Teamwork vs Individual work

Teamwork

A team is the group of three or more individuals who are working together towards the achievement of a common goal. The neat thing about teams is a synergy effect which assumes that the output of the team exceeds the sum of individual contribution of each member. In this case, joint effort helps reach the targets set faster by consolidating the strengths of several personalities.

Team is the standard working unit within most companies. However, putting a few people together and aiming them towards a certain goals are not enough to create a team which functions effectively. Before joining a team, consider the following factors which determine whether the team will be a success or not.

Individual Work

Despite the popularity of teamwork, sometimes you can choose (or have to) work individually. For instance, if you work for a small business which can’t afford a marketing department, you’ll likely to be the only marketer in the organization. Or, you can realize that your colleagues pull you down rather than help you grow and ask the boss to work on your own for some time. Inforgraphic resume writing is another example of task which is typically done solo.

Individual work, just like teamwork, has its advantages and disadvantages. Most importantly, it is about your sole responsibility for all projects assigned, for their successes and failures. If you intend to work individually (or even become a freelancer), start with learning more about this working style to make sure it’s the best fit for you.

Teamwork vs Individual work

Advantages and Disadvantages of Teamwork

Working in teams increases collaboration and allows brainstorming. As a result, more ideas are developed and productivity improves.
Two or more people are always better than one for solving problems, finishing off difficult tasks and increasing creativity.
Everyone is unique and has different skills, backgrounds and experiences. Therefore, others in a team can help you see things from a different angle.
Teamwork encourages communication between team members. For this reason, relations between employees tend to be better and over time employees learn to communicate better.
In some teams, there may be members who sit back and let others do all the work. In these types of teams conflicts may occur and this can affect the mood of others in the team.
Working in a team requires many meetings and these meetings, if not managed well, can go off topic and decrease the efficiency of the team.
Making decisions can take longer for the sake of finding a consensus. Hence, delays occur.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Individual Work

You can work in your own pace not depending on someone else. You can decide what to do when.
You can concentrate easier and work faster. If you are working on a familiar task, you can get it done quicker since there are no outside interactions and extra meetings.
You get the whole credit for the work you do since you are working alone! There won’t be any situations where one does less but gets the same credit with others.
You get to make your own decisions.
You are the sole responsible for the job. If you fail, it is your fault. There aren’t any others to blame it for.
You have to motivate yourself. There are no others to motivate you for getting things done.
You can get bored working all by yourself. There isn’t anyone to talk to, share ideas with or get help from.
When you are working alone, if you get sick or need to take days off, the work will be delayed because there won’t be anyone to continue it for you.

Also Read:- How To Prepare For Group Discussion Tips