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Corporate retreats happen for a variety of reasons, usually having to do with, but not limited to, the condition of the work environment. The work environment can be defined loosely as the simmering stew of interpersonal relationships that make up the web of office communication.

When a number of new individuals, be they management or otherwise, are introduced into this delicate social system, it can cause strain or even wholesale damage. Morale dips; teamwork drops off. And trust, that most important of commodities, can disappear. This can lead to all sorts of unpleasantness as communication breaks down and emotions run high. When these things occur, the workplace suffers, and the quality of the output decreases.

The answer to this is, of course, the corporate away day. An adventure centre is the normal place for such a retreat, a place where a group of employees can work together on a series of teambuilding games via the centre’s adventure courses and outdoor pursuits. These games can take many forms, ranging from arduous physical pursuits to more relaxed brain-stretching games. The goal of all of them is the same regardless; strengthen the areas that display the most weakness.

There are a variety of games that focus on the area of trust among individuals. Everything from rope courses to the mundane trust-fall exercises utilised in group therapy are used to strengthen the bonds of trust between people who work in the same office. These exercises are the most important of the teambuilding games, for without trust, cooperation and high morale are nearly impossible to acquire.