Today, compressed t shirts and t shirt printing services are commonly used by employers for uniforms and team-building activities. Even the best quality printed t shirts, however, can not make up for these truly awful — and sometimes flat-out nightmarish — team-building exercises. When have office team-building exercises gone very wrong?
“Naked Relationships” Are Just As Bad As They Sound
“I work in Japan, and my worst team-building exercise has been taking a bath with my boss and supervisors, although only of the same gender. It’s called ‘naked relationships’ and is thought to build trust,” one employee reveals. Bathing naked in hot springs is actually fairly commonplace in Japan. For that reason, the practice may actually hold up with human resources.
How Could Criticizing Each Other Go Wrong?
One woman was so put off by the following exercise, she doesn’t even remember the details of it. The employee reveals that her bosses asked her and her fellow employees to openly criticize each other — or point out each other’s flaws. Apparently, her coworkers did not do so delicately, and “we went from simply not being able to work together to actively disliking each other in about 30 minutes.”
It’s Time For Trust Falls!
Simply put, you probably want to stray away from camp activities — and most adults have probably gotten their fill of trust falls. In summer camp. When they were 13. Surprisngly, however, some employers still insist on the rudimentary activity. Give your employees the benefit of the doubt. This will not foster trust or improved relationships. It will not help your employees get to know each other better. Best case scenario, things aren’t as awkward as they could be.
Are you commemorating employee team-building exercises with t shirt printing services or digital print tee shirts? Consider organizing an event they’ll actually want to remember, instead of one that they shudder when thinking about. More can be found here.
