
There are a lot of benefits to a happy employee. With improved morale comes increased teamwork, greater levels of retention and improved productivity. Modern businesses are continually looking at how to boost employee morale with no cost — fortunately, we’ve done the legwork for you. We’ve compiled a list of employee morale activities and staff morale boosters that will quickly and effectively unite a team, lift its spirit and incentivise it to go that extra mile for your business.
Discover twelve fun office games to boost morale without breaking the bank below.
While you’re here, explore how continuous performance management can boost employee morale.
1. Watch Individual and Team Strengths Shine with Trivia
Trivia is a great way to get employees to work together, while also getting them engaged and energised. If you have a variety of questions and subject areas, it allows employees of different backgrounds and talents to show off their strengths. It also gives individuals a chance to get to know a bit more about one another. Trivia is fun for all types of personalities and — to make it more relevant to work — you can even throw in a few work or company-related questions to help enforce company culture.
2. Get Endorphins Flowing with an Employee Sports Day
Did you know that exercise has the ability to improve mental focus and performance? What’s more, most employees are eager to be more fit and active, but they lack the opportunity and motivation to do it alone — particularly if they are stuck behind a desk for eight hours each day.
As a quick morale booster, consider implementing regular sports days for your employees. It will give them something to look forward to and get their endorphins flowing, which is a great way for them to bond. You can even encourage a little friendly competition by providing prizes. The sports don’t have to be targeted towards those who are naturally gifted and fit — they can include games such as bowling, clay pigeon shooting or darts.
3. An Employee Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts aren’t just a fun pastime for children — a lot of adults secretly enjoy the challenge of being sent off in search of random, hard-to-find objects, making this one of our favourite employee morale activities. In the weeks prior to the hunt, get your employees involved and ask them to send you anonymous suggestions for items that they believe should be included in the hunt. Once you have compiled a list, split your employees into teams and watch them work through the checklist. This is a great team-building activity, as well as being lots of fun.
4. Introduce Themed Office Days
You might take great pride in your office’s professionalism and formal dress code, but now and then, it might be a good idea to loosen the reins and have a little fun. Themed office days allow employees to be a little creative with their ensembles. Pick a theme and let their imaginations run wild. Whether your employees are encouraged to turn up as their favourite literary hero or comic book supervillain, themed office days are a proven morale booster.
5. Organise a‘Work and Family’ Picnic
We spend so long at work that our coworkers become a second family. To boost morale, consider hosting a family-friendly event or outing during work hours. Organise a picnic or a barbeque. It will help everyone to feel more connected and allow relationships to develop and solidify.
6. Encourage Healthy Competition with Fitness Contests
Some companies decide to take a serious stance on issues such as obesity and implement office“Biggest Loser” style competitions and contests. You can use technology such as Fitbits to track and compare steps — these contests allow employees to prioritise fitness while interacting and engaging with their colleagues.
7. Amp up the Energy with an Escape Room
Escape rooms are booming in popularity around the world, and they are now being targeted towards employee and morale building schemes. Escape rooms involve employees being“locked” in a room with their colleagues for a given period. They then need to find and solve clues to allow them to escape. These rooms involve employees working together and dividing up tasks to solve a convoluted puzzle, all while a clock ticks away in the background. This requires a lot of teamwork, communication and cooperation, and your employees will likely leave the room stronger and more united.
8. Start a Book Club
Starting an employee book club can seriously help to unite your workforce and boost employee engagement. What’s more, it’s extremely cheap to implement and easy to organise. Once a month, set a book title and a time and place where your team will meet to discuss a book. If you want to make the book club even more relevant to your workplace, you can propose non-fiction books relating to personal growth and self-help — a genre associated with extremely successful individuals.
9. A Daily Huddle
A pre-match huddle is popular for athletes — it serves to rally them and get them enthused and energised for the task ahead. Consider doing something similar with your employees. Incorporating a daily huddle into your office activities will only take a few minutes, but it could prove to be one of the most powerful morale boosters and employee engagement tools in your arsenal. Cover progress towards organisational goals and any relevant obstacles, and use the opportunity to motivate and inspire your employees with great leadership.
10. Volunteer as a Team
Interestingly, it has been found that an act of kindness of any type can boost happiness. Knowing this, it would be a great and charitable idea to go volunteering as a team — this can help employees feel good about themselves and feel connected to one another, as well as to their community.
11. A Video Conference Social
Social connections play an important role when it comes to employee morale. You want your employees to feel a sense of belonging and of being part of a tight-knit team. During the recent lockdown in the UK, many companies have taken advantage of video conference socials, where employees get together at the end of the day or the end of the week and catch up. There is no real aim or direction to these meetings — they’re merely a chance for people to connect and unwind together, but you’d be surprised what a difference they can make.
12. Celebrate Birthdays
Small gestures can mean a lot to employees. Take the time to celebrate employee birthdays, even if it’s with something small. Send them a handwritten note, get your coworkers to sign a card or organise a birthday cake. Our jobs end up meaning a lot to us, and our careers form a big part of our identity. It is great for morale when employees know that they matter to their organisation and that their important milestones aren’t overlooked.
If you operate a remote team, morale should be a huge focus for you. To find out how Clear Review’s performance management software can help you boost morale and performance in your remote team, book a free demo today.