Team Building and Values

A heat wave rolled through the South, and Atlanta has been swelteringly hot. As a break from the heat and our daily work, Steve decided that it was time for our annual Summer Fun Day. In the past we’ve gone to baseball games, visited museums, and picnicked in the park. This year, we decided to play into our competitive nature by going to Dave and Busters. If you don’t have one of these near your area, it is part restaurant, part billiard hall, part video arcade, and fully fun.

With ELI®’s name on the marquee to welcome us, we were ushered into a buffet lunch to gain strength for the challenges to come. What followed was a team-building competition of epic proportions. The three teams -- 5-1, Sweet Iced Tea, and Bring it On -- competed in arcade horse racing, skeeball, SuperTrivia, and video car racing. I found that I’m great at trivia, fair at skeeball, but awful at driving! I won’t tell you how many times I crashed! The competition was fierce, but the pressure was just as intense as the laughter. We cheered loudly for our teammates, and trash talking was kept to a minimum.

In the end, 5-1 dominated, but I suppose we should have expected Steve to stack his team. They were really great and won almost every game! The race for second and third was much closer, and we were all pretty good sports about not winning. After prizes were awarded, we were let loose to play any other games we chose.

I’ve worked in workplaces where I dreaded team outings like this. The places where the bullies always win, racist jokes abound, and lewd comments are common. It’s amazing to work for a company that lives their values. I’ve never worked for a company who laughs as much as we do, yet there is never a derogatory comment or joke made. It really makes me proud of my fellow employees and the company I work for to know that we can have a great time going out together and competing and never forget our values. We have lots of fun and truly enjoy each other’s company. I can’t wait until the next time we gather together as an entire staff, maybe because we all feel safe and appreciated. Don’t worry though, next time it’ll be my team that wins!