• FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR

  • LOGIN
  • SIGN UP FREE

HR Morning

  • FREE RESOURCES
  • PREMIUM CONTENT
        • SEE MORE
          PREMIUM RESOURCES
  • HR DEEP DIVES
        • Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources for HR Professionals
          Employment Law
          Labor Law Posting Requirements: Everything You Need to Know
          Recruiting
          businesswoman selecting future employees on digital interfaces
          Recruiting Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
          Performance Management
          vector image of young female making star rating
          Performance Review Resources
          Employment Law
          Understanding Equal Employment Opportunity and the EEOC
          Recruiting
          Onboarding Resources for HR & Hiring Managers
  • CORONAVIRUS & HR
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • Performance Management
  • HR Technology
  • More
    • Leadership & Strategy
    • Compensation
    • Staff Administration
    • Policy & Procedures
    • Wellness
    • Staff Departure
    • Employee Services
    • Work Location
    • HR Career & Self-Care
    • Health Care
    • Retirement Plans

Team-building exercise that'll bring out the worst in people

Tim Gould
by Tim Gould
July 20, 2012
2 minute read
  • SHARE ON

This has to be the worst team-building exercise ever.
We’re talking about the “group cleanse,” and make no mistake, it doesn’t center around communal bathing (although that doesn’t sound like a great idea, either).
No, this exercise involves a group of employees drinking some vile-tasting concoction of ground-up plant life, and then, apparently, waiting around until it’s time to dash to the bathroom.
We’re talking internal cleansing here, folks. As in removing all the toxins in your liver, kidneys, and, uh, other places. And those toxins vacate your body … well, you get the idea.
Now there’s a group effort we can all rally around.

‘We’re all in (the bathroom?) together’

We learned of this phenomenon in a recent New York Times story, and were astounded at the enthusiasm voiced by some of the participants.
“It was a week when we were slammed, and we just needed to pull together as a community,” the Times quoted Michael Godshall, creative director of a Brooklyn viedo marketing company. “It was something we could do where we thought, ‘We’re all in this together.’ ” The entire company, Project Distllry, went through a three-day cleanse.
That must really be one close-knit group.

Um, yummy

The centerpiece of this cutting-edge employee perk seems to be a liquid made from the juices of vegetables and grasses and other flora. The taste? One man quoted in the Times story took a sip of a beet-based potion and declared, “That juice has declared war on everything delicious.”
Mr. Godshall said the compound his team imbibed was “gnarly tasting.”
Nonetheless, this cleansing thing seems to be catching on — at least in New York City. Eric Helms of the Cooler Cleanse Co., told the Times he’s seen a “huge increase in popularity” of workers “cleansing” in group settings.
Apparently the financial industry is a center for such internal toxin removal (insert credit default swaps joke here).

Private poisons

Hey, we’re all for team-building exercises. But a group activity that basically re-enacts the procedure for preparing for a colonoscopy? That seems a little much.
Frankly, we’re sort of protective about our personal toxins. We’ve spent years building them up.
Call us old-fashioned, but when and if we want to get rid of them, we want to do so in private.
One last question: Has anyone looked into the cost of repairs for the overuse of these companies’ sanitary facilities?
 

Get the latest from HRMorning in your inbox PLUS immediately access 10 FREE HR guides.

I WANT MY FREE GUIDES

Keep Up To Date with the Latest HR News

With HRMorning arriving in your inbox, you will never miss critical stories on labor laws, benefits, retention and onboarding strategies.

Sign up for a free HRMorning membership and get our newsletter!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
HR Morning Logo
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linked In
  • ABOUT HRMORNING
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • WRITE FOR US
  • CONTACT
  • Employment Law
  • Benefits
  • Recruiting
  • Talent Management
  • HR Technology
  • Performance Management
  • Leadership & Strategy
  • Compensation & Payroll
  • Policy & Culture
  • Staff Administration
  • Wellness & Safety
  • Staff Departure
  • Employee Services
  • Work Location
  • HR Career & Self-Care

HRMorning, part of the SuccessFuel Network, provides the latest HR and employment law news for HR professionals in the trenches of small-to-medium-sized businesses. Rather than simply regurgitating the day’s headlines, HRMorning delivers actionable insights, helping HR execs understand what HR trends mean to their business.

Privacy Policy Terms of Service
Copyright © 2021 SuccessFuel

WELCOME BACK!

Enter your username and password below to log in

Forget Your Username or Password?

Reset Password

Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.

Log In

During your free trial, you can cancel at any time with a single click on your “Account” page.  It’s that easy.

Why do we need your credit card for a free trial?

We ask for your credit card to allow your subscription to continue should you decide to keep your membership beyond the free trial period.  This prevents any interruption of content access.

Your card will not be charged at any point during your 21 day free trial
and you may cancel at any time during your free trial.

preloader