KoSpiRIT

The world of work is changing rapidly. Remote work, international teams, and increasing workforce diversity offer new opportunities but also present challenges for companies. Social cohesion in everyday work life can suffer in particular—for example, when teams are geographically dispersed or when new employees need to be integrated quickly. At the same time, this very cohesion is a key factor in motivation, innovation, and teams’ ability to cope with change and crises.

This is where the KoSpiRIT research project comes in. The project’s goal is to better understand how social connectedness among employees develops and how it can be specifically strengthened. In doing so , the project combines scientific research with practical experience from companies.

A particular focus is on the use of cooperative games. Led by Prof. Dr. Jennifer Tiede, the team at Fachhochschule Dortmund is evaluating whether and to what extent such game-based interventions are suitable for fostering social connectedness among employees.

At the heart of the project is the development of a free, digital tool for companies. This tool is designed to help organizations visualize social relationships within and between teams, identify challenges in collaboration, and select appropriate measures to strengthen social connectedness. The project focuses, on the one hand, on work design measures and, on the other, on team-building, cooperative games. With the help of the tool, it should be possible to select work design measures and cooperative games that build on the predetermined level of connectedness, meaningfully complement existing measures, and thus specifically promote components of work-related connectedness.

KoSpiRIT is being implemented by an interdisciplinary consortium of research institutions, companies, and transfer partners.