Employees need to have pleasant and positive interactions with their coworkers more than ever. A positive culture creates a more engaged and efficient workplace, especially virtually. To help you get started, we have included six activities your workplace can implement to increase overall bonding.

Quarantine days seem to have made our lives dull. We are stuck at home working remotely and trying to cope with a limited lifestyle. Hence, the unavoidable consequences are ready: stress, boredom, frustration, fears, and bad mood. And all these things are followed by a lack of communication, low levels of motivation, and productivity. Oh, this negative chain! “What can I do to avoid the split of my workforce? We still have so many things to do, so many goals to achieve”, your fears may be.

Don’t stress. We are here to help you not to lose your team’s bond. Whether isolated or not, you should always support your team to keep your engagement and work minds active. What will come in handy more if not team building?

In this article, we will provide six fun team-building activities for a virtual setting. Use them to keep your team members involved, more engaged, and productive!

Are Virtual Team-building Activities So Important?

Yes and yes! According to a 2019 Gallup study, 28% of full-time employees expressed regular or constant burnout at work, and 48% mentioned occasional burnout. What this means is that 8 in 10 employees have this feeling at work, at least sometimes. Burnout should be, in fact, the biggest concern of leaders. This kind of exhaustion may cause emotional isolation. Thus, it can have its direct effect on your employees’ poor performance. Let’s see how.

With the feeling of loneliness, your teammates may not trust each other. And how can there be strong relationships without any trust? It’s vital to create a strong work culture. The constantly negative feeling may reduce your employees’ job satisfaction. So, you will have to change your workforce more often. Hiring new employees is costly and results in high turnover.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that this will solve the problem. Instead, why not focus on keeping a sustainable and loyal team. We have no idea how long we’ll have to work in a virtual setting, do we? It’s essential to act as time demands.

To support you, we put together a list of fun virtual team-building activities. These activities will:

• reduce the feeling of loneliness;

• boost the morale of the team;

• increase productivity and efficiency;

• lead to job satisfaction;

• create a strong bond among the teammates;

• keep the employees fresh and happy.

Sharing Pictures

At the beginning of each meeting, have your teammates show a picture of their life. It should have nothing to do with work. They have to explain all the details of the photo and why they explicitly chose that one.

This easy and fun team-building activity brings joy and interaction to any virtual room. As your employees share a part of their personal life, it may evoke laughter and a pleasant atmosphere. Imagine how helpful the activity will be in building a friendly relationship.

Building a Story

This activity will improve your employees’ listening and communication skills. Here is how. The team members form an imaginary “circle” in the virtual room. The first person starts telling a story, not necessarily a long one. For instance: “ It was a sunny day, and we decided to go hiking.” The next member has to continue the story, adding another sentence with an incomplete ending. Everybody should have their turn to take part. The purpose of the game is to create a coherent story. It will demand great attention and boost the team’s cooperation.

Pancakes vs. Waffles

Again, a light, easy and fun way of team building! Let’s try this one as well!

First, the members have to choose between Pancakes and Waffles. Everybody has the right to share their opinion. Yet, in the end, the team will choose the one with the majority of the votes. After excluding one of the options, you have to suggest a new one. For instance, the next choice could be between Pancakes and Pizza. You will notice how everybody introduces their values and preferences. The conversation will automatically deepen and become a more personal one. With this activity, your employees will get to know each other better. Also, making a decision together will help everybody gather around one idea.

Never Have I Ever or

Five Finger Showdown

This game is one of the most popular among team-building activities. It also makes an outstanding contribution to creating a strong relationship among the team members.

The organizer prepares five facts beforehand. During the meeting, each of the participants shows their hands. Then the host utters the facts in turn. Those, who have experienced them, put their finger down. The prompts may come from various spheres of life. For instance:

• Never have I ever lost a large sum of money.

• Never have I ever seen a snake.

• Never have I ever skipped a class.

• Never have I ever driven a car.

Whoever has the least number of fingers up or down wins. The activity will help to recognize the teammates better and have fun.

The Aliens Have Landed

This interesting icebreaker is exceptionally efficient for teams with language differences. The activity is bound to create a buzzy chat in your virtual meeting. The organizer tells the group that aliens have landed on our land. Each one of the members has to describe their company. But wait! They have to do this without speaking since the aliens don’t know their language. They have to draw pictures that will nonverbally convey communication. The host shares the documents with drawings, and here comes the heated conversation! Such an effective activity to increase engagement, right?

The Birth Map

The birth map is one of the best ways of incorporating inclusion and promoting a culture of diversity and equity at work. It is practical, fun, and starts with the host sharing a map on a document. Everyone pins their birthplace. Then they start telling the most exciting and fun facts about the places. The team members present their cultural values and traditions. Imagine how fascinating this will be in a multicultural workplace! Everyone will have an opportunity to show their unique way of thinking and mentality. This activity also promotes cultural awareness and cultural sensitivity. Team members get to know each other and develop perspectives.

Many employers have had to work a bit harder to keep up company culture and team-building exercises during the pandemic. Many businesses may even say that company culture is non-existent as of right now. However, it is not impossible. It is imperative to find different ways to uphold culture during this time.

Now you’ve got acquainted with some of the most fun team-building activities. Focus on teamwork and use these activities to build your most robust workforce! Creating and maintaining a virtual workplace like a face-to-face one is not easy. Yet, there’s nothing impossible. Life can be challenging, but we can cope with everything with our innovative thinking.

If you need more advice, we invite you to look at seven additional blogs on our website www.hrlablosangeles.com to promote happy company culture.

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About HR Lab: Formed in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, HR Lab is here to make a difference. At HR Lab, we work to strengthen workforce quality by improving the HR system, ensuring its ongoing relevance, and preparing employers, workers, educators, and governments to use it effectively. Our vision is a labor market that relies on the relevance, quality, and value of workforce credentials for opportunities, growth, and development.

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