Office workers asked to paint office.

Does his job description include "Other duties as required"?

The best way to kick back is to ask for written assurance that their employer liability insurance has been extended to cover furniture moving and painting. (99% it won't have been, and if they employer tries, they get a fright: the chance of injury when untrained, sedentary office workers start doing stuff like that is very high.)

That actually sounds like a bit of craic and a couple of days work at most. Getting professionals to do work for you is most definitely a problem at present. I'd roll with with it! As posted they'll stop him if he's crap but it's pretty hard to make a mess of things with a roller!

Yes it does sound like a joke.

Ridiculous.

I wouldn't go down the route of making things up just to get out of it. Just say no you arent doing it because it isn't your job and you will be busy with the work you were actually employed to do.

Also, might be a good time for your friend to dust off the old CV. Can't quite believe a professional org, or a org that wants to be professional would ask their staff to paint the office. It's almost comical.

Comply with this and the next "integration activity" could be rodding the drains .

Well, you did raise the possibility of them not being able to find professional painters. I have very recent experience of 2-3 weeks and more lead time on a range of services. One company even said Christmas! By your description it sounds little more than the bottom floor of an average house. If he has such a issue with it then phoning in sick will probably be doing everyone a favour.

I would be concerned about the business's workflow, cashflow and ultimately job security.

Would you prefer they bring you to a lake, make you put on life jackets and try make a raft out of sticks and barrels and rope?

Or try trust exercises like falling back and hoping someone catches you.

In terms of team building this might work better. It seems unconventional but having worked in small companies all sorts of tasks are needed such as putting the bins out, buying milk for the office on the way to work etc.

Use of ladder training

Such utter bollix, if he was unwell he wasn't available to work remotely. Maybe growing a pair of balls to speak up requires a days sick leave.

There was the infamous "Blue flu" in 1998. That's 24 years ago now.

eh thats not true at all though?

If it is a "training/team building" exercise who is over seeing this aspect of the exercise, are they bringing in a group, were are HR on this?

You can be sick enough that it would be exhausting traveling to the office, but still functional enough to get your work done from home (though hopefully this would be by your own volition and not something your employer tries to pressure you into...). Working from home if you have the option is also the right thing to do if you have a mild but contagious illness, so you don't pass it along to your coworkers.