Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Games can fix remote team building

slideswith.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 70 posts

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#41

Post by [deleted] »

dj_mc_merlin wrote: post #15
dboshardy wrote: post #4

I'm firmly of the belief that if there is genuine social interaction to be had, it will be had for the most part. Forcing social interaction (corporate mandated fun) is just another tool to tie employees to an employer to make it more difficult/less desirable for them to leave for better opportunities.

> I'm firmly of the belief that if there is genuine social interaction to be had, it will be had for the most part. I'd agree with you any day except the current ones. Given recent events, do you not Counter Strike Fridays might bring some much needed social interaction? Yes, making them mandatory would be stupid, but what company makes socializing events mandatory?

[deleted]

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#42

Post by goldcd »

dboshardy wrote: post #4

I'm firmly of the belief that if there is genuine social interaction to be had, it will be had for the most part. Forcing social interaction (corporate mandated fun) is just another tool to tie employees to an employer to make it more difficult/less desirable for them to leave for better opportunities.

I agree.

I think the ideal would be that it just happens organically - your employees get along, groups want to spend time together outside of their employment, you reap the benefit when they're working in it. It's invaluable to know what makes people tick and how best to work with them.

If the groups don't form naturally, maybe try to 'seed' some. Stick some cash behind a local bar, ask if anybody wants to go karting after work, pop along for an informal 5-a-side on Sunday morning etc. Never force it, though.

I was made aware of a 'fun event' that didn't get enough uptake to hit it's KPI. Therefore people were encouraged to press-gang their people - and you end up with a bunch of miserable people all resenting the intrusion into their personal time and everybody involved.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#43

Post by aaron-santos »

goldcd wrote: post #29

I always felt that most "enforced-fun-games" were excellent at team building. Being "asked to cross an imaginary river" etc is a great way to unite the humble employees in their universal loathing of their woefully mis-guided management. Always had a niggling feeling that the 'bad games' couldn't be that bad by accident. ("Look, everybody hates everybody - could we push some more hate towards us, so they at least tal…

> the 'bad games' couldn't be that bad on purpose.

Is it the same reason that hazing create shared trauma which we cope with by forming bonds?

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#44

Post by frakt0x90 »

mc32 wrote: post #12
dboshardy wrote: post #4

I'm firmly of the belief that if there is genuine social interaction to be had, it will be had for the most part. Forcing social interaction (corporate mandated fun) is just another tool to tie employees to an employer to make it more difficult/less desirable for them to leave for better opportunities.

To me the issue is blurring the lines between work and not work. Companies are not your buddies. They are not your friends. We make a deal. You pay me. I return value. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. You’re not family. You won’t be there when things go south. You will not hesitate to fire, if it’s in your interest. Don't sugarcoat the relationship.

I'm sure a lot of companies are like this but not all. The one I work for is huge (50k+ emps) and is very much like a family. One of our engineers got a really rare, debilitating disease and they kept him on even though he couldn't work for 2 years and they helped raise thousands of dollars for his medical bills. My manager even helped me find external jobs when things weren't improving here. Probably rare but it happens. My coworkers here are easily my best friends.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#45

Post by devlopr »

goldcd wrote: post #29

I always felt that most "enforced-fun-games" were excellent at team building. Being "asked to cross an imaginary river" etc is a great way to unite the humble employees in their universal loathing of their woefully mis-guided management. Always had a niggling feeling that the 'bad games' couldn't be that bad by accident. ("Look, everybody hates everybody - could we push some more hate towards us, so they at least tal…

Ask the CEO a question as a prize? Can I forefit my winnings?

Maybe it's me but I can't think of any question that would produce an answer of information I didn't know and actually want to know. From any CEO.

What would you ask Musk? Or your own CEO if you had the chance?

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#46

Post by slmjkdbtl »

hiccuphippo wrote: post #13
slmjkdbtl wrote: post #3

not surprised games bring bond happiness and laughter which can cure cancer, but the problem is a lot of games have fragile net code, you sometimes have to rely on the "big" online multiplayer games cuz a lot of indie / small games prob won't work or can be frustrating to work with. I was looking for a multiplayer game to play with my little brother who's in China, I have a 1000+ steam library and Portal 2 is the onl…

That's more China's great firewall's fault than the indie game's fault. Also try more strategy/turnbased games than fps if the lag is an issue.

It's not, China's great firewall don't block all foreigh servers they only block a few, it's more of a distance and internet infra problem. Not saying it's indie game's fault but it's true very few indie games have online multiplayer and very few really made it awesome, most of the time networking is not worth it for smaller games, a lot of awesome local multiplayer games won't even consider online. And yeah strategy/turnbased games definitely will be better.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#47

Post by dfxm12 »

crazygringo wrote: post #30

There's a subset of employees who really like games. Many places I've worked, those employees stay long after hours pulling out board games, video games, etc. But there's another (probably larger?) subset of employees who like casual conversation, coffee, drinking, little 5 minute chats in the kitchen, and who have little to no interest in games. I don't think the proposal is going to do much for this subset.

The game isn't the point, and to that end, picking the right game is critical. I mean, if you don't like games, but are interested in chit chat, you can make small talk over a game of war or go fish. That might not be possible over a game of league of legends.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#48

Post by goldcd »

dudul wrote: post #19
mc32 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To me the issue is blurring the lines between work and not work. Companies are not your buddies. They are not your friends. We make a deal. You pay me. I return value. That’s it. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. You’re not family. You won’t be there when things go south. You will not hesitate to fire, if it’s in your interest. Don't sugarcoat the relationship.

Totally agree with that. You know what I like to do with my friends? Bitch about my work. Vent about how idiotic our sales people are, mock how delusional our roadmap for the year is. That's for my friends, not my coworkers, not my manager who's trying to be my buddy. Yes, I will occasionally have true friends at work with whom I can talk about that on a private channel, but that's the exception.

You need better co-workers. Your friends and family will listen and politely nod along to your complaints, but only a co-worker will truly appreciate your wrath, deeply sympathize, and then one-up you with some scandalous piece of gossip they heard about the target of your rage.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#49

Post by CubsFan1060 »

mc32 wrote: post #36
senko wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Family is a straw man, nobody's saying you have to marry the company. However, note that you're spending 8 hours most of your days with these people. It is undoubtedly easier if the relationship is cordial, friendly, and if you can banter with them during the off moments. There is a human element to every interaction and people are not robots. "You pay me, I return value, that's it" reduces you to a nameless, faceles…

I’d restrain from banter with colleagues. You never know who’s listening or who will catch wind. Don’t mix biz and pleasure. All workplaces are this place; some disguise it better.

This is an extremely cynical take.

There's a middle ground between "we're family, I'll sacrifice everything for you" and "I'll stab you in the back as soon as I possibly can".

I think it's perfectly reasonable for the vast majority of people to enjoy work more if they have a friendly relationship with their coworkers. Does it benefit the company to have happy employees? Sure. Does it benefit the employees to be happy? Sure!

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#50

Post by goldcd »

mc32 wrote: post #33
baud147258 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Vent about how idiotic our sales people are, mock how delusional our roadmap for the year is that's like half of my conversations with colleagues. Personally I don't see that many downsides with getting along with my colleagues, though it doesn't usually happen via mandated team building

The thing is you don’t want HR catching wind of things. It’s not that people rat on each other. But people are known to blurt things out when prompted (someone divulges a “secret” and often the other person divulges a “secret” in return. It’s just conversation.)

I guess it depends what's being said.

To take the "Delusional Roadmap" example above, the only thing that is every going to resolve this, is the quiet gossipy whispers.

e.g. Possible answers 1) No it's not - you're fired. 2) Is it? I was told it wasn't. Could you jot down some notes I could raise? 3) Yes, sorry - we all know what, but we have to go along with it to get budget, so we're not all fired 4) I know it looks a stretch, but somebody's been working on x, and y's about to be signed.

Any conversation or response, gives you some context - to better understand/accept that slide that just left you spluttering, speechless and outraged.

Post reply on HN