Decisions are made on the golf course

My wife could not understand why I went out after dark for a “team-building” exercise with my co-workers (‘Focus: Office politics’, Gulf News, June 5).

She was concerned that men and women would be hanging out together, and this could create conditions for something unsavoury to happen. She was also disappointed that she could not join us.

I responded that this was a work event, paid for by the company for employees only, that there was nothing going on other than work between my colleagues and I, and that this is the way the exercise had been set up: I could either choose to go along, or not.

The exercise in question involved bowling for a couple of hours, followed by a nice dinner at a beachside restaurant. The company had a budget for these kinds of activities, apparently believing that if we played and dined together, it would help us work together better, too. It did help.

The situation reminded me of my previous job, where my then-colleagues played golf together at the weekend. I never did, because I preferred to spend time with my family on my days off.

I later learnt that many work projects were being discussed and agreed upon during these golfing outings, and that the results – without my input – would be carried out in the boardroom the following week.

Sometimes you do need to go the extra mile to get to know your colleagues, outside of the working environment. The campaign outside the office can improve working relationships in the office.

— The reader is an American marketing specialist based in the UAE