I've lost that loving feeling

My hospital recently grew. How do I get back the closeness we felt before?

Growing is typically seen as a good thing, says Veterinary Economics editorial board member Dr. Jim Kramer, CVPM, owner of Columbus Small Animal Hospital in Columbus, Neb., but it comes at a price.

"There are always tradeoffs," he says. "Staffers may be reluctant to give up personal time to spend it with coworkers they see every day."

Dr. Kramer says your first step should be finding out how much interest there is in getting together outside of work and what kind of team activities are popular, fun, and low cost.

"Through this kind of planning, you'll learn each other's personal interests better, whether or not it results in any actual events," he says.

The second step is working on the relationship between you and your team so they enjoy spending time with you and don't view it as an obligation.

You may not instantly feel like a second family again, but you'll help create a caring atmosphere that could lead to more activities outside of work. If nothing else, all the work to build bonds will help avoid the burnout that comes from feeling detached that many team members experience.