There are plenty of unique ways to motivate your workers but, unless they’re all skilled, practicing mystics, walking across a bed of hot coals shouldn’t be one of them.
Here’s what happened:
One of Italy’s biggest real estate agencies recently held a “Motivation Day” for its employees. One of the day’s activities was “firewalking” — where participants walk barefoot across a bed of hot coals.
Rather than helping the skittish employees overcome their self-imposed fears, the motivational activity sent nine of them to the hospital for burn treatment.
The activity was led by Alessandro Di Priamo — an athlete turned corporate motivational trainer — who insists the problem wasn’t the firewalking itself. According the Di Priamo, the hotel where the activity was held used the wrong kind of wood — and some artificial coal — without his knowledge.
Di Priamo added, “I have done this job for 12 years with thousands of people and never had a problem.”
Readers, what is the strangest corporate “motivational” activity you’ve ever witnessed? Share it with us in the Comments section.
