The team-building business

But now the concept of sending staff on bridge-building expeditions in North Wales or to art therapy classes in Oxfordshire is being criticised.

The idea was that by getting to know each other, achieving goals and being creative, staff would pull together as a team, making them more productive at work.

But a Manchester professor has put a spanner in the works by declaring that forcing people into physical challenges is possibly the worst way to get them to relate to each other.

Prof Cooper added: A major reason for such courses is to get people out of the pressured work environment and find a stress-reliever. I don't think it's sensible to put people back into competitive environments. A backlash followed the death of Thomas Denny, a 54-year-old British Rail worker, who was reluctantly forced to go pot-holing recently by his company. He suffered a heart attack and died.

Anne Shackley was then awarded 275,000 compensation last month after her employers made her go on a team-building exercise including sumo wrestling. She developed epilepsy as a result and can no longer drive.

So is team-building really the way to a better staff environment, or does it alienate unwilling members instead?

Paul Bradford, account manager for Corporate Innovations, in Banbury, who organises business events, said more and more companies were taking part in team-building activities, not only with their staff but also as a means to impress clients.

He organises days at the Grand Prix and football matches, to get people who only meet in the office to relax and enjoy going out with each other in exciting locations. He also organises more hair-raising outings such as white-water rafting in Wales and added that mental challenges, such as Krypton Factor re-enactments, were also increasing in popularity. The Heart of England TEC and Business Link in Abingdon is all for team-building, whether it's a trip to Alton Towers or mountain climbing.

Fay Brooks, personnel officer, said: "Regular team strategy days have provided an opportunity to improve relationships away from the work environment.

"A day out of the office every few months gives an opportunity for teams to strengthen their vision and prepare for forthcoming challenges."

The company also gives every member of staff a 100 annual allowance to learn a new skill unrelated to their jobs. So from Greek to keep fit, Thai cookery to ice dancing, employees improve themselves and presumably become more committed to their jobs in the process. Action and adventure aside, American companies have started involving the relatives of their employees as much as possible, by holding family days with barbeques and children's entertainers, enabling their hard-working staff to relax while being able to spend valuable time with their spouses and children.

Polycom, a telecommunications company in the Oxford Business Park, holds an family day every summer at the Four Pillars Hotel in Sandford-on-Thames. But it also sets aside a few days a year for go-kart racing, sailing and rally driving.

Other companies are steering away from the macho paintballing type of recreation in favour of more creative activities. For example, Sue Amey's art therapy classes have proved very popular.

Here company directors make puppets, managing directors construct badges and executives play musical chairs.

In short, bosses are taught to express their creativity, aid self-discovery, examine their emotions and access imagination.

Clients flew in from all over Europe to experience the primary school mentality. Sue explained: "We allow them to be creative, which they haven't done since they were kids. It helps them understand people as a whole, not just as a workforce."

Other market leaders such as Unipart in Cowley have taken team-building so much to heart that it has become part of the company's culture with in-house team-building inherent in every employee's induction and training. But instead of venturing into the wild outdoors, the company has found it can achieve more on site.

Debbie Daly, Unipart's group communications officer, said: "We achieve very specific things from our team-building programmes without the risk of extreme outdoor activities.

The company has a responsibility not to put people in situations they are uncomfortable with. What we do at the moment works well. Our motto is that while nobody's perfect, a good team can be.

Karen Mackley, programme director for Oxford Common Purpose, said: "Team-building is a good thing if it's in the right context and the participants have a common aim and something to achieve. Otherwise it can be destructive. It's a great way to show people what they have in common." David Nutt, of Vision Motorsports, near Aylesbury, organises corporate events and team-building exercises. He says 99 per cent of people really enjoy themselves on his courses. He combines motorsports with task completion, followed by a group barbeque.

"They are there to work as a team, not to compete against each other, and there are enough activities here for them to choose something they enjoy.

"It costs the company between 100-200 per head. If the company just doled the money out instead, it would be forgotten about in a few weeks. But this is remembered forever.

"Of course, you sometimes get someone who just isn't into motorsports or driving, but as it's free, I don't see how they can moan about it. We just have to do our best to keep them happy, but, thankfully, we don't get people like this that often.

"Most people absolutely love it and you can hear them talking about it at the end, so it does work."