I think I did my first trust fall in junior high. Since then I’ve done scavenger hunts, pub crawls, trivia nights, egg tosses, Whirlyball, chicken wing eating contests, two truths and a lie and a bunch of other things designed to foster bonding and a good working environment.
I don’t know that any of them worked, but I appreciate the idea. Whirlyball left me significantly bruised which I guess led to some to some fun banter in the days after.
These team building activities may not be part of your core job, but they are a benefit to your employer. When that happens AND the activities are mandatory, if you get hurt when participating in them it’s a workers’ compensation case.
For some people that seems counter intuitive. That’s because if you are a nurse, but get hurt when you stumble trying to catch an egg, it doesn’t feel like it’s part of your job. It is.
As a result, most people who are hurt during an Illinois work related team building activity should get Illinois workers’ compensation benefits. That nurse I was referencing tore her ACL. She’s entitled to the same compensation as if it happened while lifting a patient. That means 100% of her medical bills paid, paid time off until she’s back to work and a settlement when she’s all better.
The key point is was this activity mandatory. If so then it’s part of your job duties. We see it a lot with teachers who often have “development” days. You have to be there. But even then some insurance companies will try to argue some bs like “you could have asked to be excused.” That’s not a legit defense.
If you feel like you had to be there, that can make it mandatory even if you aren’t told you will be fired if you don’t show up. If there are 20 workers and 18 of them were there and the only two that weren’t were on vacation and sick, it’s a sign it was mandatory to you. If your boss says, “It’s really going to be helpful for you to be there and get to know everyone” that would likely make you feel like you had to attend.
This is much different a scenario than your boss saying, “We are going out for drinks after work. You are welcome to join if you are free.” There might be some actual bonding taking place at the bar, but if you don’t have to be there, can leave whenever you want or show up whenever, it’s probably not mandatory.
There are actually a lot of team building injuries every year in Illinois. That’s probably because in some of the more physical ones, you are doing something your body isn’t used to and are at times dangerous.
If you have any questions about an Illinois work injury case, please call us at 312-346-5578 for help anywhere in Illinois.
