Out of office message

[Mick Mac]

I'm probably the target audience for this nonsense - I like to spend the whole day at my desk, I like to interact with others as litle as possible - and yes I do it for the money.

When my firm does this type of thing though, we do it in the week - not in our employees' weekend time - fancy giving up your weekend for teambuilding - no thanks.

[Mick Mac]

Oh and if I get up at 6am I'm usually knackered by 11am. So I stay in bed until 7.30.

I hate sherry, is there a bottle of stella alternative?

I'm completley negative - I think I need a teambuilding weekend.

[bigbadwolf]

Have any of you got any funny moments that have occured on one of these team building exercises. Any fights or anything like that?

[Muley]

Paintballing. You have your boss cold in your sights.

Do you go ahead and pull the trigger, or pause to consider the career implications first?

[Keef]

Paulino, how do you know how anyone feels about their jobs, or their colleagues?

If I get on with colleagues, I may well have a beer with them after work, and chat about whatever we so please. I don't want to be forced to climb a bloody mountain with them!

These things are vile, as are most of the uber happy "facilitators" who put you through your paces!

We once had one of those team days, where we had to go along a line telling each person something posative that they brought to the team. What a load of sh!te.

Sorry, but I have never heard a person come out of one of these things saying how it has made them see things in a new posative light, but rather just laughing about what a load of old rubbish it was.

tHAT SAID, A LOAD OF DRINK ON THE COMPANY ACCOUNT CAN NEVER BE A BAD THING.

[HonaloochieB]

I don't know if it counts BBW but some years ago me and the conductor on my bus got sacked out of our depot after a series of misunderstandings.

We decided to get jobs in a holiday camp on the basis that there would be birds a-plenty for us to chat up and get our legs over and that.

But rot me, when we got to the camp our old inspector was there in charge of security. How our hearts sank.

I then invited my mother, sister and brother-in-law in to stay for free.

We lead our former inspector a merry dance and prankage was most definitely the order of the day. Oh yes.

Anyway we did chat up lots of birds but did not get our legs over any of them. Though my conductor claimed he did, but frankly even in his prime he had the face of a diseased crow so I didn't really believe him.

Where was I?

That's it, the funny moment occured when my brother-in-law called my sister a 'useless great lump'

It was the way he said it. Absolutely priceless.

You had to be there really.

[annaj]

Waaaiiiit a minute. I'm away from the screen for a couple of hours and we've gone from me not liking enforced fun and outdoorsiness, because it brings back rather unpleasant memories to me being unsuitable for a customer facing role and only in my job for the money. What now?

First the people facing thing, since Sean has already defended me (thanks Sean, made me blush) I won't go on too much, but seriously Huguenot, I doubt you can find a more people facing job than mine (although I call them patients not customers) and I am good at it. I'm good at it because I'm good with people in real, and sometimes very serious, situations, not becuase of my ability to perform in a fake situation.

As for being a killjoy who only does their job for the money, well, gosh, paulino, that's quite an assumption. I love my job. I don't think I could do it if I didn't because the hours are horrible and it's mostly thankless. I work closely with a large team of people and we have to trust and rely on each other. Some of them I like, some of them I don't, some I'm indifferent to. I think that's natural and I think that's ok. Over the years I have made some close friends through work (and picked up a husband) but I don't think it's an essential to be best mates with everyone I work with and I don't think that would make me better at what I do. In fact, in my job a little bit of detachment is an essential.

[Keef]

I doubt you can find a more people facing job than mine

Ahem...

[bigbadwolf]

Yeah Anna, Keef crowd surfs an all that!

[annaj]

Not sure what you're getting at Keef, but ok, I'll rephrase. I'm sure there are lots of jobs as people facing as mine or even more so, but mine is pretty heavily dependant on my ability to interact with people.

Better?

[bignumber5]

I think some people on this thread are being remarkably up their own arses about this whole business. Not wanting to prick about playing rounders because you're not very good at it has absolutely no implications about how good you are at your job, unless your job is that sodding meaningless to begin with, a la "The Office", in which case all you budding David Brents out there probably think this team-building crap is the be all and end all of professional development.

At work, I am (essentially) in front line "customer" contact, I manage a small team and answer to someone with overall control on a daily basis, and the work is, at times literally, life or death decision making.

In private/recreational life, I am large, reasonably athletic, with an interest in various sports, team and solo.

In managerial development, I bloody hate all that enforced fun see-the-island-on-the-fun-bus nonsense.

I think these 3 facts are completely independent of one another.

Paulino, you in particular are being an egotistical management-speak muppet, and Huguenot I'm surprised to see you championing the view that customer service prowess is directly proportional to participation in unrelated tasks. I love what I do, and I'm pretty good at it. Not wanting to play rounders or go orienteering with you doesn't change either of those things.

Perhaps you might put this question on the flip chart for your next reflection seminar:

Forcing others to do something that they really don't want to do because it is your idea of being fun and constructive: what does that say about your management style?

[Ted Max]

Look, we're getting away from the point here.

Which is that the sort of person who looks forward to a weekend away building rafts on Dartmoor in the company of his direct reports, team leader, and a pensioned-off army PT instructor is likely, at some point, to turn up at work wearing only a bow tie, a pump-action shotgun and a thirst for revenge.

(unless you're Reg Varney, of course)

[Ted Max]

I mean, there are some people not as yet in Broadmoor who would welcome an evening learning to Flamenco with Karen from Bought Ledger while the boss smirks at the bar. But not many.

[HonaloochieB]

bignumber5 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Perhaps you might put this question on the flip

> chart for your next reflection seminar:

> Forcing others to do something that they really

> don't want to do because it is your idea of being

> fun and constructive: what does that say about

> your management style?

That you're a big swinging dick master of the universe who will tear his people a new one if they are not on board with all, and you mean ALL management initiatives?

[bignumber5]

...certainly one interpretation...

[Keef]

Anna, I was only teasing, I know you're front line! I definitely wasn't getting at anything.

[bignumber5]

wearing only a bow tie, a pump-action shotgun and a thirst for revenge

this genuinely did make me laugh out loud! Although for some odd reason, the visual seems to be of Mr.MacGabhann...

[SeanMacGabhann]

ha - bowties - as IF!

[bigbadwolf]

bignumber5 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> wearing only a bow tie, a pump-action shotgun and

> a thirst for revenge

>

> this genuinely did make me laugh out loud!

> Although for some odd reason, the visual seems to

> be of Mr.MacGabhann...

Now that was funny BN5!

[RosieH]

Now that's my kind of away day.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Plus I think it says more about Mr 5 than it does about me

ahem

[Ted Max]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4b/Frank_bowtie.jpg/200px-Frank_bowtie.jpg

[bignumber5]

What say you, sean? I imagine carnell can recommend a tailor and possibly BBW can get you tooled up... EDF away day, anyone?

[bigbadwolf]

Damn you Ted I was looking for that!!!

[HonaloochieB]

bignumber5 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What say you, sean? I imagine carnell can

> recommend a tailor and possibly BBW can get you

> tooled up... EDF away day, anyone?

If I was SM I'd take this as a slur upon my manhood and challenge BN5 to a fight.