Source: Pexels/Reddit

Corporate team-building exercises often promise fun collaboration, but often results in either awkward forced fun or competitive resentment. Nothing quite says “we’re a family” by pitting departments

What would you do if your work’s bonding activity proved to be rigged from the start? One person recently shared a cringey example of this on Reddit. Here’s what they said.

The rigged step contest.

Did a few years of a job for machine setup and maintenance.

There were these huge machines that took these big mechanical inserts, I was on the crew that built, maintained and installed the inserts.

As usual in these jobs, the office people had some kind of mental disconnect from the rest of us.

There is often a large gulf between onsite and office folk.

They kept putting through all these health conscious programs that only the office people would use.

Like a work out program after your shift that only someone who didn’t actually work through their shift would want to do.

There was an incentive program, contest…I don’t remember how they worded it.

Sounds like this office wasn’t great at reading the WHOLE room.

EVERYONE in the company was issued a Pedometer to track their steps.

At the end of your day you’d write down your steps and at the end of the week on friday you’d hand in your totals… Honor system… and for every 5k steps you did you got your name in a drawing for prizes.

There was also a HUGE construction paper road made in a hallway and everyone in the company got put on it.

It’s a nice idea, in theory…

When you’d hand in your paper, they’d move you ahead on the map that many steps.

This is where I will mention that where we build the tools is 450ish feet away from where the machines are.

The tools are kept in various locations that aren’t exactly in convenient locations.

That doesn’t sound thought out.

We are responsible for any radio calls in the department as well as repairs during the shift on top of the installs we do. Lots of walking.

My house was 2 miles from work so I also walked to and from work for an extra spot in the drawing a day.

At the end of one week my department got a shoutout from the office people because we were walking more than the office health nuts and obviously taking this seriously… no… this is just our job.

It’s all fun and games until it’s not.

First week drawing happened, someone from the office won.

Week two, the office people were in our dust and someone in the office mentioned that the amount of walking we were doing was “almost unhealthy”.

Second drawing, someone in the office won.

How interesting…

After week three the office people actually got HR to talk to us because there was no way we weren’t padding our numbers.

We offered to let her follow us for a shift.

No one could catch us.

Not exactly surprising.

Third drawing, someone in the office won.

Then the whole thing ended early.

They gave us some reason about the point of being healthy was made.

Seems like that wasn’t the only point being made.

I think that us making the office people look bad and how much walking we were actually doing made them rethink things.

They drew names out of week 3 for the rest of the stuff.

Better to see it through to the end.

I think 1 of the prizes went to a floor worker.

Our department didn’t win any of the prizes.

Sometimes activities meant to foster camaraderie only foster hostility. Let’s see what the Reddit community had to say about this one.

The comments section could apparently relate all too well.

Some even sharing their strong reactions.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about an employee who decided to push back against time micromanagement.

One person shared a story from their own experience.

And another made an apt comparison.

In this situation, team work does NOT make the dream work.