A hurdle that the majority of workplaces have had to adjust to during the Corona-virus pandemic, is the shift towards working from home. If you manage a team or are a valued team member there may be times where you feel as though you are a million miles away from the rest of your team so, we have compiled a list of 8 social activities you and your work team can all take part in during 2021. The purpose of putting this list together is to break up the monotony of work, strengthen relationships with your colleagues and inject some much-needed levity into everyone’s lives.
Before we get started on the list, the majority of these activities account for the fact that most people are working from home and so the majority of activities can be done via video call apps like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Hangout. The three listed here are very simple to download and set up an account with, but bear in mind though that your entire team will need to be using the same application. From there, provided you have a comfy place to chat and have a laugh with your work colleagues – you’re good to go!
1. WeJam
Coming in at first place has to be WeJam. We provide a fully immersive, interactive music experience for music lovers of all levels. Bring along a group of friends and get ready to jam to your favourite songs on interactive smart tablets. During the pandemic we have a strict and safe COVID policy. We allow plenty of time for deep cleans between bookings and while we do recommend you bring your own earphones while you rip those chords, we do sell our own branded headphones. The maximum number of people you can bring is limited to six, however if your team is larger you can always treat multiple groups to a fun day out! As well as an attendee facilitating your team’s session, the interactive tablets will guide you through which notes to play so even the most amateur of players can become the next big star.
2. Easter Egg Hunt
Coming up next, we have an activity you don’t even have to leave your house for. The idea for the Virtual Easter Egg Hunt requires a Gamemaster to compile a list of objects that the other members of the team need to find throughout their house. For example, “find something homemade” and fingers crossed, someone on your team returns with a homemade macaroni picture frame. You can also get mysterious with the requests too. If some members of your team are very competitive and are winning round after round, try and confuse them with – “find an object that represents the country you were born in”. Hopefully not many people have a national flag ready to go so this should require people to think a little harder to find a good object.
3. NextUpComedy (Virtual Comedy Sketch Club)
If you’re feeling brave enough to perform in a comedy sketch club in front of your colleagues, then this next entry in our list is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Whether you have been working on your 5 minute skit for a few years, months or even five minutes before showtime – the fun of Comedy Night is that everyone gets to take part that wants to, and if things get too embarrassing then all you need to do is turn off your webcam and hide under the bed covers. The people at NextUpComedy can even facilitate the entire event so you won’t need to download any complicated software to let the good vibes roll. They also do poetry for anyone who thinks they’re the next Larkin or Shakespeare.
4. Virtual Art Classes
If you fancy a zen-filled hangout with your work colleagues, then why not get everyone to try their hand at creating some beautiful artwork. To get an idea of who the best artist is (because we all want to know) you could all decide on a picture to recreate and then compare at the end when everyone is finished. Or if you don’t want to take it too seriously you could all turn off your webcams and try and do self-portraits of each other. Hopefully there won’t be too many people offended by their portrait. Artisand offers a Team Activity programme where you can book your team in to work on some creative team building exercises or practise being more mindful.
5. Virtual Team Check-In
Over the course of the Pandemic many businesses have been operating as normal, but others have had to make the change to working from home. There are of course those that cannot work from home but due to social distancing restrictions, “team times” or “daily team briefs” may have been affected or completely removed. During this time it’s important to give team members a sense of community at work and maintain that support network for one another. Facilitating a Virtual Check-In session that isn’t work-focused will allow employees to unload if they need to or just take some time to talk and chill out with their colleagues. Some ideas for questions that we have are: How is home life? What have people watched on TV this week? Favourite restaurants people will be returning too once restrictions are lifted?
6. Uplifting News Stories
At some point we all have to pay attention to the news in case there are new restriction announcements or changes to the rollout of the vaccine. However, all the news seems to be doom and gloom these days, so why not introduce an “Uplifting News Story” virtual hangout? Everyone can pitch in and share some positive or interesting news that they have found throughout the week that has put a smile on their face. It would be good to hear about any news that gave some an interesting view of a perspective they’re unfamiliar with or a new recipe that someone will be trying out next week. Our favourite of the last few weeks has been about a boy from Wales who carried a bag of potatoes across three mountains and raised £4,000 to buy smart tablets for patients in a hospital where they can’t have any visitors.
7. Virtual Quiz Night
Put on your quiz master hat and get ready to test your team’s knowledge on obscure German rock bands from the mid to late 1980s. I’m sure a few members in your team will guess some correct answers but for the most part, everyone will be a little clueless. If that doesn’t sound like fun, you can still bring the fun of a pub quiz night into the virtual world because it works just as well as the real thing. You can search online for pub quiz questions for any genre that you want your questions to be on (just don’t’ tell people which websites you’re getting your info from because they might look up the answers). Some quick ideas we had were: TV/Film round, Guess The Drink Recipe and a Music round – that sort of thing. It’ll be closest anyone has gotten to the excitement and competitiveness of a pub quiz in a while.
8. Friday Night Takeaway Treat
To finish off the working week, why not treat yourself and the team to a takeaway? Most no-contact food delivery apps offer the ability to buy vouchers and send them to different people which will help with this idea. For those working from home, having a meal bought for them is a great way to make everyone on the team feel as though they’re appreciated and that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. You could even organise a virtual dinner party together – invite the whole team, get dressed to the nines and get everyone to contribute a few songs to the dinner party playlist.
Final Thoughts
Everything we’ve listed here are not only great ideas, but they are also cheap and safe for everyone to take part in. Team meetings are obviously important to check team progress and address any concerns anyone might have, but it is also important to dedicate time to having a bit of fun with everyone in your team.
Check out the immersive jam sessions we offer at WeJam if you’d like to get the team out of the office. You can plan a day trip and get down to one of our WeJam music sessions for the whole team to show off their musical talent. If there are any amateurs out there, we promise we’ll turn them into a superstar after just one of our sessions. Book your spot now.
