There’s a child alive in each of us. One that wants to add a little zing into our daily, mundane lives. As life happens to be, we spend a majority of our days in offices, achieving targets and milestones – enjoying while we do so, but, still, working.
“All work and no play makes Jack an unhappy boy.”
According to research disengaged workers had 37% higher absenteeism, 49% more accidents, and 60% more errors and defects.
Dr. Tanvi Gautam, founder of the Leadershift Inc, said here:
“For a great workforce experience, HR must reimagine its own role and brand. HR needs to reinvent itself both at a mental model as well as an executional level.”
Many studies reports have shown that happiness has a direct correlation to your company’s bottom line. The easiest way to break the tension, and bring in some fun into the office, is through games!
They could be task-based, activity-based, or even multiple skills-based. The end goal of most games played within office spaces is to build camaraderie within the team and organization.
Here’s a roundup of 10 awesome, fun, laughter-inducing games and activities you can conduct within your premises, without incurring much of a cost.
10 Fun Office Activities
1. What’s My Name?
To begin this game, the members create a chit with a person’s name on it – alive or dead. Once the chits are placed together in a mixing bowl, they are then picked.
The person who picked the chit can’t see who they chose. Therefore, someone else needs to read it, write it on a piece of paper and stick it on their back.
Through the day, the person can ask questions to figure out ‘What’s My Name?’ and the persona. They can’t ask direct questions but can ask questions leading up to it. This game can last an entire 8 hours if there’s no cheating!
2. Truths and Lies
This game – also known as Two Truths, One Lie – is an easy, fun, and quick way for team members to get to know one another.
Invite people to sit in a circle facing the center. Instruct everyone to take a minute or two to come up with two truths and one lie about themselves.
3. Office Trivia
Most of us have played bar trivia at some point by now. This is similar in concept and might exclude alcohol. The host collates questions from different domains, with differing levels of difficulty. Teams answer these questions, and the winner takes all.
4. Story Building With ‘Suddenly’
This is a game that requires a fairly large number of people. Here, the first person starts with a line, the next person that continues has to begin with the word suddenly. This is sure to cause some laughter riots and out of the box creativity.
5. Friendly Sports Match
Divide the office into teams and organize a friendly match of table-tennis, cricket, football, or volleyball. This can be done at the local ground, park, or grassy area on the company property.
6. Paint Class
This is an especially fun one. Assemble in your canteen, or clear the desks- you’re going to get paint everywhere, but have a ton of fun doing it. You can either choose to DIY it and paint it together or call in an instructor.
7. Flash Mob
Pick your dance team in the office! Practice choreography to a heel tapping song and present it at the most unexpected time. The fun part of this is that it is carried out without anyone outside the team knowing. Surprise your coworkers with your moves!
8. Baby Picture Guessing
This is sure to bring a lot of laughter in the room. All you need is a bulletin board in a location hidden from public view.
Every person participating needs to bring in a photo from their baby-days. Paste it on a common bulletin board, when no one is watching, and then, when the guessing begins, the people guessing will have to put names against photos.
9. Monthly Birthday Bashes
Every beginning of the month, celebrate birthday celebrants with a cake and balloons. It’s sure to make Monday’s of the month a fun one with lots of informal conversation.
10. Office Jenga
This is a twist on the original Jenga. Before the game begins, someone writes situations on the Jenga pieces. When a person withdraws the Jenga piece, they have to answer that question. So, for example, it could be, ‘A coworker submitted an assignment late and not up to the mark.’
Pro tip: Share a cup of coffee with your co-workers while you’re engaged in building your culture. Check out the best office coffee makers here!
What’s Next?
This is a short and brief roundup of activities we feel will enhance the office experience for everyone and improve employee engagement. These games are inclusive, meant to build teams, and encourage communication. We hope you enjoy interacting with your teammates and boss(es!)
What fun office activities does your company do? Or do you have any queries? Share them by leaving us a comment below.
office fun concept -DepositPhotos
