltered manner. Once you have set up a good workplace in your home, you will develop new skills thanks to newly discovered solutions (video telephony, e-mails instead of conferences, working together on documents over the network, working in sweatpants).

Posts on the topic of home office:

• Ideal for the home office: iMac and monitor stand with USB hub and Qi charger
• Good and cheap (second) monitors for the home office
• Timing App - automate time recording on the Mac

Conclusion on the topic

In summary, it can be said that group work is possible in a wide variety of ways and in a wide variety of locations. Depending on the type and size of the group as well as the task or objective, there are various advantages and disadvantages. The current situation has shown us that technical solutions for use in the home office are sufficiently available and make perfect sense. Definitely a big step towards the general recognition of the home office in the world of work. 

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He acts as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with technical problems. In his spare time he rides electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with the iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions to current bugs.