Problem-solving true or false questions are short statements that you can use in workplace training to test participants’ understanding of a topic, challenge common assumptions, and develop critical thinking skills. The questions can work well as icebreakers, discussion starters, or reflective exercises in team workshops.
What This Training Activity Includes
- 6 workplace-ready problem-solving true or false questions
- Answer explanations for facilitator discussion
- Realistic workplace examples
- Ideal for workshops, team meetings, and training sessions
- Estimated activity time: 10–15 minutes, plus optional discussion
Why Use Problem-Solving Questions in Workplace Training?
Problem-solving questions can be used in workplace training to help participants develop strong critical thinking skills in the workplace and to learn how to approach and manage challenges in a methodical manner.
These questions help to guide participants toward using analysis and evaluation and to find new solutions.
How Does This True or False Activity Work in Practice?
If you are teaching problem-solving skills in the workplace or perhaps for students in a university, this activity is for you to use.
The premise of this training activity is that while many basic problems and issues at work can be solved very quickly and without too much effort or stress, more complex problems require a more strategic and planned approach.
If you are interested in the issue of training and teaching staff problem-solving skills, here are 6 basic questions that are worth asking your participants (employees or students) to try and answer as they begin to consider what problem-solving really is about and what it involves.
6 Questions
So, which of the statements are TRUE and which are FALSE?
- Problem-solving has to start with a defined problem
- There can be more than one correct solution in problem-solving
- You may need to go through the problem-solving process more than once
- Some types of data are better than others
- Different problems may require different approaches
- All problems can and/or must be solved
Participants should take 5 minutes to not only consider the questions but also to consider why they have chosen true or false.
You can combine this activity with other problem-solving exercises to further help learning.
Under the image below are the answers.
What Are the Correct Answers and Why?
1. Problem-solving has to start with a defined problem
Answer: False
It is rarely the case that we have a clear and defined problem to start with.
Often, problem-solving is a discovery process that starts with identifying the problem itself.
We might have an idea of what the issue is, but we might not exactly understand its ramifications, which we need to identify to understand the problem.
| Case Study |
| For example, a company might have high levels of absenteeism among its staff, and we want to reduce absenteeism. However, is absenteeism the problem, or is it just the manifestation of other underlying problems? Often, a problem may be attached to other problems, so we need to look at the bigger picture. This reflects a systems thinking approach, where issues are viewed as interconnected rather than isolated events. So, for example, if we think that absenteeism is the problem itself, we might decide to discourage it by penalizing staff who are absent. However, if the real problem is, let’s say, bad management, we are unlikely to solve the problem this way. Staff may go to work more often if they are penalized for being absent, but their productivity may be low, and they may leave the company at the first opportunity. So, if we don’t find out the real problem, we will not find an effective solution. |
This is why, as we will see, we might need to redefine the problem more than once during the process as we delve deeper into its causes and the correlations with other issues.
This process of diving deeper into what the real causes are helps our critical thinking skills, as we look to think beyond assumptions and instead pay attention to root causes.
2. There can be more than 1 correct solution
Answer: True
There may be more than one correct solution, but not all solutions may be optimal. Some may just be adequate.
This is why we should never just accept the first adequate solution just for lack of time or energy, as there may be better solutions available.
Of course, we should not seek a solution forever, as there must be time limits. Also, sometimes the best solution is not always the easiest to implement. So, we should consider the pros and cons of each.
Decision-making models can be great for approaching problem-solving in a systematic way rather than relying on intuition and guesswork.
However, if there are obstacles to implementing the optimal solution, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we should give up on it. We might be able to overcome those obstacles.
That’s why strong decision-making skills are so important in workplace training.
3. You may need to go through the problem-solving process more than once
Answer: True
This is especially true for complex problems. We might think of the problem-solving process as being linear, but this is not the case.
We are likely to have to go back and forth more than once before we implement the best solution.
We have already discussed how we might have to redefine the problem once we find out its underlying causes.
Likewise, we might, for example, have to reconsider our choice of a solution if, in practice, we see that it does not work.
4. Some types of data are better than others
Answer: False.
Sometimes, during the problem-solving process, data that don’t fit our understanding get ignored. They may be considered irrelevant, not sizeable enough, or just an anomaly.
However, every piece of data should be considered. Reasons we sometimes ignore data include:
- We don’t understand the data, so we brush it under the carpet
- Data don’t fit our preconceived idea of what things should be like. I.e., we think we already know the solution, so we ignore anything that does not fit our interpretation. As a result, any data that supports our vision is accepted, while the data that doesn’t is ignored or distorted.
Research in cognitive psychology shows how confirmation bias — a common cognitive bias — can lead us to dismiss information that challenges our assumptions in workplace decision-making.
If you want participants to explore assumptions, evidence, and different interpretations in more depth, you can also use these critical thinking activities for workplace training.
Using structured approaches, such as root cause analysis tools, can help teams evaluate data more objectively.
Instead, any piece of data can be important. Our preconceived ideas may be mistaken, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is better to admit mistakes than to miss the opportunity of finding a good solution to a problem.
| Case Study |
| For example, we have already decided in our mind that the reason why absenteeism is high is that employees are lazy (this is not likely to happen in real life, as we know better than to label people as lazy, but let’s just say it for the sake of the example). So, in trying to figure out why absenteeism levels are high, we might ignore some telling signs. We might ignore a complaint against a supervisor on the basis that the employee who made the complaint was young and inexperienced. Or we might justify low morale in the team due to a bad global financial climate and higher costs of living. We might ignore these signs because we are unwilling to admit that there is a problem with the management style, for instance. |
5. Different problems may require different approaches
Answer: True
Not all problems require the same approach.
We need to consider the level of complexity of a problem, its urgency, and its nature (i.e., is it technical, research-oriented, or social?
What type of intervention does it require?
So, we might need to adjust how we go about solving the problem in practice.
6. All problems can and/or must be solved
Answer: False
Some problems are ignored, or a solution is not implemented, because the solution may be too expensive or too impractical to implement. Maybe there are not enough resources or know-how.
Sometimes, the magnitude and impact of the problem are not enough to justify the effort that implementing a solution might take.
Other times, though, the initial problem is not addressed as it was, but it is reformulated, and the focus shifts. So, a solution is implemented, but to a different problem, which was only identified following the effort to try to solve the original problem.
| Case Study |
| For example, you might start to try to solve the absenteeism problem, but realize that the actual problem is a lack of engagement. In this case, lack of engagement is the issue you will address, and the absenteeism problem might take care of itself as a result (as engaged staff is less likely to take unauthorized time off). |
If you’re designing a full problem-solving workshop, these questions can be used as a warm-up before moving into structured analysis frameworks.
How to Facilitate This True or False Activity Effectively
To get the most value from this activity, as a trainer, it is worth guiding the discussion rather than simply revealing the answers.
- Ask participants to explain their reasoning before revealing answers
- Encourage debate when there is disagreement
- Connect each question to real workplace examples
- Highlight how structured problem-solving frameworks apply
- Summarize key learning points at the end
Common Mistakes When Teaching Problem-Solving
To make the training as effective as possible, it is worth also trying to avoid these common facilitator mistakes:
- Rushing to reveal the answer
- Treating questions as trivia instead of discussion starters
- Ignoring participant reasoning
- Not linking the activity to structured frameworks
Frequently Asked Questions
Are true or false questions effective in workplace training?
Yes. True or false questions stimulate discussion, surface hidden assumptions, and strengthen critical thinking when followed by structured explanation and facilitator-led reflection.
When should you use true or false activities in problem-solving workshops?
True or false activities work well as icebreakers, warm-ups, or reflective exercises before introducing more structured problem-solving frameworks and analytical tools.
How Can You Teach Problem-Solving Skills in Workplace Training?
You can teach problem-solving skills in workplace training by using structured activities such as true or false challenges, case studies, scenario-based exercises, and formal workplace problem-solving frameworks.
If you’re building a full workshop, you can find 12 additional ready-to-use activities and games here.
For a complete facilitator-ready package, see the Problem-Solving Training Materials below.
See the Problem-Solving Training Materials for trainers
- Fully editable PowerPoint slides
- Trainer Notes & participants guide
- Printable participant workbooks, handouts & activities in the PPTs
