Beware the rise of corporate rituals designed to manipulate employees

Companies are increasingly looking to engender loyalty by tapping into our evolved need to belong. But the emotional costs of bonding sessions and other techniques can be high and the sense of belonging false, warns Jonathan R Goodman

By Jonathan R. Goodman

ONE of Apple TV’s latest shows, WeCrashed, is a drama series based on the founding and subsequent travails of WeWork, the workspace-providing company once known for its cult-like culture. The founders of the firm encouraged its employees to blend work and life through ritualistic retreats and events, dubbed Summer Camps, and to view their colleagues and managers as family – a tradition in corporate life that aims to instil a feeling of camaraderie in staff.

At a glance, this, and similar practices in the corporate world, seem really weird, as rituals and familial connections don’t have much to do with the …