Team building activities have never been more vital yet have never been more challenging. Work relationships are currently being redefined with more teams working from home, so building trust and openness can feel unnatural.
Falling back to isolation until the dust settles seems to be the default move, but if you’re a team leader, you have the responsibility to glue the team together even when you’re scattered apart. In this blog, we’ll share 8 virtual team building activities that will help boost morale and strengthen the team bond.
1. Hop on a video conference call for a virtual lunch.
Recreate the fun and light atmosphere of the daily pantry experience with a virtual lunch! Keep the team together in a more relaxed space to talk about how your days have been going, how everyone’s coping, and just about everything under the sun — but no shoptalk, please! Let them chat with one another freely as they would in the office pantry; these positive interactions with workmates can help take away the work day’s stress. And this remote team building activity is super easy to organize, too!
2. Start a company book club.
Instead of mindlessly scrolling through your phone during your free time, why not create a community where you and your colleagues can bond over books? Books are a great way to not only keep yourself busy, but to hone your creativity and intellect as well!
Being in a book club with your colleagues can create rapport as it will not only give you something to talk about, it will give you a glimpse on each other’s views, perceptions, and general preferences. Plus, it will also push you to actually read instead of letting books gather dust on the shelf, because you want to be able to share something on the next virtual meet!
3. Host team building game nights!
Never underestimate the power of online games! Even before the pandemic started, people of all ages have been bonding and connecting through online games—from simple online board games to full-throttle video games. Team building games are a proven way to not only boost morale but also to build teamwork, all while everyone’s having fun!
4. End the week with an optional happy hour!
Getting drinks with your buddies has been one of the fool-proof ways we de-stress after a long day’s work. While we can’t have the end-of-week happy hour like we used to, the team can still bond online, each with their choice of drinks right in the safety of their couch! Hop on a video conference call, pop open that bottle of wine or can of beer, and have a good time with your mates who, one way or another, needs just the same mellowing down as the next person.
5. Attend a team building virtual workshop.
Acquiring a new skill is always a good thing, but turn it into a team-building activity and it gets even better! Learning something new has always been a prerogative within work teams, so incorporating it into something everybody can enjoy won’t just make individuals better — it can inspire synergy, too! A virtual workshop can help your team stay creative and productive even when you’re all at home. Something like resin-making or even a baking class could do the trick!
6. Virtual improv party!
What better way to de-stress from home than to have an improv party? With Silly People’s Improvisational Theater—or SPIT—you and your coworkers get to watch and participate in this interactive improv show. Aside from making your stomach hurt from laughing, interactive improv shows have been proven to help people in their personal and professional lives. With improv, people can learn how to listen, collaborate, think on their feet, build on their partner’s or teammates’s ideas, and be comfortable with messing up and trying again. Sounds like the perfect team building activity, right?
7. Solve a virtual escape room like Breakout: The Town!
One thrilling team building experience is getting everyone to work together to break out of a virtual escape room! Your remote team could surely use this exciting game to escape the humdrum of everyday work-from-home life, all the while cultivating teamwork!
Breakout Escape Rooms give you a 360° experience that can transport you to different worlds, ranging from terrifying high-stakes breakouts to classic Hollywood-inspired haunted houses. Awaken your child-like wonder and sharpen your mind as you Find a Way to Breakout—or be #trappedforever.
8. Flex your trivia knowledge with Virtual Quiz Nights on SHOOR!
Friendly competition every now and then is healthy for any team! Working from home means we’ve had more time to indulge in our favorite shows and be more in touch with our “geeky” side. May it be sitcoms, pop culture, or sports, you can put all that knowledge to the test with Geek Speak! Tap into your competitive energy, ready that bag of chips, and flex to your teammates just how much cool stuff you know.
Book your team building activities with SHOOR and get your team bonding, stat! Drop us a line at [email protected]
