And fuck off with "Summer parties" and "Christmas parties". We can't relax at those things, cos if we do we're gonna tell the truth and then we're getting fired. Just give us the money instead.
Depends on your team building event. At my old job, everybody had a chance to plan one. I organized an interdepartmental dodgeball game. Let's just say a lot of suppressed rage came out on the court that day. It lives on in infamy.
My team has a similar arrangement, except it's like a 30 minute or less event once a month. They're stupid, but fun. Our team voted to keep them when surveyed.
*some* team building is necessary imo. I don’t care if my teams are best friends — but if it’s a new team I want them to be comfortable enough with each other to have healthy disagreements about work stuff, to feel comfortable asking each other questions, to actually talk in meetings and get along when I’m not there etc. to some extent that just requires spending a bit of time with each other. Doesn’t have to be trust falls in the woods. Just eating lunch together & learning each others’ names.
Idk. Not all of us are motivated by money and need the time and encouragement to be social at work. That being said, it's stupid to have teambuilding exercises instead of giving fair pay
I've never even had one outside of work hours. How could they even do that? Only things outside of work hours are dinners or holiday parties where they're paying for the meal and it's not mandatory.
I refused to do a team building event once and was fired a couple months later due to "restructuring" but we knew it was because the boss did not like me saying no. One of my team mates quit a few months later and we still hang out. I got on with everyone there except the managers. Fuck those yes men.
When I worked on the fraud team at H&R Block's corporate headquarters, we went out and did an escape room as a team building exercise, then went for pizza and beer. All during work hours, on the clock.
More money, yeah absolutely but, I work in a team that is like a family, we don't always get on, some of us think others are cunts, some fall in love, we support each other, we fall out, we make up and we care about each other. I love and care about my job and so do my colleagues. Genuinely good place and mostly good people and our away day last year was boss!
I'd also like to add teachers to this list. I do not want to share one fun fact about myself in front of the class. I just want to learn shit and get out.
It depends. I've worked places where we were all friends, and I've worked shitty places where we were civil to each other most of the time. The former we probably didn't need "team building" activities, but we'd have fun with them. And the latter, we sure as hell didn't need them artificially imposed by some bitch in HR, only making us angrier at each other, because it was obviously the "other guy" who pitched a fit to HR over some imagined slight and made us go through the annoying charade.
He's got a point, but I don't know if you could pay me enough money to put up with some of the bullshit that some bosses pull (looking at you Dumpy and Mush). Getting to know co-workers and being able to enjoy (tolerate) them makes a job more bearable
Yeah, such quotes are usually said by managers to shove their own responsibility back to their employees when they don't want to promote them. Like my boss told one of my co-workers who hadn't gotten a (well deserved) raise since ages, that he should "work on his visibility", like "yeah, I'm too dumb and lazy to notice what my employees are doing, so pls dance it for me". Didn't matter, it wasn't in good faith anyway.
Maybe not applicable in this case but “visibility” is for companies that use stack ranking. Frontline managers suggest who deserves a promotion, middle managers stack-rank all of them. Senior managers take the top few off all their middle managers’ lists and argue over who should get the available promotions. If the senior manager doesn’t know your boss, and if the middle managers don’t know you or your work, then it’s easy for their respective peers to argue their person should get the money
I mean, yeah, "visibility" can very much be a real thing in a corporate environment, but since I know a thing or two about our colleague's chances to get in contact with higher-ups in his daily work and our boss' general attitude, I am fairly certain, this isn't about visibility.
Even tho I do agree that a proper salary is incredibly important, I do still feel like it’s important to have a healthy work environment. I do, however, understand that many employers try to compensate one with the other, which is bull.
As much as I agree with this, there is a time & place for "team building" events. My friend is on a team where the manager destroyed team comradery and morale. When they hired a new manager, they had a day at a Food & Arcade place to bring them back to life. It worked. They also each got a small raise a month later - they were underpaid a lot because the last manager was stingy AF & mismanaged the budget. And they hired a couple people so they were only slightly understaffed staffed.
I agree, you do need to get to know each other as people and gel as a team. Even at customer events, we try to have some group discussions early just to get the feeling of camaraderie between people. It's important, if you want people to feel comfortable being able to bring their ideas and opinions forward.
I don't agree with this message. As a manager I am busy and don't really like it that much. But my team loves it, so I support it. We usually do it during business hours, unless its dinner, then its after work but we go to really nice restaurants sometimes Michelin star restaurant. Attendance always optional.
we have unlimited PTO, everyone is paid 300K to 1M total comp. I think the monthly social event is more valuable to them than say a $500 gift card.
Lol Cheaper to hire one consultant for 150k that will tell them to use all these bullshit strategies everyone hates and never work then push stupid nonsense buzzwords to try and foster some kind of elitism (because competition = free productivity).
Or more ironically, pay a consultant 150k to spend a week telling management that it is their fault good people leave. Then do absolutely nothing to change.
In healthcare our managers are one step ahead. Don't hire consultants to figure out employee loss from burnout. Just blame the employee for not practicing mindfulness and yoga.
Counter point: as a middle manager, I have no ability to give people raises beyond my preassigned amount at the preassigned time, but I sure do have the ability to declare "team lunch chat" or whatever to give people a break from project work for a bit in a way that doesn't look like slacking off to leadership.
You aren't giving people a break. You're simply obligating them to spend time in other ways that won't finish their project and certainly won't get them home faster. You're a middle manager so nobody told you this before, but your job in an org is to repeat what leadership says and that's it. Any 'creativity' you bring to the workplace is only going to make your underlings hate you more, and rightfully so.
Also as a middle manager, remember "workshop", "strategy planning", "ROI evaluation", "KPI discussion", "partner business lunch" and "team wellbeing discussions".
We cover enough time zones that it's hard to book something not in *someone's* lunch time but it doesn't replace their actual lunch block, that one they can move.
LurlineLumpkin
The strongest bond I get with coworkers is when we unite on our hatred of the company/bosses.
PacMan4Life
The music made me think he might be a wise man, but his words proved it
KrondorMocker
WolfgangVonTittySprinkles
eddbrowne
And quietly correct staff without offending/pretending. Ask questions to get wind of problems not raised. Act how you want your boss to act.
beez428
HOWEVAH
SoberAndBored
And fuck off with "Summer parties" and "Christmas parties". We can't relax at those things, cos if we do we're gonna tell the truth and then we're getting fired. Just give us the money instead.
awholelotofnothin
Depends on your team building event. At my old job, everybody had a chance to plan one. I organized an interdepartmental dodgeball game. Let's just say a lot of suppressed rage came out on the court that day. It lives on in infamy.
starkeclipse
My team has a similar arrangement, except it's like a 30 minute or less event once a month. They're stupid, but fun. Our team voted to keep them when surveyed.
mynamespaul
*some* team building is necessary imo. I don’t care if my teams are best friends — but if it’s a new team I want them to be comfortable enough with each other to have healthy disagreements about work stuff, to feel comfortable asking each other questions, to actually talk in meetings and get along when I’m not there etc. to some extent that just requires spending a bit of time with each other. Doesn’t have to be trust falls in the woods. Just eating lunch together & learning each others’ names.
MissSiesta
Idk. Not all of us are motivated by money and need the time and encouragement to be social at work. That being said, it's stupid to have teambuilding exercises instead of giving fair pay
monsster
I HATE teambuilding events. Dragging along some stupid-ass log or whatever with 'your' team. But if you refuse the boss notices.
HistoricalContext
Fuckin' love me some Self-Help Singh.
Peffse
I mean, I'll go to the teambuilding event, but I'm also logging those as working hours.
MmmmmSoup
My husbands work does he gets paid for anything work related
InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
I've never even had one outside of work hours. How could they even do that? Only things outside of work hours are dinners or holiday parties where they're paying for the meal and it's not mandatory.
JohnSmithterms
I refused to do a team building event once and was fired a couple months later due to "restructuring" but we knew it was because the boss did not like me saying no. One of my team mates quit a few months later and we still hang out. I got on with everyone there except the managers. Fuck those yes men.
lozeldatkm
When I worked on the fraud team at H&R Block's corporate headquarters, we went out and did an escape room as a team building exercise, then went for pizza and beer. All during work hours, on the clock.
mynamespaul
Yeah I mean it should be during working hours, at the workplace. Otherwise it should be volentary and free
nahlej
magic8balls
More money, yeah absolutely but, I work in a team that is like a family, we don't always get on, some of us think others are cunts, some fall in love, we support each other, we fall out, we make up and we care about each other. I love and care about my job and so do my colleagues. Genuinely good place and mostly good people and our away day last year was boss!
SpeedbumpNZ
Self-Help Singh is pretty good with demotivational videoa.
ilovetraveler
I'd also like to add teachers to this list. I do not want to share one fun fact about myself in front of the class. I just want to learn shit and get out.
tp0d
classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXK_vHNNht4
OliverOtter
It depends. I've worked places where we were all friends, and I've worked shitty places where we were civil to each other most of the time. The former we probably didn't need "team building" activities, but we'd have fun with them. And the latter, we sure as hell didn't need them artificially imposed by some bitch in HR, only making us angrier at each other, because it was obviously the "other guy" who pitched a fit to HR over some imagined slight and made us go through the annoying charade.
bcam23
Facts
dantevivi79
He's right you know.
spontaneous9
MistaAintGoin
huffnpuff72
He's got a point, but I don't know if you could pay me enough money to put up with some of the bullshit that some bosses pull (looking at you Dumpy and Mush). Getting to know co-workers and being able to enjoy (tolerate) them makes a job more bearable
fandsor
Oh shit, I only have one cat. I'm clearly doing something wrong.
YesButMaybe
Nah. You do what you can when you can and how you can. I have 0 cats. I want to get a cat. And a dog. I have 0 dogs too.
rubypilgrim
you're safe, many cat memes count
thinkybrainpains
You only have one cat so far
youreathing
"Your advancement is up to you!" BULL. FUCKING. SHIT. As a manager, you need to tell me which checkboxes to fill in order to advance.
ElroydIsGone
Yeah, such quotes are usually said by managers to shove their own responsibility back to their employees when they don't want to promote them.
Like my boss told one of my co-workers who hadn't gotten a (well deserved) raise since ages, that he should "work on his visibility", like "yeah, I'm too dumb and lazy to notice what my employees are doing, so pls dance it for me". Didn't matter, it wasn't in good faith anyway.
mynamespaul
Maybe not applicable in this case but “visibility” is for companies that use stack ranking. Frontline managers suggest who deserves a promotion, middle managers stack-rank all of them. Senior managers take the top few off all their middle managers’ lists and argue over who should get the available promotions. If the senior manager doesn’t know your boss, and if the middle managers don’t know you or your work, then it’s easy for their respective peers to argue their person should get the money
ElroydIsGone
I mean, yeah, "visibility" can very much be a real thing in a corporate environment, but since I know a thing or two about our colleague's chances to get in contact with higher-ups in his daily work and our boss' general attitude, I am fairly certain, this isn't about visibility.
Sauistorby
Even tho I do agree that a proper salary is incredibly important, I do still feel like it’s important to have a healthy work environment. I do, however, understand that many employers try to compensate one with the other, which is bull.
TI99Kitty
"[...]and their many, many cats." Damn right!
YesButMaybe
As much as I agree with this, there is a time & place for "team building" events. My friend is on a team where the manager destroyed team comradery and morale. When they hired a new manager, they had a day at a Food & Arcade place to bring them back to life. It worked. They also each got a small raise a month later - they were underpaid a lot because the last manager was stingy AF & mismanaged the budget. And they hired a couple people so they were only slightly understaffed staffed.
InkyBlinkyPinkyAndClyde
I agree, you do need to get to know each other as people and gel as a team. Even at customer events, we try to have some group discussions early just to get the feeling of camaraderie between people. It's important, if you want people to feel comfortable being able to bring their ideas and opinions forward.
YesButMaybe
Nice. Well said. - facilitates cohesion, comfort and common goals.
Thorketil
I forgot the guy's name, but he's done more of this stuff and it's really good.
mouse209
Self-help Singh. His youtube channel name is Masood Boomgaard
Thorketil
GrayWhiteWolf
I don't agree with this message. As a manager I am busy and don't really like it that much. But my team loves it, so I support it. We usually do it during business hours, unless its dinner, then its after work but we go to really nice restaurants sometimes Michelin star restaurant. Attendance always optional.
we have unlimited PTO, everyone is paid 300K to 1M total comp. I think the monthly social event is more valuable to them than say a $500 gift card.
Comet260
Ever heard of the term "privilege"? Applies to your situation. And no, that's not envy on my part.
NKato
300k to 1M? Sir, you are living in a completely different dimension from the rest of us. Fuck your perspective.
nojustsayitdont
Then there's the rest of us, who don't have a job like yours.
GrayWhiteWolf
fair. however median income in SF is $150k. Entire city is rich.
SilverFoxChaser
Lol Cheaper to hire one consultant for 150k that will tell them to use all these bullshit strategies everyone hates and never work then push stupid nonsense buzzwords to try and foster some kind of elitism (because competition = free productivity).
hairbearbunch66
Or more ironically, pay a consultant 150k to spend a week telling management that it is their fault good people leave. Then do absolutely nothing to change.
NoMuffinsToSpare
In healthcare our managers are one step ahead. Don't hire consultants to figure out employee loss from burnout. Just blame the employee for not practicing mindfulness and yoga.
AyatollahBahloni
Consultant: A person who takes your watch and tells you what time it is.
MarriNikari
Counter point: as a middle manager, I have no ability to give people raises beyond my preassigned amount at the preassigned time, but I sure do have the ability to declare "team lunch chat" or whatever to give people a break from project work for a bit in a way that doesn't look like slacking off to leadership.
BayazTheBenevolent
You aren't giving people a break. You're simply obligating them to spend time in other ways that won't finish their project and certainly won't get them home faster. You're a middle manager so nobody told you this before, but your job in an org is to repeat what leadership says and that's it. Any 'creativity' you bring to the workplace is only going to make your underlings hate you more, and rightfully so.
itwasababyox
Thiiiiis ughhhhh
youreathing
So fucking tell them that. You'd be surprised how far a little honesty goes.
Etereo
Not much
MarriNikari
Oh I do! It's a standing joke for all my folks how little filter I have.
Sipulikeitto
Also as a middle manager, remember "workshop", "strategy planning", "ROI evaluation", "KPI discussion", "partner business lunch" and "team wellbeing discussions".
BayazTheBenevolent
Make sure to repeat all of these words like a mantra even if you don't know their meaning. Especially if you don't know their meaning.
KitchenClean
“Team lunch chat”? I feel like lunch is sacred, give people at least 20 minutes if not 50 minutes to enjoy their lunch in peace.
MarriNikari
We cover enough time zones that it's hard to book something not in *someone's* lunch time but it doesn't replace their actual lunch block, that one they can move.
BayazTheBenevolent
Yeah what the fuck is that. You're gonna bother me during lunch, too? Fuck outta here.
KitchenClean
I hate working lunches. People need brain breaks.