There are always fun games to play in the office.

But Friday seems to be a more relaxed day of the week.

You’ve all made it, it’s finally Friday and everyone is itching for the weekend to start.

Everything that isn’t a priority has been pushed to Monday and people are starting to wander around idly.

You should take this time and opportunity to schedule some fun games and events in the office that will build rapport and relations amongst employees.

Ideally, these events will be scheduled on Friday’s, when work responsibilities tend to wind down.

Playing these games can help the workweek to wind down, brings people closer to one-another, and helps to build collaboration and teamwork.

It’s definitely a win-win in our book!

Team Building Benefits

Team building events have a plethora of beneficial effects.

  • It brings employees together and allows for them to get to know one-another outside formal meetings
  • Lets newer employees meet more seasoned employees
  • Creates an atmosphere of inclusivity and teamwork
  • Boosts employee morale
  • Allows for employees to recharge and unwind for the weekend
  • Gives employees something different to look forward to
  • Allows employees to feel like they are contributing and being part of a larger team

These team-building events can happen both indoors and outdoors, obviously depending on weather and office space availability.

It’s also a great way for management to foster employee engagement and collaboration without breaking the bank as most of these activities can be done with few (if any) additional tools or items.

Around the World (gift-card optional)

Sitting in a circle, the first participant will name a country or city they have always wanted to visit.

From within the circle, any other employee can begin discussing the time they had visited that country or city and what they enjoyed about their visit.

Once they finish their story, they name a country or city they want to visit, allowing for anyone else to chime in with their experience.

To make things interesting, if there is a country or location that hasn’t been visited by anyone in the group, offer a gift card to the first person who ends up visiting and bringing back pictures and stories!

What Year Is It?

Tearing a sheet of paper into smaller pieces equal to the number of participants, write random years on each piece, i.e. 1991 on one piece, 1983 on another piece, 2004 on another piece.

Place all of the pieces into a bowl and pass the bowl around, allowing for every participant to pick one piece.

Start from the top of the circle, going clockwise, have each participant give a memory of theirs from their chosen year.

Office “Re-Organization”

Who says cleaning doesn’t have to be fun?

Block off 1-2 hours on a Friday and devote that time to cleaning and re-organizing the common areas and employees’ desks.

Make sure to bring cleaning items and to encourage recycling!

Dessert Overload

Have a re-occurring calendar meeting for Friday’s where everyone who wants to participate will bring in sweets and dessert.

Meet in the break room at the designated time and binge away!

Be a Coffee/Tea Taster

Most employees love coffee and tea, so why not hold a tasting?

List out different coffee and tea types and assign each employee to bring one flavor.

Make large cups and place about a shot’s worth for each employee.

Have employees’ rate the flavors and see which one is the favorite.

Scavenge the Intranet

There is generally a ton of helpful information on a company’s intranet.

Most employees don’t look too closely at the intranet and could be missing out on that valuable information.

Instead, create a sheet asking for the URL’s for specific information that can be found on the intranet.

Give employee’s one-hour to find as many as they can, with the winner getting a small gift card.

Bring in Chess and Checkers Boards

Two games as old as time, chess and checkers are great games for promoting critical thinking and as icebreakers between employees.

Bring in a few game boards and let employees relax for a couple of hours competing for glory.

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Have employees email you the best picture they’ve ever taken.

Print out these photos and place them on a wall, without reference to who took the photo.

Have employees talk about the positive aspects of the photos and how it makes them feel.

Employee Snack Run

This one is really fun but does cost some initial money.

Break-up employees into two teams, Team A and Team B.

Each team has a set budget and must go shopping for snacks.

However, the snacks purchased by Team A will be given to Team B and vice-versa.

It’s very exciting to see what snacks you end up with!

What to Read?

Have employees email their favorite articles to you throughout the week.

On Friday, email out a list of the articles with an hour blocked off on their calendar to read through some of them.

To build rapport, include who suggested the article in your email to the team so they can continue the conversation.

There’s definitely a ton of activities and events you can do with your team and employees.

It takes some creative thinking, but is definitely worth it when everyone is enjoying themselves.

Conclusion

Clearly, there are a plethora of fun games to play in the office that can encourage team building and collaboration.

While ensuring that the actual work is always done and done correctly, it is good to provide some fun and reprieve to the team.

These activities encourage people to work together and allows some time away from the desk to get to know your employees better.


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