Have you ever gotten frustrated because of a group project? Most of us have. That’s why we love to work individually, get our tasks done and not worry about anyone else.

BUT, have you ever noticed that sometime in the future, like in the workplace, you will have to work with other people? Do you think it will be less frustrating than group projects at university? The answer is NO!

We are so used to working individually but we will never be able to avoid human interaction or collaboration at least in the near future. Since you're going to run into group work as a university student, why don’t we learn some reasons why we should love group work to give us some motivation now? Here we go.

Get diverse ideas

Admit it. There are times when we’re stuck with nothing while we’re trying to build a thesis. And at that time, other people may have interesting ideas in mind!

We should work together at those times. Don’t put pressure on someone if they don't have any immediate ideas, as you might not as well at other times. 

Also, have you ever built a seemingly solid argument but then had it ruined by someone’s opinion that’s never even been in your mind?

That’s exactly the benefit of group work. We always have different perspectives according to our background history, roles etc. By collaborating, we could get exhaustive and rich outcomes for our projects!

We have different strengths

What are your talents? Is there any type of assignment that just annoys you no matter how interesting the topic is? Other people may love it!

Everyone has their own strengths, likes or dislikes. Working together will help you to do the projects better and complete the tasks that you like.

Yes, there are some tasks that we all dislike, but support is one of the benefits of group work. By doing the work together, we can all pass through those obstacles.

It lessens your work

Have you ever had a project of a 10-page long paper? Imagine how much researching, writing and proofreading you'll have to do.

Don’t worry! With group work, you will have one or as many as five other people that are ready to back you up. Dividing the work between people in a group may be challenging, but you’ll feel the lightness of the workload.

Networking

Are you not a people-oriented person? This is your chance to grow your networks.

You will thank these group projects in the future. You don’t have to approach the people in your group, just work and be friends with them.

We don’t know what’s coming in the future. Your group mates might be your next step to building your career! Or, they might be useful for your studies in the future.

I once found a group where we could support each other. Even though we don’t meet each other anymore, we often exchange information about the things going on around campus.

(P.S. they might know the easy-A courses to help bump up your grades!)

Gain new experiences

As I said before, you will face other people wherever your career path takes you in the future. Believe it or not, those annoying group work experiences teach you a lot of things.

How to appreciate each other’s strengths and ideas, how to divide work within the group, how to manage your time as a group and many more!

Don’t underestimate those lessons. You will benefit from them once you dive into the real battle in the future.

Most of the time we get annoyed when we have to work in a group for assignments or projects. However, the lessons that we get from those difficult moments will help us when we have to face different kinds of people in the workplace. We need to appreciate all the moments of our group work and learn to love it as it can lead to developing new skills needed in the future.

Want to learn more about the programs you could be doing group work in at our university? Download our viewbook to learn more about our faculties and programs.