A rigid office environment may not necessarily facilitate healthy inter-relations and interactions between its employers and employees. Smoothening out such negative elements in monotonous surroundings could be complicated.

Therefore, to help organisations develop a sound working environment, the Borderlands, an adventure resort in Bhotekoshi, has been organising professional development programmes (PDF) for organisations in Nepal for the past two and half years. The major aim of these programmes is to develop inter-personal skills among staff of such organisations against the backdrop of a natural setting. The training programmes engage the trainees in adventurous activities thereby providing them a platform to associate these events with regular office routine.

At an ongoing three-day training programme here on Wednesday, the staff of World Food Programme (WFP) participated in different activities such as ‘giant ladder’ with five rungs and about 20 metres high. The giant ladder required two persons at a time to climb the ladder with each other’s support. In another event, a postman’s walk, participants walked along a thin 15 metre wire above the ground.

Edith Heines, programme manager of Bhutanese refugee operation at WFP, who was part of the postman’s walk team said, “Although the experience was very frightening and I was afraid of losing balance, I feel good.”

This training that is trying to bring office staff closer will definitely be useful in transforming these positive reinforcements to the office environment, she added.

Speaking to the Himalayan Times, Wade Campbell, director of the Borderlands said, “We are not here to enhance managerial skills but we serve as a tool in building an organisation’s strength for creating healthy work environment.” He pointed out that the organisation with the help of facilitators “tries to find a balance between mental and physical challenges through these exercises.” He added that these events are perceived risks contrived by the agent.

“I have seen participants making a lot of breakthroughs in these activities overcoming psychological fears,” said Surendra Thami, facilitator of the programme. He pointed out that this training programme is almost like a retreat for the participants from their tedious work.

These programmes were originally conceptualised in 40s by a German Jew to help problem children deal with their problems, which were adapted into business sectors during the 60s and 70s. Although it is popular in the west and a few Asian countries, it is still a relatively new concept in Nepal.