Team building activities are a waste of time and do nothing to help groups bond, according to a new study.

Researchers found that such routines were carried out for their own sake with no evidence that they improved team coherence.

Surveys of 100 people who played team sports showed that there was no link between how often they carried out such activities and the binds that they felt to their group.

The findings suggest that popular workplace team building strategies, which include such activities as walking over hot coals or playing paintball, are of little or no value.

Dr Moira Lafferty, from the University of Chester, who led the study with colleagues from Liverpool Hope University, said: “Our findings suggest that, despite there being no positive relationship to team cohesion, team building activities … are still conducted. “