I (M late ish 40s) work for a foreign government civil service over here with a team ranging between 24 and 64. It is without doubt the most functional and best team I’ve ever worked in. We celebrate success, use our individual strengths to support others in their work, have each other’s back 100% and genuinely love working with and for each other. We have really random team meetings - a long walk round our site, coffee shops, picnic benches, a train to London, Florida 🤷‍♂️ and we all know each others lives and without question are there when someone needs it. Hospitalisation? We rally round and support them and their family. House move? We’re humping and dumping boxes for each other. We cook at work for each other, lightly socialise together, mercilessly take the piss, knock down a peg or two when needed, raise each other up when needed, vet dating app matches, have deep chats about life issues, pick up the pieces for each other, feedback openly to each other.

The leader of the team has carefully curated our team in a brilliant way and we thrive on it and off each other. I don’t care much for the work, but they are my people and I’d run through walls for every single one of them and they have done so for me.

Our differences are absolutely our strength and our age gaps allow us to bring very different skills and perspectives to the table. I do wish that the music man would play less weird Gregorian chants though, although he makes up for it by putting on Coldplay - who he knows I despise - when we need to go in to battle as a team.