Team Building Activities Rarely (Never!) Succeed. Why?

As a survivor of multiple team-building events, I feel it is perhaps time to shed some much-needed light on this topic. These supposedly morale-boosting endeavors are the bane of every professional’s existence, yet companies (and team leaders with too much time on their hands) continue to force them upon unsuspecting employees year after year.

Why, you ask?

Allow me to share the cringeworthy tales of trust falls gone wrong, oxygen-deprived survival exercises, and “bonding” activities that leave participants wishing they had called in sick that day.

The Fallacy of Forced Fun

Let’s start with the most fundamental flaw in the concept of team building activities.

The idea that “forced fun” is somehow going to magically transform a dysfunctional team into a cohesive, collaborative unit. It’s the equivalent of shoving a square peg into a round hole and expecting it to fit seamlessly.

When was the last time you genuinely enjoyed a team building exercise? Chances are, you were either:

• Secretly plotting your escape the entire time, mentally calculating how long you could feign a migraine before it became socially acceptable to bow out.
• Actively participating, but only because your manager was standing nearby, eyeing you suspiciously to ensure you were “fully engaged.”
• Outwardly pretending to have a blast, while internally dying a little more with each passing minute of poorly-executed “fun.”

The sad truth is, team building activities are often viewed as a necessary evil – a box to be checked off on the HR checklist rather than a genuine opportunity for employees to bond and collaborate. And herein lies the problem: you can’t force people to like each other, let alone trust each other, through a series of contrived activities.

The Cringe-Inducing Classics

Let’s dive into some of the most painfully awkward team building activities that routinely crop up in offices around the world. Be prepared, because the secondhand embarrassment is about to hit you like a freight train.

The Trust Fall

This classic is perhaps the most cringeworthy of them all – a group of grown adults, some hesitantly, others with a glimmer of panic in their eyes, take turns falling backward into the arms of their colleagues.

The goal? To foster trust and teamwork.

The reality? Sheer terror and the distinct possibility of a trip to the emergency room.

I’ve witnessed trust falls go horribly awry, with hapless employees hitting the ground with a thud, their colleagues scattering like startled rabbits. And the inevitable side effect: an abundance of passive-aggressive emails the next day, with everyone trying to determine whose “fault” it was that they narrowly escaped a broken neck.

The Survival Challenge

In a desperate attempt to build “real” camaraderie, some team leaders take their employees on wilderness retreats, where they’re forced to work together to navigate obstacle courses, start fires, and generally “survive” in the great outdoors.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters, there’s the distinct possibility of participants succumbing to heat exhaustion, dehydration, or the sudden realization that they are woefully unprepared for any kind of physical activity that doesn’t involve an ergonomic office chair. And let’s not forget the inevitable power struggles, as team members vie for dominance in the “survival” hierarchy.

I had the misfortune of attending a “team building” retreat where the group was split into teams and tasked with building a raft to cross a raging puddle of water. The end result was close to a haphazard collection of logs and branches that promptly fell apart the moment anyone set foot on it. The ensuing chaos, apart from very angry, wet people, was pointing fingers at one another. Surely the stuff of nightmares.

The Dreaded Scavenger Hunt

Another team building staple is the scavenger or treasure hunt, where employees are divided into groups and tasked with scouring the office (or, heaven forbid, the entire city) in search of random items.

The goal is to foster collaboration, communication, and a healthy dose of competition.

The reality is often far from the intended outcome.

Instead of working together harmoniously, team members often descend into a state of panic, resorting to underhanded tactics and blatant rule-breaking in a desperate attempt to emerge victorious. I’ve witnessed colleagues ransacking the supply closet, snatching items from one another’s desks, and even attempting to bribe the security guard for a coveted clue.

The inevitable arguments over whose idea was better, whose execution was more efficient, and who should be held responsible for the team’s utter failure.

It’s a recipe for disaster, and a surefire way to damage morale and sow the seeds of discord among your employees.

The Dreaded Escape Room

In a twisted attempt to combine teamwork, problem-solving, and a dash of claustrophobia, some team leaders have turned to escape rooms as a team building activity. The premise is simple: lock a group of employees in a themed room, give them a series of puzzles to solve, and see if they can “escape” before time runs out.

And here is what happens – the escape rooms often devolve into a chaotic mess of finger-pointing, blame-shifting, and the occasional bout of existential dread.

I was sent into a “haunted mansion” escape room. As the minutes ticked by and we struggled to solve the puzzles, tensions began to rise. It was a full-blown meltdown and accusations started towards everyone of sabotaging the team’s efforts. Needless to say, we didn’t escape in time, and the only thing we managed to bond over was the shared trauma of the experience.

The Cringe-Worthy Cooking Challenge

In a misguided attempt to tap into our primal need for sustenance, some team leaders have turned to cooking challenges as a way to foster teamwork and communication. The idea is simple: divide employees into teams, give them a set of ingredients, and see who can whip up the most delicious (and visually appealing) dish.

Instead of a harmonious culinary collaboration, these challenges often descend into a chaotic mess of food fights, finger-pointing, and the occasional kitchen fire.

A kitchen in disarray, a ruined tablecloth, and a team that was more focused on assigning blame than on creating a culinary masterpiece. The only thing folks bond over is the collective sigh of relief when it gets finally over.

The Pitfalls of Forced Interaction

But the problems with team building activities go beyond the inherent cringe factor. There’s also the issue of forced interaction, which can actually have the opposite effect of what’s intended.

When was the last time you genuinely enjoyed being forced to engage with colleagues you barely know, or worse, actively dislike? It’s a recipe for disaster, and a surefire way to create even more tension and resentment within the team.

It almost always ends in awkward silences; a room full of people who were more uncomfortable than ever, and a distinct lack of any actual trust or camaraderie.

But perhaps the biggest fallacy of team building activities is the notion that they actually improve productivity and collaboration within the workplace. Time and time again, studies have shown that these forced “fun” activities have little to no impact on employee engagement, job satisfaction, or overall team performance.

And let’s not forget the time and resources that companies pour into these endeavors, all in the hopes of achieving some vague notion of “improved morale.”

Wouldn’t that time and money be better spent on actual team-building initiatives, such as improving communication channels, fostering open dialogue, and addressing underlying conflicts?

Or, heaven forbid, simply letting employees decide for themselves how they want to bond and collaborate, without the heavy-handed interference of team leaders and HR professionals?

So, what’s the solution? Here is my take on it.

Rather than forcing employees to participate in contrived “fun” activities, companies should focus on creating an environment where genuine connections and camaraderie can naturally flourish.

Encourage open communication and feedback. Foster a culture of trust and transparency. Encourage cross-functional projects and initiatives that allow employees to work together towards a common goal. Celebrate individual achievements. Recognize the hard work and contributions of your employees, both publicly and privately. Offer personalized development opportunities. Invest in the growth and learning of your employees tailored to their individual needs and aspirations.

At the end of the day, team building activities are a prime example of the corporate world’s endless quest to quantify and control the intangible aspects of human interaction. And often, as with everything in nature, these efforts are often misguided, cringeworthy, and ultimately futile.

So, the next time your team leader announces a “fun-filled” team building activity, embrace the humor and absurdity of the situation. Laugh in the face of the trust fall, giggle at the survival challenge, and revel in the chaos of the cooking challenge.

Let’s be honest, these activities are never going to achieve their intended purpose, so you might as well find the comedy in the madness.

And who knows, maybe your ability to find the humor in these forced “fun” endeavors will be the key to building genuine, authentic connections with your colleagues.

After all, a good laugh can go a long way in fostering true camaraderie and collaboration.