Recently, an employee of a company in Dalian posted on a social media platform that the new company she joined hired outsiders to conduct team-building activities, requiring employees to ignite cotton swabs and put them in their mouths. The employee sighed and said, “If it wasn’t so difficult to find a job, she would choose to resign.” This incident has attracted attention.
According to a report by the “Xiaoxiang Morning Post” on December 27, the employee had been with the company in Dalian Qixianling for less than a year. The company’s main business is online education.
She explained that in early December, the company organized a 2-day team spirit training session with 60 participants. On the first day, participants were divided into 6 groups to get to know each other, familiarize themselves, and perform, mainly showing the belief to the company that “our team must win, our team must make money.” The second morning involved a “fire swallowing” training session, where the host required trainees to ignite cotton swabs and put them in their mouths.
The employee said that most people completed the fire swallowing as required, while a few did not. She initially didn’t want to participate, but the company forced everyone to join in, saying, “If it weren’t so hard to find a job now, I would have resigned immediately.”
Fearing retaliation from the company, the employee did not disclose the company’s name and did not capture the scene because her phone was confiscated at the time.
It was reported that “fire swallowing” has become a “standard feature” for some training companies specializing in team building, claiming to help overcome psychological fears, boost confidence, and face tough challenges.
The company’s team-building activity requiring employees to “swallow fire” has sparked discussions among netizens. “Isn’t this like a loyalty test? Just leave.” “We’ve done this in team building too. I was so scared at the time, but had to go on stage and complete it.”
Some netizens criticized, “Those who come up with this idea probably have some issues.” “Under the guise of testing team cohesion, some companies just can’t come up with any good ideas! Just making things difficult for you! Trying to show authority!”
This incident has once again raised concerns about the methods used in corporate team-building activities and the pressure faced by employees in the current job market.