Your business is only as strong as the separate sections keeping it running. Employees who feel disconnected from their colleagues are less likely to be passionate about what they do or to be productive. Thus, it is rather crucial to try to create strong teams that enjoy each other’s company and cooperate well.
It’s time for a change if you find that your employees look disinterested and detached. Think about how you may bring back ideal cooperation and teamwork. One approach to reach your objective is to regularly arrange team-building events. These five entertaining group projects will help your staff get closer.
1. Relay Races
Friendly competition between your company’s different areas can help workers get to know each other better. It can teach people on staff how to work together towards a shared goal. It can also get people to help and support each other at work. Relay races are great competitive games because they get every employee involved. They’re also quite fun and entertaining for participants and spectators.
Beyond balancing an egg on a spoon, there are ways to make your relay race more unique and interesting. For example, you may have drivers construct a little building out of Lego bricks and then mark the next driver to follow suit. Alternatively, every racer might tag the next person to sing a lyric from a popular karaoke song. Commercial playground equipment can make a great hiding place. You could utilize this to do a playground scavenger hunt relay that requires racers to find specific hidden objects. Taking steps to make your relay race unique can generate more excitement among participants.
2. Potlucks
It can be hard to unify team members who have a wide variety of interests and personalities. Fortunately, there is one thing that practically everyone loves: tasty food. Food delivered to the office is a great way to show workers that you care about and appreciate them. But if you want to boost engagement and participation, plan regular potlucks, as well. Up the ante by offering prizes for the best recipes, as voted on by fellow employees.
There are different ways to organize a potluck. You could create a themed event that requires everyone to bring their favorite recipes of the same dish. For example, you could have a chili cook-off where participants compete for a prize. Or you could pass around a sign-up list and have workers sign up for different categories like a main dish, side dish, or dessert. No matter how you organize it, a shared meal can increase employee engagement, team interaction, and job satisfaction.
3. Exercise Classes
Usually, an office job consists of a lot of sitting and very little physical exercise. Sadly, excessive degrees of sedentary behavior can raise illness and death risks. Furthermore causing cognitive deterioration might be a lazy lifestyle. If you want to keep your workers mentally sharp so they can do their jobs well, it’s wise to promote physical activity. Organizing group workouts is a great way to improve physical fitness while simultaneously encouraging team bonding.
There’s no single “right” way to organize an exercise class. You could invite a yoga instructor to guide employees through a yoga class once or twice per week. Or you might sponsor a marathon or other competitive event and encourage workers to train together for it. You could also urge employees to spend half of their daily lunch break engaging in “adult recess” games like tag or kickball.
4. Team “Dates”
Employees may find it difficult to become closer to one another if they seldom have fun together. That’s where team “dates” become relevant. They inspire staff members to gather in light-hearted, stress-free environments for mutual learning. Workers who get to know each other on a personal basis are more likely to work well together in professional settings.
Some great team date ideas include going to the movies, having regular game nights, or volunteering together. Workers can also play trivia games to get to know each other better. Trivia questions should help participants get to know each other better. Examples include, “What year did I join the company?” and “Who in this room has the best handwriting?” The winner of the game is the person who correctly answers the most questions about their teammates.
5. Rotating Desks
Employees often form relationships just with the team members they spend most of the day. Sitting beside another individual naturally offers more chances for connection and communication. It can, however, also make it more difficult for employees to get to know coworkers seated far apart.
Think about sometimes switching desks to change things and inspire all of your colleagues to engage with one another. Make sure employees sit by new people each time they rotate desks. You could even completely get rid of assigned seats and have workers select an available desk each day. This may seem extreme but it can be an effective way to help staff get to know every member of their team.
You know the old saying, “The family that plays together stays together?” The same is true for departments at work. People are more likely to work well together when they know each other on a personal basis. Use these fun group activity ideas to encourage team bonding and improve camaraderie at work.
