What the research really says about building inclusive teams through shared experience.
Inclusion Starts With Interaction, Not Just Intention
Across industries, the demand for diverse teams has grown. But diversity alone doesn’t guarantee better collaboration, innovation, or morale. What does? Inclusion, and research shows it requires intentional design.
In a 2021 review published in Group & Organization Management, researchers noted that inclusive behaviors in teams were significantly influenced by structured, high-quality interactions, rather than simply being in diverse environments. This is where team building comes in. Not as a social break, but as a scientifically grounded strategy for building trust and inclusion.
The Psychological Basis for Inclusive Team Building
Inclusive team-building activities create what psychologists call “intergroup contact”. According to Allport’s Intergroup Contact Theory, positive interaction between diverse individuals, under the right conditions, reduces prejudice and improves mutual understanding.
Modern meta-analyses support this. A study published in Psychological Bulletin reviewed over 500 studies and found that intergroup contact significantly improves attitudes across race, gender, and other social identities, especially when interactions are cooperative, equal-status, and supported by norms or leadership.
These are conditions that team-building programs are specifically designed to create.
Why Inclusion Requires More Than Conversation
A 2022 report by Catalyst found that inclusive team climates are directly linked to increased employee innovation, team citizenship behavior, and job satisfaction. But creating that climate takes more than a DEI webinar or a values poster.
What helps, according to the data, is experiential learning, i.e., learning through action and reflection. Team building rooted in experiential learning theory gives participants a safe environment to practice inclusion-related behaviors, such as listening and perspective-taking.
This method is particularly effective when tailored to team diversity in areas like:
In other words, diverse teams don’t work better by default. They work better with structure.
Inclusion Requires Psychological Safety
Psychological safety —the belief that you can take risks, speak up, and make mistakes without fear — is a key predictor of inclusive and high-performing teams. Google’s Project Aristotle (2016) found it to be the most important factor distinguishing effective teams.
Team-building activities, when well-facilitated, are an opportunity to model and practice psychological safety. Participating in unfamiliar or playful activities together can strengthen team trust. This doesn't mean embarrassing icebreakers. It means thoughtfully structured challenges, reflective debriefs, and non-evaluative collaboration.
Inclusive Team Building in Malaysia
In Malaysia, inclusion involves navigating multiple layers: ethnic diversity, religion, language, and regional culture. According to a 2020 study in the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Malaysian companies that invested in inclusion-focused interventions reported stronger team alignment and reduced intergroup tension. Team building that considers this context can not only “bond” people, but it can surface invisible dynamics, open up safe discussion, and build the empathy needed for effective collaboration.
For example:
Evidence-Driven Team Building Pays Off
According to Deloitte, organizations with inclusive cultures are 2x as likely to meet or exceed financial targets, 3x as likely to be high-performing, and 6x more likely to be innovative and agile. While these outcomes don’t result from team building alone, team building is a controllable lever that reinforces inclusion on a behavioral level.
It moves inclusion from the abstract into the everyday. Something people can experience, not just be told to value.
Inclusion Is Built, Not Assumed
If you’re responsible for creating more inclusive experiences at work, don’t underestimate the role of team building. Also, don’t settle for cookie-cutter solutions.
Look for experiences that are:
At APEX Team Building, we design inclusive team experiences based on the science of human behavior, communication, and cultural intelligence, all tailored to Malaysia’s unique working landscape.
P.S. Curious how we can help? Get started here: https://apexteambuilding.com/go
Inclusion Starts With Interaction, Not Just Intention
Across industries, the demand for diverse teams has grown. But diversity alone doesn’t guarantee better collaboration, innovation, or morale. What does? Inclusion, and research shows it requires intentional design.
In a 2021 review published in Group & Organization Management, researchers noted that inclusive behaviors in teams were significantly influenced by structured, high-quality interactions, rather than simply being in diverse environments. This is where team building comes in. Not as a social break, but as a scientifically grounded strategy for building trust and inclusion.
The Psychological Basis for Inclusive Team Building
Inclusive team-building activities create what psychologists call “intergroup contact”. According to Allport’s Intergroup Contact Theory, positive interaction between diverse individuals, under the right conditions, reduces prejudice and improves mutual understanding.
Modern meta-analyses support this. A study published in Psychological Bulletin reviewed over 500 studies and found that intergroup contact significantly improves attitudes across race, gender, and other social identities, especially when interactions are cooperative, equal-status, and supported by norms or leadership.
These are conditions that team-building programs are specifically designed to create.
Why Inclusion Requires More Than Conversation
A 2022 report by Catalyst found that inclusive team climates are directly linked to increased employee innovation, team citizenship behavior, and job satisfaction. But creating that climate takes more than a DEI webinar or a values poster.
What helps, according to the data, is experiential learning, i.e., learning through action and reflection. Team building rooted in experiential learning theory gives participants a safe environment to practice inclusion-related behaviors, such as listening and perspective-taking.
This method is particularly effective when tailored to team diversity in areas like:
- Cognitive and personality differences (MBTI, DISC)
- A study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that personality-diverse teams outperformed homogeneous teams only when members understood and respected each other’s styles. Team building that integrates MBTI or DISC frameworks gives teams that shared language.
- Cross-cultural collaboration
- Malaysia’s workforce reflects deep ethnic and cultural diversity. Studies on multicultural teams, including research in the Journal of International Business Studies, show that cross-cultural training and shared tasks increase collaboration and reduce friction.
In other words, diverse teams don’t work better by default. They work better with structure.
Inclusion Requires Psychological Safety
Psychological safety —the belief that you can take risks, speak up, and make mistakes without fear — is a key predictor of inclusive and high-performing teams. Google’s Project Aristotle (2016) found it to be the most important factor distinguishing effective teams.
Team-building activities, when well-facilitated, are an opportunity to model and practice psychological safety. Participating in unfamiliar or playful activities together can strengthen team trust. This doesn't mean embarrassing icebreakers. It means thoughtfully structured challenges, reflective debriefs, and non-evaluative collaboration.
Inclusive Team Building in Malaysia
In Malaysia, inclusion involves navigating multiple layers: ethnic diversity, religion, language, and regional culture. According to a 2020 study in the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Malaysian companies that invested in inclusion-focused interventions reported stronger team alignment and reduced intergroup tension. Team building that considers this context can not only “bond” people, but it can surface invisible dynamics, open up safe discussion, and build the empathy needed for effective collaboration.
For example:
- Activities with language neutrality or multilingual facilitation allow equal participation across English, Malay, and Mandarin speakers.
- Group structures that rotate leadership challenge assumptions about hierarchy or seniority.
- Guided reflection helps individuals link personal experiences with organizational goals around inclusion.
Evidence-Driven Team Building Pays Off
According to Deloitte, organizations with inclusive cultures are 2x as likely to meet or exceed financial targets, 3x as likely to be high-performing, and 6x more likely to be innovative and agile. While these outcomes don’t result from team building alone, team building is a controllable lever that reinforces inclusion on a behavioral level.
It moves inclusion from the abstract into the everyday. Something people can experience, not just be told to value.
Inclusion Is Built, Not Assumed
If you’re responsible for creating more inclusive experiences at work, don’t underestimate the role of team building. Also, don’t settle for cookie-cutter solutions.
Look for experiences that are:
- Grounded in research and behavioral science
- Designed to meet your team’s personality, cultural, and communication styles
- Facilitated by professionals who understand group dynamics and DEI frameworks
At APEX Team Building, we design inclusive team experiences based on the science of human behavior, communication, and cultural intelligence, all tailored to Malaysia’s unique working landscape.
P.S. Curious how we can help? Get started here: https://apexteambuilding.com/go