Poorly done, team-building events can actually be harmful

I know in the past when I've had to participate in team events (especially in my own personal time) with colleagues, I have often found myself dragging my feet with a ball of reluctance metaphorically chained to my ankle.

I mean, if you spend all day with your work colleagues, you probably don't really want to spend your personal time with them, too.

And yet, team-building exercises, events and even trips, persist in our work spaces.

I've found myself wondering why this is the case if people are generally so unimpressed by the idea?

The cynic in me thinks that it's all about management having something tangible to point to when they are asked by the even higher-ups what they do to build culture and collaboration in their team.

It's also a handy form of evidence gathering for proof of team-orientation and leadership.

But the sad reality is that a team-building exercise done poorly can often do more damage than not doing any team building activities at all.

For many people, it's the forced or mandatory nature of the event either through occupational pressure or being directly informed that you are required to attend, that turns them off.

This is particularly the case when team-building events are held out of business hours - especially on a weekend. The last thing staff want to do at the end of a long week at work is to then spend the weekend in work related activities.

Bleurgh. Even the thought of it is exhausting.

Many people also find the nature of these sorts of activities to be uninteresting and perhaps even uncomfortable.

If you have attended a group team-building exercise and you've been asked to all stand in a circle and participate in some sort of adult version of musical chairs, or a ball throwing game where you have to contribute an inane piece of information if a person chucks the ball to you, or God help you, you've had to to trust falls *shudders* ... you'll know what I'm talking about.

Now don't get me wrong, I know these are all about breaking down barriers, getting people used to each other and encouraging them to participate in what is to follow, but I find they just lean into the extrovert and force the introverts among us way out of their comfort zone.

This can be an extremely uncomfortable experience that sets the bar for the event to be about forcing people to accommodate the louder, more extroverted individuals and often results in further entrenching negative or even toxic workplace culture.

These sort of activities can also lead to building barriers to inclusivity for people with disabilities.

If you can't move freely or if you experience sensory sensitivities, or if you have an aversion to touch (or just don't like being manhandled by colleagues as you have to fall back into their hands, which frankly, would probably be an HR conversation if you didn't feel weird about it), then you find yourself immediately uncomfortable, in pain, physically excluded or psychologically separated as accommodations are made to change the rules for you so you can participate, too.

Sounds like a great way to spend a weekend, right?

I just got home from a sort of team-building weekend away with colleagues and I found a few things were different about this experience to your typical out of hours work event.

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Firstly, we filled out forms that included any considerations regarding disabilities or sensitivities that would be helpful for them to be aware of and then they were extremely mindful of this information throughout the weekend, including checking in individually to make sure there was nothing else they could do to make it easier. That was great.

But the best parts of the weekend were honestly the social elements: going out for a drink and a meal both as a big group and as a smaller group. This opportunity to relax together rather than "do stuff" together was so powerful in fostering those genuine connections you want in your team.

So managers take note: next time you're planning a team-building event, skip the camping and stick to a monthly extended pub lunch ... on the house.