People rely on relationships for many reasons. Improved emotional health, a stronger immune system, and increased self-esteem are just some of the benefits of building relationships. This can be difficult for remote workers who are at home or on the road all day and can’t really connect with their colleagues.
When employees develop real relationships and feel comfortable, they work better as a team and collaborate more effectively. When face-to-face meetings are not possible, video conferencing and virtual team-building games are great alternatives. It’s easy to set up, helps people connect, and most importantly improves employee engagement and productivity.
Why socializing remotely is important
During the pandemic friends and remote workers faced a major challenge because they cannot interact and communicate face-to-face in the same way as office workers. Research shows that remote employees have significantly weaker relationships with colleagues than those who work in-house.
Hosting team-building activities and online games to play with friends can help you and your colleagues stay collected and feel refreshed. These games help build human connections among remote workers, build trust, and make sure everyone across the organization feels involved.
Team building games for remote workers
- Pictures of your life
Rule: Video calls require each employee to share an image. The photos should represent something important to them, whether it’s a child, a dog or cat, a favorite mug, a favorite TV show, or the view from their apartment or house. Each employee tells the story behind their chosen photo. Objective: This virtual team game should be used as an icebreaker when new employees join the company. It’s a fun and unexpected way to get to know each other and creates a casual atmosphere.
- Pictionary and Charades
Rules: Divide your people into 2 teams. Draw or act out a movie, book, or object. Use a timer to have your team guess the word before the time runs out. Goal: Virtual teams help bring people together beyond individual games. These types of games also help us learn about each other’s tastes through movies and books that co-workers choose.
- Three Truths and a Lie
The rule: Host a video conference and ask each employee to tell his three truths and one lie about themselves. Keep the lies real, PG-13. All other employees work together to deduce what the lie was. If the majority guesses correctly, everyone understands. Goal: This type of team-building game is a great way to get to know each other. It’s fun to know each other’s past. The only way to win is to get to know everyone better.
- Bucket List Challenge
Rule: Start a video call and give every employee 10 minutes of her to think about what they want to do with their lives. Have everyone spin and share the best answer from the list. Goal: Get to know each other and find common interests. When employees share the same on a list, they can challenge themselves to reach a goal together! For example, a marathon. Colleagues can form running groups or train each other if they live in different cities.
- Aliens have landed!
Rules: He divides the employees into groups of 3 or 4 people. Tell everyone that aliens have landed on Earth and want to know more about your business…but aliens don’t speak English. Each team should create five images of him that describe the business. The image can be your company’s operations, culture, or any other image that you believe best represents your company.
Build a stronger team in the long run with these team-building games even though your employees are not in the same office. Your team will feel part of the team and your intentional interactions will make them more engaged. You can find out who your colleagues are, even if you haven’t met them in person yet. These games can inspire your employees. If you have office workers, there are many team-building games for office workers.
