Why Do So Many Corporate Team Building Activities Suck?
Imagine you open up an Email from your boss, or the head of HR, or the company president. Inside you find the agenda for an upcoming meeting, retreat, offsite, or similar function. As you skim through the events of the day, your heart sinks. There it is, first thing in the morning: “Team Building Activity.”
If you’re like me, you have an immediate, visceral reaction when you see this. Most people have a negative association with the dreaded term, and for good reason: by and large, they suck! But why?
I’ve been hosting and producing corporate trivia events for over 15 years, and before that I wrote and guided company scavenger hunts. Along the way, I’ve also cringed my way through my share of horrendous workplace bonding activities, so I know my way around these programs from both sides.
Here’s what I can tell you about why people hate them.
They’re Lame
Let’s get to it right upfront: most workplace team building activities are just plain lame. They aren’t fun for those participating, and can range from cheesy/corny to outright boring. Time is valuable, and adults in the workplace don’t want to have to waste it on something that’s neither productive nor effective. Which is a nice segway to my next point.
Most Team Building Activities Don’t Even Work
There is no certification program for what I do, no specialized degree, no professional accreditation of any kind to become a team building professional. How do you define the product, then? What is or isn’t it? Without knowing these basic things, how can you even measure whether a program has worked or not? If the goal is some sort of nebulous desire to “boost morale” or “improve collaboration,” are trust falls and Top Golf really going to do the trick?
These Events are Forced
Probably my biggest stomach-twisting, heart-racing moment when at one of these events as a participant is when the facilitator kicks things off by asking everyone to “go around the room and say something.” Doing things like this is unnatural. Essentially, attendees are being coerced to participate under duress. How can this possibly lead to easing of workplace tension, etc.? Follow that with a series of silly, cliched games which force people to interact, and you’ve got a recipe for a really awkward and uncomfortable time.
These Programs are Viewed as Distractions, Not Rewards
I guarantee you, not a single person who sees those dreaded words on the agenda thinks, “Yes! Awesome!” Rather, their minds immediately shift to what they’d rather be doing with that time. They also resent it. Who wouldn’t? We’ve all got plenty to do and things on our minds. Do we really need to take time out of our day to head down to the conference room and play catch with an imaginary ball? (Click here for another article on making these events more fun).
It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way
Time and again, people have come up to me after my trivia events saying something to the effect of, “I was expecting this to suck, but it was SO fun!” I bring this up not to highlight how enjoyable my events are (I mean, they are) but to demonstrate the mindset most people have going in. There’s an expectation of misery with these events which is firmly established in peoples’ minds, and for good reason. However, I believe that these events CAN be valuable. By establishing a fun, a high energy environment, fostered through good-natured competition that’s tailored to the specific audience, they can have the lasting impact which they are intended to.
For further reading, check out “Corporate Team Building Activities Don’t Have to be Lame”