Once Again, Wacky Games Help To Re-Invent Corporate Culture
from the c'mon,-think-outside-the-box dept
There's plenty of evidence that remnants of the last bubble have come back in vogue. One of the more disturbing elements may be the return of companies that require their employees to play games, ostensibly to build teamwork and trust. Back in February, 2000, right before the peak of the bubble, E-Trade's CEO, Christos Cotsakos, was being hailed as a visionary for requiring employees to wear beanie caps, carry around rubber chickens, and stand on chairs. Management gurus declared that they were creating "the company culture of the future", and fostering a workplace where employees could think outside of the box. The company's stock eventually crashed, and founder Cotsakos left the company. Again, companies are having their employees play games, the latest involve running around public places, taking pictures, and acting like spies. Some might question the wisdom of acting like spies, in public places, during a period of such concern about terrorism. They may want to consult with officials at Ericsson, who, in 2000, staged the hijacking of a bus carrying company officials. They just wanted to see how they'd react. That didn't turn out very well. Ultimately, playing games may be a good way to relieve stress, and even improve employee productivity, but couching these games as a way to improve teamwork, dialogue, trust, etc. is just reheating the rubber chickens.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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I think the most effective way would be to motivate the employees in a way that they feel like equal partners in the company's success and faliure. They should be rewarded and punnished for every right and wrong they do respectively.
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Re: What?
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wacky games aren't so bad
The things are actually fun, if you let yourself really get into it. It's more of a morale builder, which leads to better team-work, trust, etc.
Not such a bad idea for a company who wants to excel; human resources is only a tiny piece of running a successful business though.
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No games please
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oh yes they are
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If the job involves everyone working together for anything to get done, it's important to build a good, high-morale "team".
Those jackasses that have a problem playing on a team would have a problem playing games.
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corporate games
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To Game or Not to Game
Teambuilding, however, is ONE legitimate solution to the problem of trying to espouse better teamwork and for the workgroup to learn how to function as a team. You have to be careful about blanket statements claiming that the people who are trying to make an honest living are hacks or vice versa.
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Just my 2
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A deliberate mishmash of quotes
A spanking! A spanking! Oooohh! Spank ME!!!
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Don't think so - umm maybe - Still no
The only way that actually makes people part of the company is to give them a stake. Sweat equity is what counts some reward for your part in developing the success of the company.
Silly games signal someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. These are normally organised by HR types who are running interference for some gross inequity.
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Re: Don't think so - umm maybe - Still no
A lot of you seem to have doubts about teambuilding exercises. I do agree that a lot of the time they are used "to pull the wool over your eyes" and mask some kind of major plot to kill off the workforce. However, when done correctly and often the ROI is a general reduction in stress, higher group cohesion, and a friendlier workplace. If you are too embittered or cynical to participate then at least try not to drag down the rest of the company with you. As far as their effectiveness after the day is done, research has shown that when companies put them on once in a blue moon to fulfill some kind of HR performance requirement then the behavior does not stick, but if it is built into the corporate culture and done frequently on smaller scales it has been proven to reinforce a good thing.
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Re: Re: Don't think so - umm maybe - Still no
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Boating
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