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Games can fix remote team building

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Re: Games can fix remote team building

#51

Post by goldcd »

aaron-santos wrote: post #43
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?

Exactly - wish I'd plucked that word.

Team-building is the only legal form of hazing allowed by companies. Now that's not to say all Team-building is hazing - but...

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#52

Post by 6510 »

I've always joked that company software lags behind game development by 10-30 years. One time, in a rather silly mood, I ponder this weird idea to add a game to the employee toolkit. I imagined it to grow just like all in-house developed software and ideally make a caricature of the business process. Then I remember how many people I met and hung out with in online games like Diablo 2. One would stand in town and chat about the game, life the universe and everything. The silly idea didn't seem all that silly anymore.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#54

Post by mc32 »

CubsFan1060 wrote: post #49
mc32 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

It’s okay to form superficial relationships at work. Some may become real friendships, but that should be outside company influence.

I don’t want the company serving as intermediary. It becomes friendly “-ism”.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#55

Post by littlecranky67 »

mawise wrote: post #6

I try to do this with my team at least once a month for a couple hours. Some games we've enjoyed: Among Us: https://innersloth.itch.io/among-us Telephone Pictionary: https://rocketcrab.com/game/drawphone Codenames: https://codenames.game/

+1 on codenames. I played the board game pre-covid and the current online version is browser based, robust, free to play with no ads whatsover (except for the phyical game itself) and no required signup.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#56

Post by ebiester »

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.

Companies aren't, but this is a relatively small community, especially in some niche languages. That conversation with a coworker might lead to a job years down the line. As a manager, I may not always be a manager. The next job, I may be a manager or engineer and knowing someone on another team that might be the right person for the job - and that conversation might start at a happy hour.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#57

Post by sneak »

mawise wrote: post #6

I try to do this with my team at least once a month for a couple hours. Some games we've enjoyed: Among Us: https://innersloth.itch.io/among-us Telephone Pictionary: https://rocketcrab.com/game/drawphone Codenames: https://codenames.game/

Is it mandatory? If you assume a staff member has x hours available each week for work, is this coming out of x (at the expense of company business) or is it coming out of 168-x (and thus reducing the staff member's time for sleep, shower, cooking, family, et c)?

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#58

Post by baud147258 »

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 don't think anything that we said was a fireable offense (or HR would need to fire the whole group). We might get an official reprimand for some of the dissing, though.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#59

Post by novok »

sneak wrote: post #57
mawise wrote: post #6

I try to do this with my team at least once a month for a couple hours. Some games we've enjoyed: Among Us: https://innersloth.itch.io/among-us Telephone Pictionary: https://rocketcrab.com/game/drawphone Codenames: https://codenames.game/

Is it mandatory? If you assume a staff member has x hours available each week for work, is this coming out of x (at the expense of company business) or is it coming out of 168-x (and thus reducing the staff member's time for sleep, shower, cooking, family, et c)?

In my experience these things are usually scheduled during working hours as a meeting, and optional.

Re: Games can fix remote team building

#60

Post by mc32 »

baud147258 wrote: post #58
mc32 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 don't think anything that we said was a fireable offense (or HR would need to fire the whole group). We might get an official reprimand for some of the dissing, though.

There was a guy hanging out with his work buddies. Other people within hearing distance. A recent graduate and uncultured, he referred to someone as a chick. So long!

Was it professional to say chick? No. Is it a fireable offense? I’ve heard much worse, but on the other side so it doesn’t even register with people.

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