Why virtual team-building activities feel agonising

Effective team building contains two things:

• A change of scenery, which makes the activity seem like a break from the normal day.
• A demonstration that your employer really cares about your wellbeing.

Virtual team-building fails at both because it is nearly impossible to provide specialized attention on a group video call. And if you're attending a team-building video chat from your home office, it won't feel like a change of environment.

One school of thought is that the entire concept of team building is flawed, not just that of virtual team building.

Participating in team-building exercises won't usually help. The political and complex nature of the workplace means that people will return to their normal way of behaving.

The challenge with online team-building is to simulate the physical experiences of a team-building day trip.

Although online activities fall short, they can work as long as businesses feel like they're fulfilling their goals and the events feel really enjoyable.