Why does nobody talk about how bad 'fun' team activities are for introverts

Last month my company made us do a mandatory escape room for 'team building' and I almost quit on the spot. I work in accounting so I sit at a desk all day crunching numbers, not solving puzzles with people yelling at me. The room cost $35 per person and we spent 45 minutes stressed out instead of getting actual work done. I told my manager I felt more disconnected from the team after that than before. Has anyone else dealt with forced social stuff that backfired completely?

2 comments

2 Comments

umabailey4d ago

Got a friend who works at a tech startup where the CEO made everyone do improv comedy classes for "team bonding." She told me she literally hid in the bathroom for 20 minutes during one session because the thought of being put on the spot made her panic. The worst part is the CEO kept trying to call people out for not "participating enough" and it just made everyone more awkward and resentful. She ended up switching teams a few months later just to get away from that whole vibe. Seems like forcing fun on people never actually works the way they think it will.

thomas2914d agoMost Upvoted

Started going to one of those once and spent the whole time praying the fire alarm would go off so I could escape. Nothing says team bonding like watching your coworkers sweat through their shirts trying to be funny.