Do you see any indications of boredom at work? It could be time to introduce team-building activities into the workplace to provide some enthusiasm. Team-building activities at the workplace foster closer ties among the group and better communication and innovation.
In this post, we’ll take this discussion about team building and team building activities forward so that you can create the right kind of experience for the people who are key to your business.
15 best team-building activities for workspace
Activity 1: Blind drawing
Time: 3-4 minutes
Number of Participants: 2 players at a time
Tools Needed: Pen and paper / Marker and whiteboard
Running the activity: Blind drawing requires 2 players to sit back to back. One player is given a picture of an object or word. The person doesn’t know what it is and he has to describe the image using words that will help in identifying the object. The other person draws the object based on the given verbal description and their guesswork.
Objective: Blind drawing helps you to evaluate how two members can effectively communicate, imagine, and innovate.
Activity 2: Scavenger hunt
Time: 2 to 3 hours
Tools Needed: None
Running the activity: Whenever possible, take your team for a Scavenger Hunt at the nearest place like a museum, zoo, or theme park. Give each team a set of clues that will lead them to the final prize. This game will help you lighten everyone’s mood and make better use of the available time. It will help the participants to know each other and have a lot of fun together!
Objective: Scavenger Hunt helps you to evaluate your team’s decision-making and problem-solving skills.
Activity 3: A truth and a lie
Time: 0.5 to 1 hour
Number of participants: Any number
Tools Needed: Pen and paper for each participant
Running the activity: Participants will have to introduce themselves and write three statements – two truths and one lie. After all, participants have finished writing their statements, the statements will be read in random order. After each statement, each participant will be asked whether the statement is a truth or a lie. The one that makes the right guess gets the point. In the end, the participant with the highest score wins.
Objective: Two Truths and a Lie is an icebreaker game that allows coworkers to get to know each other through fun interactions.
Activity 4: Office makeover
Time: Depends on each person
Number of participants: All
Tools needed: A lot of creative objects
Running the activity: Allow participants to work in teams for the office makeover. People often get bored with the things around them in the office, so how about allowing them to give their workplace a quick creative makeover themselves?
Ask each team to create a list of creative objects for their work and don’t ask them to go for a big budget. Keep your office makeover pocket-friendly. Include small objects like indoor plants, wall art, personal photographs, or anything creative that brings positivity.
Objective: Office Makeover is all about creativity and teamwork. Through this activity – the team will become stronger, the work environment will be better suited, and there will be a positive aura around the office.
Activity 5: Team birthday lineup
Time: 10 – 15 minutes
Number of participants: 8 to 10 in a team
Tools needed: None
Running the activity: The participants will be asked to fall in line side by side and arrange themselves in the order of their birthdays considering only the month and the date. Now, here’s the twist – the team members are not allowed to talk to each other. That means they will have to use sign language to determine each other’s birthdays. To make this activity a bit more fun, you can give teams a cozy platform. And if anyone falls, the team will have to start the whole process again.
Objective: This activity will help in working together, problem-solving, communication, and cooperation in the workplace.
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Activity 6: Mannequin challenge. Freeze it!
Time: Depends on each team
Number of participants: 6 – 7 members in each team
Tools needed: Creative props and cameras/smartphones
Running the activity: The Mannequin challenge is one of the most popular online trends and it fits well into this list because it allows you to involve everyone and be creative. So what you have to do is divide everyone into groups of 6-7 participants. After that, ask each team to make a Mannequin-styled video in a storytelling way and post it on your company’s social media with #Mannequinchallenge or #Freezeit.
To make this activity successful, you will have to set some rules like the duration of the video, the kind of props that can be used, who does what, what background music to pick, and so on.
Objective: Communication, creativity, and teamwork are the three objectives of this game.
Activity 7: Penny for your thoughts
Time: 30 minutes
Number of Participants: All
Tools needed: Coins and a jar
Running the activity:
You have to collect coins with the listed year that should not be dated older than the youngest team member and collect them in a jar. Then, each participant has to pick a coin and share something memorable that happened to them based on the listed year.
Objective: This will help to have an insight into each other lives and team members can open up. To help teams feel comfortable with each other, Penny for Thoughts is a great team-building game.
Activity 8: Social activities
Time: Depends on your choice
Number of Participants: All
Tools needed: None
Running the activity: Break the office routine with some unusual social activity that will require the involvement of every employee. Consider ideas like playing board games, conducting a talent show, or setting an alternative dress day.
Objective: This activity allows employees to get more involved with each other and arouse their interest to come to the office every day.
Activity 9: What’s my name?
Time: 25 – 30 minutes
Number of participants: Team of 6-7 members
Tools needed: Labels or name tags
Running the activity: Put funny labels or name tags (like a doctor, athlete, nerd, etc) on each participant’s back. The participants will see each other’s tags and for a certain amount of time ask questions to each other according to the tags. Each participant has to figure out what the label is on them based on the questions that other participants are asking them. The one who figures out exits and the one that remains still the end loses the game.
Objective: With this fun activity the team can develop a sense of how to treat each other’s job role and learn how they see each other.
Activity 10: Balloon questions
Time: 1 hour
Number of participants: All
Tools needed: Balloons, paper, pens, and pencils
Running the activity: Each participant will be given a balloon and a paper strip. They would write a question on the slip, place it in their balloon, blow it, and tie it up. Everyone will do the same and hit their balloons into the air. After a few seconds, everyone will grab one balloon and sit in a circle. In their respective balloons, there would be a question. Each participant will have to pop the balloon and answer the question written on their slip.
Objective: Balloon questions allow teams to learn more about each other in a fun and interactive way.
Activity 11: Sneak a peek game
Time: 25 minutes
Number of participants: Team of 4 or more members
Tools needed: Lego’s, Popsicle sticks, or something similar
Running the activity: Give each team some building supplies so that they can start duplicating what you’ve already created. Be sure to keep the original sculpture in a place that is at an equal distance from all the teams.
Ask each team to send a team member to look at the original sculpture at the same time and they return to their respective teams to describe it to their team in 25 seconds.
After 25 seconds, each team sends another member of their group to “sneak a peek”. Continue this pattern until one of the teams successfully duplicates the original sculpture.
Objective: The key objective of this game is to help teams work together to solve problems together.
Activity 12: The great egg drop
Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour
Number of participants: Team of 4 or more members
Tools needed: Assorted office supplies
Running the activity: Give each team an uncooked egg and put all the office supplies in a pile. Give everyone 15-30 minutes to use the given supplies and build a contraption around the egg that will keep the egg from dropping or breaking. Need ideas for supplies? Consider supplies like tape, pencils, straws, plastic utensils, packing material, newspapers, rubber bands, etc. When the time is up, ask the teams to drop their egg contraption off the building and see which egg survives.
Objective: The game focuses on highlighting the importance of team and teamwork.
Activity 13: Photo finish
Time: 20 minutes
Number of participants: 4- 20 participants
Tools needed: Assorted office supplies
Running the activity: Create a finish line using chalk, masking tape, or rope. Ask all the participants to reach the finish line at the same time for the photo finish moment. To make this game successful, the participants will have to coordinate with each other. For added difficulty level, you can ask the participants to walk or run across the finish line in photo finish style.
Objective: Photo Finish is an amazing game for boosting communication and coordination in teams.
Activity 14: The perfect square
Time: 30 minutes
Number of participants: 5-20 participants
Tools needed: Rope and blindfold
Running the activity: Have all the participants stand in a circle holding a piece of the rope. After that, instruct them to put on the blindfold and set the rope on the floor. Have everyone take a walk away from the circle, come back, and try to form a square with the rope without removing their blindfolds. If you want to raise the difficulty level of the game, instruct all the participants to stay silent throughout the game.
Objective: This simple team-building game focuses on strong communication and leadership skills. It builds trust across the team and shows how team members can guide each other to succeed.
Activity 15: Create your team-building activity
Time: Depends on your choice (try to keep it short)
Number of participants: Depends on your choice (try to include everyone)
Tools needed: Depends on your choice (include creative objects that are easily available)
Running the activity: Creating a game is one thing and hosting it is a different one. Be sure that you do the two things perfectly and give your teams a fun and learning experience.
Objective: Create a game that teaches your employees all the aspects that are necessary for their success – trust, unity, communication, problem-solving, and more.
What is the goal of team building?
The core idea behind team building is to empower individuals to contribute to common goals. The very success of an organization depends on the ability of its employees to work as a team, understand each other’s strengths as well as weaknesses, take interest in each other’s interests, and deliver the quality work that is desired, together.
Below, you’ll find the range of benefits that an organization or a company can reap when it builds a team with a strong purpose and objective.
- Improved productivity levels
- Increased morale and motivation across teams
- Improved workplace collaboration
- Encouraged creativity among individuals
- Positive reinforcement
- Higher job satisfaction among employees
- Improved quality of work
And much more.
Do team building activities work – really?
Statistically or scientifically, there has been plenty of evidence to prove that team-building activities have positive effects in the workplace. They specifically work well for teams who are looking for ways to bring improvement in the way they work with each other.
Team-building games and activities affect how teams work and reflect improvement in everyone’s overall personality. What’s interesting here is that there are plenty of team-building exercises out there for everyone. That means if you don’t like one, dozens of other ideas will match your interest.
A key reason why such simple games and activities bring strong changes into a workplace is that they can help people come out of their comfort zones. They provide a means and platform for team members to break the ice in an intimidating manner and take their teamwork to a whole new level.
So the next time you’re looking for ways to make things less awkward and more productive between teams, keep team-building activities and games at the top of your “ideas” list.
Over to you
Remember what Eileen Caddy once said – “Live and work but do not forget to play, have fun in life, and really enjoy it.”.
The games and exercises we’ve listed in this post are not only good for team building but also help you ensure a healthy, productive working environment. This is an environment where teams are more than work machines and employees are more than a business investment for the employer.
These activities are not only good for building a healthy workforce but also create a good working environment. Which activity would you play with your team?
Related articles:
How to build a team: Tips to create strong team dynamics
17 Best virtual team building activities for remote team
