Team Cohesion: Team Dynamics and Why Teams Struggle to Work Together

Why does team cohesion break down and how can it be strengthened? Read this guide to team dynamics, psychological safety and practical steps for managers.

On paper, everything is fine: an experienced master craftsman, two fast-learning young technicians, a shift supervisor who knows the job. Even so, production targets are missed, information gets lost at handovers, and small disagreements turn into weeks of cold shoulders. The problem is often not in the individuals but in how they work together. Team cohesion is the ability of a group to work around a shared goal, trusting one another, sharing information and resolving disagreements without wearing each other down. In this article I look at what team dynamics are, how cohesion problems arise, what they mean for productivity and safety at work, and what managers, HR and occupational health and safety (OHS) specialists can do.

What Are Team Dynamics?

Team dynamics are the sum of the relationship patterns, visible or invisible, that operate within a group: Who listens to whom, how decisions are really made, what happens when there is a mistake, how a newcomer is received, and whether disagreements are discussed openly or circulate in the corridors. These patterns are not written on the organisation chart, but they shape the team's day-to-day functioning.

In every team, some dynamics form on their own:

• Roles: Alongside formal job descriptions, there are informal roles. The team's "mediator", "objector", "one who rushes to help with every job" or "silent one" becomes clear over time.
• Norms: Unwritten rules determine what is acceptable in the team. For example, "Nobody argues with the manager here," "Whoever reports a mistake gets into trouble," or conversely, "Anyone who sees a problem says so."
• Power relations: Seniority, expertise, closeness to the manager or personal charisma affect whose word carries more weight in the team.
• Subgroups: People from the same hometown, those who have worked the same shift for a long time or those of the same generation may form tighter bonds among themselves over time.

The existence of these dynamics is natural and often adds strength to the team; for example, the informal guidance of an experienced master craftsman can help newcomers learn the job much faster. The problem arises at the point where they stop serving the team's shared goal and start to obstruct it.

Why Is Team Cohesion So Important?

Team cohesion is often confused with "getting along" or "liking one another". Yet a cohesive team is not one that agrees on everything; it is a team that can manage its disagreements without disrupting the work or damaging relationships.

One of the strongest studies on this comes directly from the production floor. In Amy Edmondson's research published in 1999, covering 51 work teams in a manufacturing company, psychological safety, defined as team members' "shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking", was found to be related to the team's learning behaviour (Edmondson, 1999). In other words, teams that are not afraid of making mistakes, asking questions or objecting learn more and correct themselves more.

In research Google carried out on more than 180 of its internal teams and shared on its re:Work platform, psychological safety also came first among the five dynamics that set effective teams apart; the others are dependability, structure and clarity, meaning, and impact. In that study, who was on the team was found to matter less than how the team worked together (Google re:Work). This is not a peer-reviewed publication but a single company's own internal research; even so, it presents a picture that matches experience in the field. I covered the subject in more detail in the article on psychological safety.

A team's strength is measured not by the performance of its most capable member, but by how far its members can trust one another.

The cost of poor cohesion shows up not only in productivity. On the production floor, workplace safety depends largely on communication within the team: an operator being able to tell their master craftsman about a strange noise from the machine, a newcomer daring to ask about a procedure they are unsure of, one shift passing a risky situation on to the next completely. Of the 766,039 workplace accidents recorded in Turkey in 2025, about 41% occurred in the manufacturing sector (SGK, 2025). Each accident has many factors behind it; but information that could not be spoken, asked about or passed on is a common part of them.

Say the night shift in a metalworking workshop notices that the safety sensor on a press fails from time to time. But there is an ongoing tension between the two shifts: the day team thinks the night team "exaggerates everything"; the night team believes that what it says is not taken seriously. The information goes into the handover book as a short note, but nobody dwells on it. In such a picture the problem looks technical, but its root is in the team dynamic.

Signs of Cohesion Problems

Deterioration in team cohesion usually proceeds slowly and quietly. Some signs managers can watch for are:

• Silence in meetings: Nobody speaking when asked for ideas, yet intense conversations in the corridor after the meeting.
• Withholding information: Incomplete information passed on at handovers, one shift not giving information to another so that they will "be left in a tight spot".
• A cycle of blame: When a problem occurs, looking for the culprit rather than the solution; the language of "our shift" and "their shift" settling in.
• Cliques and exclusion: Some employees being constantly alone at lunch, during breaks or at social events.
• Recurring small conflicts: Frequent tension, raised voices and sulking between the same people.
• Newcomers leaving quickly: High staff turnover in the first months may point to difficulty fitting into the team.
• Fewer near-miss reports: If employees do not speak up when they see a problem, it may mean a lack of trust is carrying over into workplace safety.

Why Does Team Cohesion Break Down?

Unclear roles and responsibilities

In teams where it is not clear who is responsible for what, jobs are either done twice or not at all. This uncertainty breeds resentment among employees of the "I did it, they didn't" kind.

Poor communication

In the OSH Pulse 2022 survey of more than 27,000 workers in Europe, 26% of employees reported poor communication or cooperation in their organisation (EU-OSHA, 2022). Where communication channels are unclear and information reaches only some people, gossip and misunderstandings multiply easily.

Management perceived as unfair

A perception that some people are favoured in shift allocation, sharing of overtime, leave or recognition quickly creates distrust in the team. The problem is not only whether the perception is accurate, but also that it has not been explained.

Heavy workload and time pressure

In the same survey, 46% of employees reported severe time pressure or an excessive workload (EU-OSHA, 2022). In an environment where nobody can keep up, patience wears thin, small mistakes turn into big arguments and mutual help declines.

Differences between generations, cultures and working styles

In the same team, a master craftsman with twenty years of experience and a newly qualified engineer, or local employees and those who have come from other cities, work with different expectations and communication styles. This diversity is a richness, but when it is not talked about it can turn into prejudice and the formation of camps. I looked at this subject separately in the article on intergenerational conflict.

Periods of change

Restructuring, a new manager, a merger or redundancies shake the balances in a team. In periods of uncertainty, employees focus on protecting themselves, which weakens cooperation.

High stress and widespread anger

According to Gallup's report published in 2026, 66% of employees in Turkey report experiencing stress and 36% intense anger during a large part of the previous day; both rates are markedly above the global average (Gallup, 2026; 2025 data). When economic worries, long working hours and burdens at home are carried into the workplace, team members' tolerance of one another decreases. Reading a heated argument in this situation only as a "personality clash" can mean overlooking the load in the background. A manager who knows this context finds it easier to approach conflict with a cooler head and more understanding.

The Legislative and Standards Framework

Relationships within a team are not just a matter of "climate"; they also fall within the scope of occupational health and safety legislation. Article 5 of Law No. 6331 on Occupational Health and Safety requires employers to develop a coherent, overall prevention policy covering the effects of factors related to technology, work organisation, working conditions, social relationships and the working environment. Article 8 of the Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety Risk Assessment also provides for psychosocial sources of hazard to be identified and recorded.

Among the ten categories of psychosocial hazard listed in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's 2024 Psychosocial Factors Information Guide, "interpersonal relationships" and "organisational culture" are also included (ÇSGB, 2024). At the international level, the ISO 45003:2021 guidance deals with psychosocial hazards in three groups, and one of them is directly "social factors at work" (ISO 45003). This framework shows that relationships and conflicts within a team are matters that can be addressed in risk assessment.

What Can Managers Do to Strengthen Team Cohesion?

1. Clarify roles and expectations. Make each team member's area of responsibility, decision-making authority and reporting line clear and written down. Reducing ambiguity removes an important source of tension.
2. Make the shared purpose visible. Talk regularly about why the team exists and how its work contributes to the organisation as a whole. A shared goal pushes personal differences into the background.
3. Make meetings ones where everyone can speak. When asking for ideas, give the floor first to less senior employees. A manager stating their own view at the start can lead the others to stay silent.
4. Treat mistakes as learning opportunities. When a problem occurs, ask "What happened and how do we prevent it next time?" rather than "Who did it?" This approach makes it easier for problems to be reported early.
5. Deal with conflict early and directly. Small disagreements that are ignored grow. Hold a calm, non-judgemental conversation with the parties separately and, if necessary, together. For a detailed roadmap, you can look at the article on managing conflict in the workplace.
6. Manage the perception of fairness. Share openly the criteria used in shifts, leave, overtime and task allocation. Knowing that everyone is subject to the same rules reduces distrust.
7. Deliberately include newcomers in the team. In the first weeks, assign a buddy, introduce the new employee to team members and monitor the settling-in process.
8. Build bridges between shifts. Short joint meetings where different shifts come together, or written and verbal handover standards, soften the "us and them" divide.
9. Look at your own behaviour. A manager being closer to some employees, making sarcastic comments or letting their anger spill onto the team directly shapes team dynamics. The team often follows its manager's behaviour more than their words. A manager who can stay calm in tense moments and openly admit to a mistake shows the team that the same behaviour is safe for them too.

How to Get Started in Your Organisation

1. Needs analysis: Use an anonymous team climate survey to measure areas such as communication, trust, perception of fairness, role clarity and frequency of conflict. Compare across units and shifts; include staff turnover, absenteeism and near-miss reports in the assessment. Where needed, hold focus-group discussions to hear the story behind the numbers.
2. Programme: Based on the findings, plan communication and conflict management training for managers, structured team workshops with the teams that are struggling and, where needed, individual sessions. Rather than a one-off "team game" event, choose a process spread over several sessions and tied to daily work.
3. Measurement: Repeat the survey after three to six months and track the indicators. Listening to the team's own observations is also an important way of telling whether the change is lasting.

You can find out how this process can be carried out with the support of a clinical psychologist on the corporate services page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are team activities enough for team cohesion?

On their own they are not enough. Shared meals or team games can warm up relationships, but they do not solve structural problems such as role ambiguity, a perception of unfairness or a manager's behaviour. Activities are more meaningful as a complement to a process in which these problems are addressed.

Does a cohesive team never have conflict?

It does and it should. In teams where there is never any disagreement, people are often hesitant to say what they think. A cohesive team is one that can talk through its disagreements without making them personal, respectfully and with a focus on the work.

What should you do about an employee who cannot fit into the team?

First try to understand the reason: Is it role ambiguity, a personal difficulty, exclusion within the team or a difference in working style? Hold a one-to-one, non-judgemental conversation with the employee. If the problem stems from the team's dynamic, trying to change only the individual will not provide a lasting solution.

How do you maintain cohesion in remote or hybrid teams?

In teams where face-to-face contact is reduced, communication needs to be more planned. Regular short meetings, clear written processes, one-to-one conversations and face-to-face get-togethers at set intervals help prevent the bond between team members from weakening.

• #team cohesion
• #team dynamics
• #psychological safety
• #teamwork

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Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

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