Management professors who studied the dreaded work offsite say think twice about skipping it this year | Fortune

What do you do when an announcement about an “offsite” hits your work inbox? Chances are you might sigh and begrudgingly add the event to your calendar. These events, also called retreats, bring colleagues together for a mix of structured activities and free time - freeing them from their regular work obligations. For one or two days, employees take a mandatory break from their normal routines at work and at home. Participants spend a lot of that time making small talk with colleagues, as well as engaging in structured interactions that may include awkward icebreakers . Although networking is one of these events’ main purposes, some people find that networking for the purpose of meeting professional goals can feel transactional, uncomfortable or even dirty . Unsure about whether it will be worth the time and effort, you might ask: What’s in it for me? We are management professors who study how professional networks help information and resources move across organizations and create opportunities. Our research findings suggest participating in an offsite could be well worth the time and hassle. And it might quietly reshape your working relationships in unexpected ways. Taking time and costing money While these gatherings have become relatively common, we were surprised to learn how little research there is on whether they work. In particular, few scholars have dug into their effectiveness in helping people forge new connections. Offsites can help with strategic planning, team development and goal setting. They’re often held once or twice a year . The timing varies from one employer to the next. But the period from December through March is becoming more popular . They tend to bring people together who rarely interact through their work - particularly at large employers with offices spread across the country or even the world, and in organizations with remote-first work arrangements. Retreats help people get better acquainted in many informal ways, whether it’s sharing meals, exchanging ideas or chatting in hallways. Those interactions and the more structured ones, such as brainstorming exercises conducted in previously assigned groups, make it easier to connect with colleagues. After years of remote work when people mainly gathered over Zoom , employers continue to look for ways to rebuild connections and to address a surge in disengagement . These retreats for professionals have apparently become more popular following the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the larger rebound in business-related travel . A survey of 2,000 full-time employees from a range of industries found that the percentage of companies hosting no offsites at all fell to 4% in 2024, from 16% in 2019. Further, many companies are allocating larger budgets for offsites and budgeting more time during off-site retreats for social purposes, the same survey found. Mapping a law firm’s networking patterns When we spoke with managers from several large firms about their off-site practices, we were surprised that they simply assumed collaboration was an inevitable outcome. To test whether that was true, we studied the working relationships of more than...

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