Remote work is here to stay. And while the ability to work from home offers amazing benefits, it can also leave team members feeling disconnected from their peers and overall workplace culture.
The Society for Human Resource Management recently shared that 90% of executives agree that “culture and connection are lacking for their remote team members.” Similarly, more than 70% of employees “don’t feel like they are able to socialize enough when working remotely.”
Team building activities for virtual teams are a critical component of the modern remote or hybrid team.
Importance of Virtual Team Building
Without a traditional office setting, many remote workers miss the casual conversations or “water cooler talk” that helps them get to know each other on a more personal level. Remote team-building activities enable employees to make connections and share their experiences no matter where they’re located.
The social interactions that virtual team-building games create are extremely beneficial. A recent article on LinkedIn emphasizes that remote team building can help:
- Support innovation
- Promote workforce collaboration and builds trust
- Enhance productivity
- Reinforce a positive work culture
- Encourage versatility
- And more…
Virtual team-building activities are essential for fostering a team connection among remote workers, making them feel valued and contributing to a positive workplace culture.
15 Fun Virtual Team-Building Activities
These fun and free virtual team-building activities are easy to conduct over a video call. We recommend hosting a virtual team-building activity once a week, near the end of the day.
Make sure to keep your organization and employee personas in mind. Some teams may enjoy a virtual happy hour or trivia while others may appreciate something more physical like group meditation or yoga.
5-Minute Team-Building Activities for Virtual Teams
These fun and fast activities are a great way to kick off a call or can be used as a short ice-breaker.
Virtual Show & Tell
Ask your team to bring a meaningful or fun item to the next conference call and share why they chose it.
Scavenger Hunt
Get your team up and moving! Ask them to collect funny or common objects from around their home or office in real time. Fastest wins!
5-Minute Yoga
Help your remote workers relax with a quick 5-minute yoga session. No experience required!
Hot Take
Have your team share their most unpopular opinion with the group and discuss it in a friendly debate.
Emoji Charades
Get creative with your keyboard and see who can come up with the most creative emojis for a category. You might learn that your coworker’s favorite movie is 🕷️🧍.
10-Minute Team-Building Activities for Virtual Teams
If you have some more time to spare, try these fun remote team-building activities.
PowerPoint Passion
Ask members of your team to create a brief PowerPoint presentation on something they’re passionate about and give a presentation.
Guided Meditation
A longer guided meditation can help your remote team feel relaxed and calm. A great activity for the beginning or end of a week.
Virtual Escape Room
Encourage collaboration and have fun while trying to escape a virtual escape room. You can find plenty of these challenges online.
Remote Work Bingo
Create a remote work bingo card for the next social event and see how many funny virtual work quirks happen. Chances are someone will be on mute and you’ll catch a glimpse of a coworker’s pet, so make sure to include those on your card!
Nostalgic Game Night
There are so many classic games you can find online for free. From Pictionary to Scattergories, your remote team can have some good old-fashioned fun with a quick game night.
More Fun Virtual Team-Building Activities
We can’t forget these honorable mentions that are perfect for a longer meeting or social hour.
Virtual Trivia
Find a fun trivia game or Jeopardy for your team. This can range from general knowledge to more specific categories your employees may enjoy like movies, pop culture, and more.
Something in Common
This is a great way to have your employees get to know each other. Split them into small groups and ask them to find the most unique thing they all have in common and report back to the group.
Murder Mystery
Similar to an escape room, a murder mystery party is a fun way to have your team collaborate. Your employees will work together to decipher clues and solve the mystery.
Lunch Roulette
Let your team members get to know each other better 1:1 with lunch roulette. Once a week have them paired for a virtual lunch to chat and eat.
Virtual Happy Hour
Of course, we can’t forget to mention the classic happy hour. Kick-off conversation by having your employees share why they chose the drink they did.
iTacit makes it easy to empower your front-line to get the job done, all while engaging everyone on a whole new level. Learn more about our employee engagement software for remote teams.
