Over on the BBC pay thread @Locust and @Moose-the-Mooche have started a sub-discussion on absurd games in work meetings to build team spirit. Moose correctly says that this is a whole other discussion, so it’s Friday, time to unwind a bit, and let all that office tension loose. Let’s have your stories of how those pens and pieces of plastic that you had been eyeing suspiciously since the start of the meeting panned out. Bonus points for stories about super-competitive colleagues who just take the whole thing far, far too seriously.
Mine from last week, which was actually quite fun, and I’m sure you can do better:
We were split into teams of 4. On the table was an elastic band with 4 pieces of string tied to it and each of us had to pull on the end of a string so the band would stretch and be used to pick up and move an upside-down paper cup. There were 10 paper cups and the competition was to see which team was fastest to make them into a pyramid of 4, 3, 2, 1. Chocolates to the winners.
Harold Holt says
There’s no ‘effin team.
We had a good one some year’s back, although not very eco-friendly. Each team of about 4 management bods was given a single pack of printer paper, a ream, and we had to build the tallest structure we could manage using just the paper. Our team had to go and borrow the hotel’s mega-ladder for the ballroom lights (about 5 or 6 metres) and we got to the ceiling of the ballroom which was fun.
Moose the Mooche says
As with other, er, group activities, these things only work if everyone is equally enthusiastic. At best it can be a welcome distraction from mundane working life. At worst, an undignified chunterfest.
dai says
Tis funny, we had one this week. An hour to escape the Diefenbunker (a fantastic underground cold war construction near Ottawa, think Dr Strangelove). Our group were the only ones to follow all clues and get out. And we actually did it with less than 1 second of the hour to spare, was actually quite thrilling, not sure of the team building benefit though.
attackdog says
I am a cynic of the highest order.
So may I just say that I hate, detest, despise ‘team building’ exercises of any description.
oscar patterson says
Not a fan of office team building – but please Please PLEASE give me more of these – I am trying to plan my 14-18 Explorer scout unit’s autumn programme and these will be gold-dust…thank you in advance!!!!!!
Harold Holt says
Ok. Not necessarily too practical of you wanted to do it, but on another occasion we had a treasure hunt, a series of questions that could only be answered by travelling round a course using a map and planning the best route. The difference was we did it round Sydney harbour in half a dozen sail boats. Mostly a waste of an afternoon.
Tiggerlion says
There are a few I like.
Six people (three either side) hold a bamboo stick in the air by resting it on their index fingers. They have to lower it to the ground keeping their fingers in touch at all times.
A number of people stand on a plastic sheet in a tight fit. They need to turn the sheet over without anyone stepping off it.
A chain of people line up. The first is shown a picture. They whisper a description to the next person, who whispers to the next and so on. The final person draws the picture.
Scatter ten full to the brim cups of water around a room. The team has to place them all on a central tray without spilling any. Each member can only use one hand and one leg. You can use a measuring jug to establish the winner.
Place a cup on a table. The teams have to throw ping pong balls into it but no direct throws are allowed. The ball must bounce exactly once before being caught in the cup.
retropath2 says
Does Whirlingham count as Team Building? 2, or as many as you can muster, teams of, preferably, 5 or more. Line up ahead of a cricket stump positioned perhaps 20 yards ahead of each team. Plan: Each frontrunner sinks a pint of beer, ahead of running full pelt to the stump. Leaning over and holding the top if it, then it is run around some perhaps 10 times, before running back, again a fast as possible, to your team member at 2nd place. And on it goes.
Such fun.