Do Team Buildings Really Work?

Companies worldwide are spending a huge amount of time, money and effort to help their teams work together better. As part of their binding strategy, they organize regular team buildings.

If some employees consider it a good chance to take a break from routine and have fun while not spending a dime, others simply loath the idea of being forced to socialize with their co-workers outside work. How effective team-buildings really are is definitely a subjective matter that can only be pertaining if we consider each case separately.
While some companies might draw great benefits from these activities, other CEO's are surely wasting their money on it.
Here is more insight on this topic. Would be glad to hear your opinion on this matter.

Team Buildings Are Meant to Create a Bound Where There 's None

To start with, the purpose of team building is making people work better in teams by providing them the opportunity to know each other better and indulge in some trust-building activities outside normal working hours. So far so good, the intention is a positive one, but sometimes, the approach might ruin it. If the people you're trying to help befriend aren't taht close in the first place, do you really think that forcing them to fall backwards into each other's arms is going to solve the problem?

They Often Make People Feel Awkward

Team buildings are not only a good occasion to know your colleagues better, but also to make a complete full out of yourself. Some of the exercises and activities in which employees are required to participate are embarrassing to say the least. From pyjama parties to truth or dare games, there are plenty 'fun' ideas that can make you blush in front of your boss and peers weather you're the shy type or not.

Team Buildings Promote Competitive Behavior

Being too competitive at work is one of the main causes that makes team work inefficient. Even if you're not allowed to openly say it, working in a firm, be it a small one or a big multinational often feels like living in a jungle where everyone strives to stay ahead of others. You can hardly eliminate this type of mentality and the behaviors it triggers by asking people to play a game or tell a personal story. In fact, by dividing the people into teams and asking them to compete against each other, the company might even sharpen the very type of competitiveness they try to prevent.

You Can't Build Trust Using Untrustworthy Strategies

By engaging employees in different group activities, a team-building session aims to increase the group's cohesion and help co-workers trust each other more. The problem with most group activities involve in a team-building is that they don't inspire trust in the first place. I'm speaking from my personal experience in two corporations when I say that 70% of co-workers are pretty reluctant to taking part in the group activities involved in a team building. In fact, most of the people I 've worked with are quite distrustful when it comes to actively taking part in a team-building. Moreover, they think that all those games and challenges are quite nonsense and useless when it comes to the bottom-line, that is, improving work relationships and productivity.

Team-Buildings Don't Solve the Real Problem(s) of an Organization

Whenever a team-building is necessary because employees fail to work together efficiently, the root of the situation often lies somewhere else. Lack of efficiency can hardly be blamed totally on the people you employ. Most probably, an unproductive organization is also one where chaos and lack of proper communication rule. In other cases, outdated technologies, intricate procedures or lack of resources are the foundation on which poor team communication is built. If companies could determine where their main issues are and take more action to solve them, teamwork would automatically improve within the organization.

Team buildings can do good and they can also do harm. How we think about them and how we feel while taking part in them depends on lots of factors. One person can have the time of their life out with colleagues while their peers feel miserable doing the same thing.

What do you think about team-buildings? Love them, hate them, or are you being neutral?