It is easy to see why team$-$building exercises have become so popular. They are usually advertised as exciting or fun activities for the entire office, such as bowling nights or ropes courses, that offer an escape from the office. However, the reality is that these exercises are often extremely costly and do not live up to their goals of building team relationships and improving collaboration. Some may be convinced by the enthusiastic testimonials, but in reality, the research indicates that team$-$building interventions do not have a significant effect on team performance $($when conducted in a large$-$scale and entertainment$-$centric way$).$ Furthermore, research has found that managers should be more focused on enhancing individual motivation to create effective teams. While strong relationships and trust are essential for collaboration, they are not necessarily the starting point.

Unfortunately, any potential benefits of team$-$building activities are often short$-$lived and soon forgotten when employees return to their day$-$to$-$day work. While teams can be valuable and necessary, there is such a thing as an overemphasis on collaborative activities. Data from the past decade shows that the time spent by managers and employees involved in collaborative activities has grown by $50$ percent or more. Rather than focusing so much time and money on team$-$building exercises, organizations would be wise to monitor and recognize when collaborative work is needed. By allocating team tasks and purposefully forming teams, they can prevent an overabundance of team tasks that can leave employees feeling burned out and stressed.