While employers may be keen, employees struggle to see the point of many team building activities, according to a recent survey.

The Office Angels research questioned 1,500 office workers, and found over half of them regarded team development activities as 'childish and embarrasing'. One in ten felt uncomfortable about the pressure of 'bonding' with colleagues, while 24% resented having to give up their free time to take part in activities. Instead, 51% said they would prefer the money to be spent on a leisure activity for team members, such as a sporting event (favoured by male workers) or night out at a restaurant (favoured by females).

The survey also noted a move away from traditional team-building activities towards more alternative programmes, such as filming a short movie, human table football, making clay pots and dancing competitions.

Despite the participants reluctance, 76% of organisations making use of team building activities claimed they bolster morale, with 55% believing programmes encouraged interaction, and 71% thought decision-making and planning activities benefitted from team development programmes.

Office Angels MD Paul Jacobs commented: "If conducted professionally with clear objectives in mind, team bonding sessions can be a great success in boosting company morale and cameraderie. However, employers need to bear in mind that extravagant gestures are not always required. Instead, focus should be placed on ensuring the basic team building elements in daily office life are set in place".

What's your view? If you're a provider working in the team development field, or a Training Manager responsible for developing teams in your organisation, add your thoughts below. You can read a range of features from TrainingZONE's special feature on teams here.