Running team building activities during the new normal

In the current climate, it can feel difficult to balance workloads, let alone connect with colleagues. Working from home and communicating via Zoom calls and email can leave people feeling disconnected and discouraged, making team building more important than ever.

But how can you run team building activities during the new normal? Read on to find out some ways that can help keep teams connected right now.

Happy hour

Not being able to hit the bar shouldn’t prevent colleagues from letting their hair down. A virtual cocktail hour is a great way to relax and take minds off work. Just like before, when offices weren’t in the home. Take it one step further than just opening a bottle of wine and having a chat about what everyone has seen on Netflix – organise for everyone to make a specific cocktail and rate their own efforts!

Get moving

Everyone knows they need to be exercising more, but it’s hard to get motivated. If teammates are up for it, why no run a virtual exercise class? It’s possible to easily arrange this with an online fitness programme that everyone can join. Getting the body moving over a lunch break or in the morning can help workers to focus on their work, but it will also just be a good giggle to have with coworkers.

Read together

Another activity most people want to get back into is reading. It can be difficult to put down a device and actually pick up that bestseller, though. Organising a virtual book club with colleagues can be a great way to inspire conversation. This is especially important for those struggling with shyness during meetings. Everyone simple needs to read the same book, then meet up virtually to discuss it. Choose something fun and distracting to keep people from checking their phones when they should be reading.

Co-working

This might not sound very exciting, but working alone can feel incredibly isolating and motivation is difficult to come by. Co-working virtually can be a great help. Just turn on the webcam and chat as you work. If everyone can grab a cup of tea at the same time and ask each other questions as they go it can really simulate the traditional office environment.

Game night

Sometimes, it can be nice to really shake off the workday and get a little silly. A game night is easy to organise with a host of online team building activities available. There is something for every team to challenge each other, make each other smile and to help reconnect. 

The editorial unit