25 Fun and Engaging Activities to Boost Employee Morale in the Office

Keeping employees engaged and motivated can be a challenge for any organization While compensation and benefits are important, focusing solely on these extrinsic rewards often isn’t enough Integrating fun activities into the workday is a great way to intrinisically motivate your team.

Not only do fun activities at work help boost morale, but they also strengthen relationships between team members and management. This leads to higher job satisfaction, increased productivity, and lower turnover.

In this article, we’ll explore 25 fun office activities and ideas to improve employee engagement. While not every suggestion will work for all companies, there are many options here to inspire you.

Icebreaker Games

Icebreaker games are a simple way to liven up meetings and get employees interacting They work for both established teams and new hires getting to know each other

Some fun and easy icebreakers to try include:

• Two Truths and a Lie – Each person shares 3 statements about themselves, 2 true and 1 a lie. The rest of the group guesses which statement is false. This helps coworkers learn interesting facts about each other.

• Never Have I Ever – Employees take turns sharing something they haven’t done, using the phrase “Never have I ever.”. Anyone who has done that activity puts a finger down. The last person with fingers up wins. This reveals surprising things people have in common.

• Find Someone Who – Employees mingle and try to find coworkers that match statements on a list. For example, “Find someone who has run a marathon.” This facilitates interaction and new conversations.

• Human Bingo – Employees mingle and collect signatures matching boxes on a bingo card. Instead of numbers, boxes have statements like “Has bungee jumped before.” First person to fill their card wins. Another way to spark dialogue.

Starting meetings with quick 5-10 minute icebreakers makes sessions more engaging and helps teams bond. Keep some go-to games on hand to break the ice.

Employee of the Month Programs

Employee of the month programs are a simple way to recognize top performers and boost motivation. To implement one successfully:

• Decide on criteria – Is it most sales, best attendance, highest productivity, etc? Make sure employees understand how winners are chosen.

• Announce winners – Send out a company-wide email highlighting what made them deserving. Consider listing 2-3 runners up as well.

• Give a reward – This doesn’t need to be expensive. A gift card, trophy, special parking space, extra PTO day, etc. The recognition is what matters most.

• Track and display – Keep a visible tally of each month’s winner. Maintain excitement by mixing up who gets nominated.

• Get feedback – Check in that your program is meaningful to employees. Be willing to tweak criteria if needed.

Position the employee of the month as an honor rather than a competition. Use it to reinforce behaviors and contributions you want to see more of.

Conduct Enjoyable Meetings

Meetings are inevitable in any office environment. But they don’t have to feel like a dull waste of time. Use these tips to facilitate engaging meetings:

• Get moving – For longer sessions, incorporate movement breaks. Simple stretches or a quick lap around the office boosts energy.

• Change locations – Outdoor, stand-up, or walking meetings disrupt the monotony of conference rooms.

• Limit time – Set a max length and stick to it. Avoid scheduling things just to fill a calendar.

• Ban distractions – Require phones off and laptops closed to promote active listening.

• Make it interactive – Include discussions, activities, polls and games. This keeps team members attentive and involved.

• Provide food – Having snacks or meals together facilitates camaraderie and comfort.

Making meetings more lively results in better idea sharing. Employees will look forward to participating rather than dreading sessions on their calendar.

Provide Employees with Food

Providing office snacks, catered meals, or food-centric events is a simple morale booster. Some options to treat your team:

• Keep the kitchen stocked – Supply healthy snacks and beverages so employees can help themselves anytime.

• Order lunch – Cater sandwiches, salads, or pizza for the office to enjoy together.

• Have potlucks – Let each employee sign up to bring a dish for a festive shared meal.

• Plan cookoffs – Spice up potlucks by giving awards for categories like most creative or tastiest.

• Go out together – Take the team offsite by scheduling group lunches at nearby restaurants.

• Set out treats – Surprise employees by putting out donuts, cookies, or fruit on certain days.

Food instantly livens up the office and gets conversations started. The gathering aspect strengthens interpersonal bonds as well.

Let Employees Work Remotely

Offering remote and flex work options shows employees their flexibility is valued. This engages staff by:

• Giving more control over schedules

• Reducing stressful commutes

• Enabling better work-life balance

• Allowing comfortable work spaces

To make remote work successful:

• Decide which roles can accommodate it and how often. Maybe 1-2 days per week or certain days monthly.

• Establish guidelines on hours, communication, security protocols, etc.

• Provide technology needed like video conferencing, messaging, and document sharing platforms.

• Train managers to effectively oversee remote employees.

• Monitor productivity and engagement to spot any issues early.

• Bring remote workers into the office periodically for face-to-face interaction.

With proper implementation, remote work enhances satisfaction and motivation. Employees feel trusted to work productively with autonomy.

Celebrate Holidays, Birthdays and Accomplishments

Taking time to celebrate makes the office more fun and personable. Some festive ideas include:

Holidays

• Decorate for seasonal events like Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc.

• Hand out holiday cards employees can give to coworkers.

• Provide holiday treats like candy, cookies or fruit baskets.

• Organize activities like costume contests for Halloween or ugly sweater day for Christmas.

Birthdays

• Send birthday emails announcing upcoming celebrations.

• Display birthday messages on office TVs, whiteboards or signs.

• Allow birthday employees to leave early or start late.

• Have cupcakes, donuts or other treats on hand.

Accomplishments

• Shout out wins during meetings, on the company intranet or internal social networks.

• Award small prizes like gift cards or plaques.

• Organize outings like dinners, bowling, escape rooms.

Making time for festivities shows you care about employees as people. This boosts loyalty, satisfaction and energy.

Make New Hires Feel Welcomed

The onboarding experience largely impacts new hires’ longevity and success in a company. Make incoming employees feel engaged right away with:

Pre-boarding

• Send welcome gifts like company swag prior to start date.

• Have managers call to introduce themselves.

• Share org charts, employee bios and “day in the life” schedules.

First day

• Roll out the red carpet with balloons, signs, etc.

• Take team photos and selfies to post on social media.

• Assign onboarding buddies to accompany new hires.

• Provide welcome packages with handbooks, guides, necessary items, and fun extras like snacks.

First week

• Arrange lunches, coffees, or happy hours for meet and greets.

• Conduct tours highlighting office amenities and fun spaces.

• Schedule 30 and 60 day check-ins to get feedback.

From day one, make new employees feel welcomed, informed and excited. This kickstarts relationships, comfort and engagement.

More Impactful Office Activities

Beyond the suggestions already covered, many other activities can liven up the office. Consider these options as well:

• Competitions – Sales contests, steps challenges, and volunteering drives inject friendly competition. Offer prizes and track leaderboards.

• Classes – Yoga, cooking demonstrations, craft workshops, magic shows, mixology lessons, and more make for engaging office programming.

• Games – Bowling, basketball, air hockey, dart boards, giant versions of Jenga or Connect Four create fun zones.

• Wellness – Chair massages, meditation sessions, walking clubs, and health fairs show investment in employee wellbeing.

• Team building – Escape rooms, cooking classes, charity events, ropes courses, and scavenger hunts strengthen relationships.

• Rewards – Give experiences like sports events, shows, amusement parks, or days off for major accomplishments.

Infusing activities employees actually enjoy doing makes them feel valued. This directly ties to positivity, camaraderie, engagement, performance and retention.

Key Takeaways

Improving employee engagement hinges on making the