However, according to Harvard Business Review, fun “has a positive impact on engagement, creativity, and purpose – increasing employee retention and reducing turnover.” This makes cultivating a fun work environment a critical part of a successful, productive, and profitable team.
The success of your business will largely depend on the level of your employees’ engagement. Fun and engagement are directly related. Employee engagement will develop naturally if given the right environment. Some common suggestions for increasing employee engagement include gamifying tasks, adding variety to activities, playing music while your team works, and scheduling fun team-building activities.
Benefits of Employee Engagement Activities
Talk about the benefits of keeping employees engaged through activities. It can boost job satisfaction (which aids retention), it can improve productivity and morale, it shows employees who their business cares about them, it can provide fun events for people to look forward to during long days at work…
According to Gallup research, “51% of employees are not engaged” with their jobs. Low employee engagement can actively harm your team’s productivity, retention, and long-term success. The most common reason for this disengagement is stress and burnout. These can lead to low job satisfaction and morale.
Scheduling time for fun at work and creating a fun work environment can decrease the feelings of burnout that lead to employee disengagement. This can be done through fun, engaging team-building activities such as escape rooms, trivia nights, office happy hours and mixers, playing games, or joining in hands-on activities.
Scheduling time for your team to have fun will lead to the kind of levels of engagement and job satisfaction that lead to a dynamic team and greater productivity. Scheduling fun team-building activities are especially recommended for remote or hybrid-remote teams since they might feel isolated and don’t have as many opportunities to interact.
Since the pandemic, virtual team-building activities have increased around 2,500%. Any traditional team-building activity can be adapted into a virtual one. This means your team doesn’t have to be in the same place to enjoy the fun and employee engagement benefits of team-building activities.
Make a Great Escape
Escape rooms have been one the most popular team-building activities since they first became popular in the 2010s. This is because they unite your team over a common goal while having fun. They can be both a fun stress relief and a bonding experience.
Virtual Escape Room: Murder Mystery
Virtual Escape Room: Murder Mystery combines a virtual escape room with a murder mystery party. Participants have 1.15 hours to solve a murder and escape the room. In this game, participants are trainees at the exclusive detective agency, CourseHorse Puzzle Detectives. They are called to a high school gymnasium in which the star quarterback has been murdered during the reunion. The murderer is in the gym and everyone will compete in mini-teams and race against the clock to find them.
Virtual Escape Room: Pirate Treasure Hunt
Your team will race to beat the clock in Virtual Escape Room: Pirate Treasure Hunt, a pirate-themed escape room. Your team are shipmates on a vessel when they are given a map to buried treasure. Now, they’ll sail the high seas in search of gold, solving a series of puzzles along the way. Clues will be given through a mix of character descriptions, virtual maps, and audio and video clips. You have 75-minutes to find the treasure or end up in Davy Jones’ locker.
Virtual Escape Room: the Final Frontier
Explore the universe while competing to escape in Virtual Escape Room: The Final Frontier. It’s been 10 years since the planet Pluto went missing. Your team will launch into space to go looking for the lost planet. The clues will be presented in a mixture of riddles, puzzles, video clips, virtual maps, audio, and character descriptions. This space-themed escape room is a challenging, but fun 1.15-hour game.
Virtual Escape Room: the Upside Down
Virtual Escape Room: The Upside Down: it’s 1983 and you’re playing Dungeons & Dragons with your buddies down in the basement. Someone rolls a natural 1 and a portal opens. Suddenly, everyone is sucked into the mysterious and twisted Upside Down. Your team will compete as mini-teams to race the clock, beat the Demogorgon, and escape the Upside Down in this 75-minute escape room game based on the popular Netflix series, Stranger Things.
Virtual Escape Room: the 90s
Get trapped in the last great decade in Virtual Escape Room: The 90s. Your team will be campers at a 90s throwback summer camp, yearning for the good old days of Nickelodeon, Blockbuster, boy bands, and Saved by the Bell. Everyone will compete in mini-teams Tonya vs. Nancy-style to solve 90s related riddles and puzzles in the form of video clips, virtual maps, character descriptions, and prompts. If you’re ready to zig-a-zig-ah and smell like team spirit, then you’ll be able to escape the 90s.
Host a Virtual Trivia Night
Trivia brings out the fun competition for everyone. These virtual trivia nights are just like the ones down at the pub, although you can customize the games to your team and goals. Each game has multiple rounds: most commonly, a traditional trivia round, a music round, an image round, and a surprise round.
Virtual Private Trivia
Virtual Private Trivia is one of CourseHorse’s most popular virtual team-building events. In this 60-minute fast-paced game, your team will compete as mini-teams in four rounds of trivia: a traditional trivia round, a music round, an image round, and a surprise round. Topics could include history, music, movies, ice cream, pop culture, sports, and many surprises.
Virtual Googling History
Virtual Googling History is like trivia, but with a twist! Instead of guessing the answers, you’ll be racing as mini-teams to find the answers using Google. The game has three rounds: an image search round, a scavenger-hunt round, and a debate round, which will have your team picking sides on hotly-debated topics. The prompts are designed to increase your team’s knowledge of historically-underrepresented topics and groups. Your team won’t just have fun, they’ll be learning about diversity and inclusion.
Virtual Trivia: Timewarp
Take a trip through the decades in Virtual Trivia: Timewarp. This exciting 60-minute trivia game features four rounds of trivia each based on a different decade. It will have you dancing your heart out in the 70s, grabbing your hairspray in the 80s, buying a ticket to Lilith Fair in the 90s, and throwing on your low-rise jeans in the 00s. A high-energy host will guide your team through the nostalgic ride.
Virtual Trivia: True Crime
Besides Sharon Tate, who were the other victims of the Manson Murders? What happened to Adnan Syed after Serial? Did Jeffrey MacDonald do it? Show off your love of all things murder with Virtual: Trivia True Crime. A high-energy host will lead everyone through four rounds of trivia on famous and obscure crimes: a traditional trivia round, an image round, a music round, and a surprise round. This trivia game is for true crime buffs and true crime novices alike.
Shake It up with a Mixer or Virtual Happy Hour
Fight burnout with a cocktail and some laughs. Scheduling a virtual happy hour is a great way to bring remote teams together. This could be a food and drink workshop, a comedy show, or a chef-guided guacamole feast.
Virtual Mixology Workshop
Become an expert at your own home bar in Virtual Mixology Workshop. A professional mixologist will teach everyone about different types of spirits, bar tools, substitutions, and the principles that make a perfect cocktail. Then, they’ll be led through making three classic cocktails: an old fashioned, a mint julep, and a ginger-lime margarita. All materials will be shipped to participants, including a jigger, a Hawthorne strainer, a cocktail pick, granishes, artisanal syrups and bitters, and a gift card for spirits and fruit.
Virtual Wine Workshop (Materials Included)
This beginner-friendly Virtual Wine Workshop will introduce all the basics in wine appreciation and tasting. Your team will learn about varietals, tasting techniques, wine regions and history, and a deeper enjoyment of wine. A professional wine expert will lead everyone through a private tasting of three wines: a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a Spanish Rose, and a Pinot Noir from California. You can add a fourth bottle of Italian Brut Prosecco for $20 a person. All wine will be shipped to participants before the event.
Virtual Comedy Show
If you want to host a virtual happy hour that includes entertainment, you could choose CourseHorse’s Virtual Comedy Show. You can choose a half-hour or an hour-long show and sit back and relax as a professional comedian keeps everyone in stitches. The length and content-rating of the show is customizable so you can be sure that everyone feels comfortable.
Virtual Guacamole & Margaritas (Materials Included)
This Virtual Guacamole & Margaritas goes great when paired with a virtual happy hour. A professional chef will guide everyone through making a delicious bowl of fresh, tangy guacamole. Then, they’ll shake up a perfect margarita to go along with it. Everyone will be encouraged to chat while enjoying their chips and dip. A kit of materials will be mailed to participants, which will include salt, simple syrup, a Hawthorne strainer, a jigger, a cocktail pick, and a gift card for fresh guacamole ingredients (avocados, tomatoes, onion, lime, cilantro) and tequila.
Virtual American Whiskey Tasting (Materials Included)
Learn to taste whiskey like an expert in Virtual American Whiskey Tasting. A professional whiskey expert will host this 60-minute workshop and teach everyone the history and process of making whiskey while everyone tasting five premium American whiskeys together. All materials will be shipped to participants, including 5 bottles of premium American whiskeys and bourbons.
Game On!
If you really want to get your whole team engaged, a virtual game night is a great choice. Everyone is encouraged to participate equally and you might see some new, interesting team dynamics emerge.
Virtual Team Olympics (Materials Included)
CourseHorse has created its own version of the iconic Office episode in its Virtual Team Olympics game. This game features a series of silly, creative team challenges. This could include Family Feud-style challenges, building marshmallow towers, creating balloon animals, typing races, or playing harmonicas. An engaging host will lead the 75-minute game. All materials will be shipped to participants, including marshmallows, toothpicks, harmonicas, tape measure, and medals in bronze, silver, and gold.
Virtual Game Show Bingo
It’s bingo with a twist! Virtual Game Show Bingo combines bingo with video clips, images, and riddles designed to test your pop culture knowledge. Everyone will receive a digital bingo card for this hour-long game. You might be asked to identify a song: “No matter who calls…I gotta screen my phone calls!” You might have to name the movie that a quote comes from: “Thou shall not pass!” Or, name a famous slogan: “I’m lovin’ it!” There will also be a goal-oriented round that asks participants to compete in challenges such as being the first person to bring back a CD or DVD.
Virtual Game Night: Battle Royale
Virtual Game Night: Battle Royale will have your team competing in a series of classic games. In round one, they’ll see how many things they can list while under pressure. In round two, they’ll race to answer trivia. In round three, they’ll make connections in Link It. Most time will be spent in mini-teams, but there will still be opportunities for whole group interactions.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt
This Virtual Scavenger Hunt is specially designed to work for remote or hybrid remote teams. This popular 60-minute game will have your team competing in Riddle Races, where they solve riddles and then go find the common object. There will also be a larger scavenger hunt round in which they’ll find objects, do short creative projects, and interact with their home office in new and exciting ways. At the end, there will be a show-and-tell round for everyone to laugh and bond.
Try Some Hands-on Fun
De-stress with these hands-on virtual team-building activities. These can be great for teams that work on screens all day. Some are gamified, like a lego-building challenge. While others are more meditative such as learning how to read tarot cards.
Virtual Brick Building Team Challenge
Your team will compete in a series of fun lego-building challenges in Virtual Brick Building Team Challenge. This 75-minute game is one of CourseHorse’s most popular and will have your team competing in mini-teams and as individuals to build Lego masterpieces based on prompts. Example prompts include building the tallest structure, Lego self-portraits, building a zoo scene, or building something that represents your favorite hobby. Winners will be decided by popular vote. All materials will be shipped to participants, including a Lego kit.
Virtual Group Magic Trick Workshop (Materials Included)
Learn the art of illusion in Virtual Group Magic Trick Workshop. A professional magician will guide your team through learning a number of sophisticated magic tricks. Everyone will leave feeling like a kid again and knowing several tricks to impress family and friends. All materials will be shipped to participants, including a deck of cards, a Svengali deck, two card monte, a hot rod, and pen through bill.
Virtual Tarot Cards 101 (Materials Included)
Have you ever wanted to learn how to harness the power of tarot? Virtual Tarot Cards 101 is a 90-minute introduction to this powerful tool. Tarot is not used to determine fates or tell the future, but for meditation, insight, reflection, and guidance. You’ll learn about the Major Arcana and the Minor Arcana as well as some basic spreads for reading the cards. Each participant will receive their own deck of tarot cards to use before the event.
Virtual Grow Your Own Home Garden (Materials Included)
In Virtual Grow Your Own Home Garden, your team will each build a beautiful, custom home garden that grows real, edible herbs. No green thumbs are required as a professional instructor guides everyone through planting and caring for their own miniature herb garden. Herbs grown will include parsley, cilantro, tarragon, chives, and thyme. All materials will be shipped to participants, including seeds, starter pots, planting markers, and peat discs.