Oh, dear, we're team-building

[kingsrings]

Well now that's taking it a little too far with the husband thing. I would at least tell my co-workers if I was getting married, although I wouldn't invite them. I have learned the hard way in the past that it's not a good idea to make friends with co-workers, but now I just prefer it that way no matter what. I just like a big line drawn between friends and co-workers. I also would never get a job where I was working with a friend.

[twinkletoes]

Venus:  I'm a shy person, and when I was hired at my present job right out of college, I was known for being shy.  One of my coworkers would tell me not to be so witholding, but when I would say "oh, ok, well this weekend I did such-and-such," he'd tell me it was "lame" and I was too small-minded for thinking X activity was fun.  It was the strangest thing I've ever heard.  However, to this day, I don't comment much more at work beyond "my weekend was great, and yours?"

[smuflo]

My old work group was the worst for bad teambuilding exercises. One of the activities was the "3-person skis" -- two planks of wood with 3 sets of foot-straps on them. Three people stand on the planks of wood, feet in the straps, and try to figure out how to work together to walk. Except, the planks weren't very stable, and so we started to fall as we tried to walk. When I fell over, my foot wouldn't come out of the strap so my foot stayed upright while my body went sideways -- ankles aren't meant to bend that way, so I ended up with a sprained ankle (they weren't using breakway straps because the last time they'd tried to to this "people were falling over and popping the straps" -- duh).

Ya, I've done the ski thing.  Most recently at my Husband's team building event ("Everyone, this is a Faaammmilly event, so you have to bring your Faaaaammmilly.  Never mind the fact that most of your spouses work and maybe don't want to spend a workday afternoon trapped in a warehouse-like building with no AC and bad food.")

We had no injuries, but I have to admit I got a little ticked off at the event.  It was HOT HOT HOT (no AC, July, California) and stuffy in rock climbing place where they had the event.  They literally badgered us all into doing "team events" which consisted of us all doing stupid relays (the skis!), shooting baskets, playing volleyball, and just generally looking like idiots.  I tried to gracefully decline, only to be called a spoil sport.  So I went and played.  I wasn't really pissed until another employees spouse pointed out to me that most of the upper management, including my husbands boss had sat out to "look after the kids."  I'd like to note that at least two of these people don't have children, they had just grabbed other people's kids to avoid the humiliation. Grrrrrrr

[kathrynne]

I'd like to note that at least two of these people don't have children, they had just grabbed other people's kids to avoid the humiliation. Grrrrrrr

After the first company event like this for DH, I've been tempted to bring what passes for "kids" in our family, but the cats are shy and the parrot is antisocial and knows where the human jugular and carotid are. Fish don't travel well, either.

[hobish]

My corporate masters do team building, too. I have to admit ... i actually like it. Then again, i've never had a fish thrown at my head, either.

 Our stuff is usually pretty fun. For one of the bbq's they rented a dunk tank & employees team players could try to dunk upper management. For one of the fund raising activities our VP let someone shave his - the VP's - head while we all watched. For our last one, around the holidays, we had a little indoor golf tournament with each department entering however many people that wanted to participate. For some reason there was a segue we could cruise around the office on that day, too. I have no idea what that did toward team building; but it was fun. For the one before the holidays we played coits. Usually it's good stuff.

I'm with Venus on the divulging of too much personal info; but the kind of things we've done have never required that. I'm glad.

[kingsrings]

Hob-your activities sound exactly like the kind my office does. We also sometimes have fun trivia contests with prizes awarded, and last year we did an 'American Idol'-type contest. Participation is absolutely by volunteer only, and nobody is hurt, degraded, inconvienced, or humiliated by any of these kinds of activities. But my favorite is still when they just give out free food......

[MommaBear]

Good Topic... LEt's see, where to start...

Oh yea... Someone (one of the AVP's I think) went to another financial institution and saw that they had an Employee Appriciation day there (you know... where they *Gush* at the employees type thing) and decided hey!! We need one here too!!! Gag...

The first year, we got to see a famous football player's son talk about all of his achievements (I don't remember his name... that boring). Then we got to eat some rather nasty lunch consisting of wilted lettuce and watered down non-sweet tea... then to see the AVPs and those of the higher offices sing and dance.

Second year... More of the same motivational speaker type thing... awards, more nasty buffet type food, and more of the AVPs and such singing and dancing... Boring...

Third year... ditto... Oh yea.. and as a gift, they gave us a $50 gift card that we had to pay taxes on the next year!

Fourth year... Ditto... Then they finally sent out a memo on how did we like this? (they did it on Columbus day... a day where daycares and schools are usually closed) We told them. They actually listened..

This year.. not sure, but it's for only 4 hours and we get paid for a full day... Thankfully no nasty lunch!! 

We did the F!sh thing too for awhile... It was cute at first, but after hearing about it for the umpteenth time... it got boring.

The job I had previous to this, we had to go and sing and spell out the name of this company... and it was if you didn't participate, you weren't a team player...

[smuflo]

Hob-your activities sound exactly like the kind my office does. We also sometimes have fun trivia contests with prizes awarded, and last year we did an 'American Idol'-type contest. Participation is absolutely by volunteer only, and nobody is hurt, degraded, inconvienced, or humiliated by any of these kinds of activities. But my favorite is still when they just give out free food......

Exactly, I've worked for a few companies (including my current one) who do a lot of "come have a long lunch" type events where they feed you and have trivia contests/pictionary etc.  I think companies forget that a lot more teambuilding happens when you just stand back and let people have fun, instead of forcing them to spend hours doing silly, canned activities.  

I'm all for something like a picnic, but then don't force people to play volleyball/softball/whatever.  I think that is where companies ruin the teambuilding idea.  They are so concerned that everyone "participate" that they forget that their idea of fun is not the same as everyone else's.  I, for one, love to play coed soccer.  The muddier and rougher the game, the better.  That said, I would never suggest this as a department activity b/c I know that a lot of the women here would shriek at the idea of soccer with the guys.  If for some reason we did decide to play soccer, I would not ridicule or guilt the women into participating in the game.  If they wanted to cheer on the teams, or sit at a table and chat, that should be OK also.  Unfortunately, that is rarely the case, and people feel that they have to participate or else they will ruin their career.

[twinkletoes]

"The job I had previous to this, we had to go and sing and spell out the name of this company... and it was if you didn't participate, you weren't a team player..."

Heh.  So, if an employee of "Acme Company" sang a song about "'A' is for the atrocious waste of time this thing is/'C' is for 'can't we leave yet?'/'M' is for 'money not well spent'/And 'E' is for 'everyone hates these stupid activities," that's ok?

[supernova]

My best friend is a director for a tech company, and she's utterly brilliant at team-building.

Once a month she takes her team out to lunch, on her dime.  Once or twice a year, when it's slow, they can suggest a "team building" activity to her (mini-golf, bowling or something like that they *all* agreed on) and she takes them out for a paid half-day.  She listens to them when they have problems, and she backs them up when they need her to. 

Amazing, isn't it?  She always has lower turnover and higher productivity in her departments.  Without fish, puppets or "motivational speakers."

Pity more managers/directors can't work that one out for themselves...

     - saphie

[Venus193]

Is it just me or do the rest of you think that these "team-building" things are intentionally embarrassing?

[twinkletoes]

I think so, Venus!  As someone else mentioned earlier, it's a nice way for the team to 'bond' over how much they hated a particular activity. 

[MommaBear]

"The job I had previous to this, we had to go and sing and spell out the name of this company... and it was if you didn't participate, you weren't a team player..."

Heh.  So, if an employee of "Acme Company" sang a song about "'A' is for the atrocious waste of time this thing is/'C' is for 'can't we leave yet?'/'M' is for 'money not well spent'/And 'E' is for 'everyone hates these stupid activities," that's ok?

*chuckle* You have it... The company is well known for not being good to it's employees, but GREAT on saying 'How WONDERFUL we are... we donate $6,000 (while others donated much much more) to such and such charity.' I'm glad I don't work there anymore!

[freakyfemme]

I remember (on the day of the Broward Mall trip) some coworkers sitting in some field, smoking a joint.  I didn't partake (or inhale!).

Now THAT'S team building!

Hey, it worked for the Breakfast Club kids, lol.

[kherbert05]

Every year 2 days before school starts we have Convocation (SP).

We don't have a venue big enough for all the employees, so they actually do 2 Convocations 1 for secondary and 1 for elementary. Except this year that venue was being remodeled. So they rented a neighboring district's basketball stadium, and made us report to our campuses early then bussed us there. Yellow school buses, August, Subtropical Texas, Houston pollution. Then they do this elaborate thing with the superintendent dressing up - race car driver this year. HE tells us how we are going to climb Mount Everest and become an Exemplary School district (bow down and worship the TAKS test), then they have  a motivational speaker tell us how great teachers are (usually this person is paid for 2 appearances because of the split). Oh then the power point showing each school - (I hate air horns) were every one yells and sets off some type of noise. Top it off we don't get fed - and we have 1 hour  to get something to eat before we are due back on campus. Have you ever tried to get a table in a restaurant near a teacher inservice - it is impossible.

I am tempted to find out how much they spent this year with the rental and all, figure out how many library books, microscopes, computers  etc they could have purchased instead - and have the 30 odd family members that are tax payers write letters protesting the waste of money.