Has anyone had to go to one of those work-related service immersions?

[Laffy Kat]

Ugh! After having just gotten off work at 10:00 tonight, I have to show up at 7:00 am tomorrow at a hotel for a clinic-wide service immersion. Half the clinic attended yesterday and the rest of us tomorrow. There will be hand-holding, game-playing, break-out groups, everything I hate! For us introverts this is a fate worse than death. It's mandatory, too. It goes on 'til 4:45 and they provide breakfast and lunch, so I can't even get away for lunch.

[Phoenix61]

1. I have been to those

They suck even if you're an extrovert. They push the envelope on my ability to be nice to people I don't really like.

[Laffy Kat]

2. Of all the things our organization needs to spend money on, I can't believe THIS.

All the clinics in the region are doing it, so thousands of employees. Meanwhile, our copiers barely work and the carpets in the clinic look nasty. Management.

[Warpy]

3. One reason I'm most glad I'm retired is that I no longer have to cope

with this happy faced corporate promotion of team cohesion. I'm an extreme introvert and it was pure torture for me.

It's only a sign that management has entirely too much time on its hands and needs to have its numbers thinned greatly. I have only met a handful of people who thought it was worth anything, most people are just pissed off by it. The ones who approved were usually the ones bucking for management jobs.

[Doreen]

4. When I worked for them MANY years ago Walmart did the same thing.

Nothing like being forced to eat their cheap crap food. Well they did not force you to eat. You had to show up and stay for awhile. They did not make you play the games but you had to listen to their growth success and cheer that damn cheer you had to do. I had better things to do with my life than cheering about all of the money I would never see.

[samnsara]

5. i worked in mental health and they were always having these...

..I grumped my way thru and actually passed on a cpl of the touchy feely exercises...but I later realized by my passing, it left one participant without a positive affirmation...and she was a really nice lady.

[sharp_stick]

6. Only once

it was several years ago and we trolled the poor people running the program so hard that we actually felt sorry for them by the end of the day.

I hate the touchy feely stuff more than people imagine. These people are my co-workers, not necessarily friends. I trust them to do their jobs not catch me if I'm falling.

They now have a much more "fun" option near where I live where the teams get to do zip-lining and ropes courses. That, I might sign on to. It actually seems more team building than all the stupid trust exercises.

[Iggo]

7. I fuckin' hate that shit.

The only thing remotely like that that I've enjoyed is what my current employer does.

All the outside staff come in and answer the phones, and all the inside staff go bowling.

(On a different day, all the outside staff get together and go golfing. But who gives a shit about that. Fuck those guys...lol.)