As COVID continues, management experts in the greater business community have serious concerns about employee morale and productivity. Here are some suggestions from virtual team building event hosts, TeamBuilding, for boosting team morale.
Some of these may be unorthodox for a law practice (based on the name alone, we don’t see defense employment lawyers recommending “The Human Knot” game), but we hope the other suggestions inspire you to think about ways to boost your morale and that of your team. If you like these ideas and want more, check out TeamBuilding’s article 18 Quick Morale Boosters for Employees.
Employee morale affects motivation, performance, and workplace relationships. High morale among employees also helps in minimizing staff turnover and boosts an organization’s brand reputation.
Organizations should include morale booster exercises to raise employee morale and productivity. One way to do this is when employers show care and concern for their employees.
There are many methods for boosting morale and productivity, such as organizing a food truck roundup, compliment tags, and team building activities. Keep in mind that the most effective approach depends on your team and your leadership style.
Here are some team building ideas that are great for boosting employee morale and improving office culture:
Team building games
One of the main purposes of team-building exercises is to raise employee morale. Take the time to play fun and engaging team building activities and encourage employees to socialize, unwind, and break away from the usual work routine.
Here are a few suggestions:
- The Human Knot
- Department parties
- Office art projects
- Icebreaker questions
- Social media challenges
- Team quizzes
Countless team-building exercises are fun, simple, and affordable. For best results, select activities that accommodate and appeal to a wide audience so that more employees can enjoy them.
Short jokes
Since laughter can de-escalate stress and increase happiness, coworkers can build camaraderie by telling jokes and laughing together. You can keep your work environment light by sharing funny gifs to exchange in emails or team chats, or funny pictures to tack to each other’s desks and office walls.
Whatever way you decide to make your team laugh, always be sensitive to people’s different personalities. Make sure that your jokes are kind-spirited and safe to say in an office. Your jokes should not offend anyone which is the opposite of building rapport with your team.
Inspirational quotes
Aside from sharing a good laugh with your team, sharing inspirational quotes can also motivate employees. Try sending your team powerful and positive messages to promote resilience, kindness, and growth.
You may share the inspirational quotes at the start or end of a meeting. You can even slip it into your team emails or pass hand-written notes to your staff. Everyone needs a word of encouragement from time to time.
Your team members will always appreciate your show of concern and support for their wellbeing. Sharing inspirational quotes could remind them of their inner strength and resilience.
Pet a pet
Cats, dogs, and other animals are instant mood boosters. You can schedule a day in your office when you invite furry friends to provide much-needed animal therapy to your employees. You can also allow coworkers to bring cute pets to the office, or perhaps invite a local animal group such as a cat shelter, dog pound, or bird sanctuary. If you are part of a remote team, organize a Show & Tell of each other’s pets during one of your team’s video calls.
Virtual team-building exercises
Virtual team-building exercises are necessary nowadays now that more employees are working from home and maybe feeling disconnected and isolated. These activities could just be a simple yet much-needed break that your team needs from their regular day-to-day tasks.
Reinvigorating your team with positivity will help boost morale during tough times. Virtual team building activities are a perfect opportunity for your team members to bond in a less formal setting while having fun and escaping the boredom or loneliness of working from home.
Here are a few virtual team building activities that you can check out:
- Virtual Team Trivia – Pick a theme (ex. Movies, pop songs, etc.) and hold a trivia game over video conferencing. Split everyone into teams and let them fight it out in a little friendly competition.
- Online Games – Try Kahoot or online Charades, Pictionary, or other classic games that you can do over a video call!
- Online Team Building Bingo – This is an easy game to play over video conferencing. You can even get online bingo templates to make it easier for you to organize!
- Virtual Happy Hour– You can host a virtual happy hour where you can include icebreaker questions to help jump-start conversations. These conversations can lead to friendships, and these friendships will help boost engagement.
By playing Virtual Team Trivia, Online Games, Online Team Building Bingo, Virtual Happy Hour, and other remote morale boosters, your online teams can connect, relax, and recharge.
Conclusion
From time to time, your employees might feel stressed because of work. Help out your team and make them feel important and heard by initiating morale boosters to help your teams unwind, re-energize, and refocus. At the end of the day, happy employees are motivated to deliver results which is vital to any organization’s success.
If you need more ideas on how to boost employee morale, see the full list here.
