Caution-Idiots at Work

Having reached a certain age, I have have held a variety of jobs in the natural order of things. In addition to having to actually performing the duties of the job, one is often dragged in to various types of "training,' whether it is team building, diversity awareness or business improvement systems. Some of them are useful and worth the time while others just give you amusing anecdotes to share at your next job.

For example, a few years ago the company I worked for had an elaborate business improvement system which involved every employee attending two days twice a year (and usually out of town). Some of it was worthwhile, some of it stunk. One activity involved the group being split into two groups and a ball had to be kept rolling through these plastic tubes and each team member had a tube and there was some element (which now escapes me) where after the ball rolled passed you had to go to another place in the line. There was a lot of running around and kneeling down to keep the plastic tubes level. It was very aggravating. The other exercise I remember also illustrated people thinking together to solve a problem. Okay, that's fine. Except the problem is how to get oneself through a thick rubber hoop while holding on to the previous person;s hand, and the loops got progressively smaller. Sound fun? Well, add to it the delight of having worn a skirt about one to two inches above the knew and trying to hop through this hoop and maybe you get the picture.

Recently at my current job we had an exercise which was almost equal to it my disdain for it. We each had a blank piece of paper, which we then had to tape to our back. Then we were all to walk around the room and write on the paper what we each thought of the person it was taped to. The leader, at the conclusion, asked if anyone was surprised by what others had written on the papers. No one was. Because everyone had written nice things like "Great friend" or "really helpful." What was the point? No one was seriously going to write anything negative. Most of us would rather keep it to ourselves or talk about it with others behind the person's back (haha).

At least I don't work for the government so I won't be able to add a snarky "your tax dollars at work" to it.