A group of four people sit in a row on a lawn while smiling and waiving. Their shirts spell out TEAM.

Best Team Building Activities for Work in 2023

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In 2023, team building has never been more important, especially with a growing number of remote and virtual teams. Building a strong and cohesive team is essential for the success of the entire team, and the right team building activities can make all the difference. In this blog post, we will explore the best team building activities for work in 2023. Whether your team is working together in an office or spread out across the globe, there are countless exercises and activities that can bring your team together, help them learn from each other, and ultimately work more effectively as a unit. From virtual escape rooms to collaborative problem-solving challenges, we will cover a wide range of activities that are sure to inspire and engage your team. So, whether you’re looking to strengthen bonds within your existing team or bring a newly formed team closer, we’ve got you covered with the best team building activities for the year ahead.

Why Team-building Activities are Important

Team-building activities are important for work because they help foster a strong team bond and encourage your team to work together more effectively. As a leader, it is crucial to get your team to trust and communicate with each other in order to accomplish common goals. By participating in team-building activities, team members have the opportunity to build stronger relationships with one another, which can positively impact their ability to work together. These activities also help team members to better understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, which can lead to a more cohesive and productive work environment. Additionally, team-building activities can help to break down barriers and create a more open and supportive atmosphere, resulting in a more positive and collaborative work culture. Ultimately, team-building activities not only help to improve teamwork and communication, but also contribute to a more enjoyable and productive work environment.

Icebreaker Games

Ice breaker games are a fun and effective way to help team members bond and get to know each other in the workplace. These games encourage open communication and help create a comfortable atmosphere for all team members. By breaking down barriers, team members are able to build trust and create a sense of unity, making it easier to work together towards common goals. Through these games, team members are able to let loose and have fun, which can help alleviate any tension or stress that may be present in the workplace. As a result, team members are more likely to feel connected and supported by their colleagues, ultimately leading to a more positive and productive work environment. Furthermore, ice breaker games can also help identify common interests and strengths connecting team members, which can be valuable when working on projects or tasks together. Overall, ice breaker games are an essential tool in helping team members build strong and lasting relationships in the workplace.

Would You Rather

This classic from many people’s childhood is a great game to get the creative juices flowing. The more outlandish the question, the more energized your team will be!

How to play: Take turns going around the table and asking each person a “Would you rather” question. Here are a few “Would You Rather” questions to get you started:

  • Would you rather only have summer or winter for the rest of your life?
  • Would you rather go on a hike or see a movie?
  • Would you rather never use social media sites and apps again or never watch another movie or TV show?
  • Would you rather have a horrible short-term memory or a horrible long-term memory?

Accomplishments before 18

This game will help team members learn about each other while they share fun or interesting stories with each other. 

How to play: Go around the room and ask each person to share one accomplishment they had before they turned 18. We recommend opening with a silly story such as the first time you walked to school by yourself to get people started.

Two truths and one Lie

This game is great for helping your team learn about each other. 

How to play: Have everyone take turns sharing two truths and one lie, everyone else will guess which one is the lie, whoever guesses right will get bragging rights! 

Fishbowl

This game is great for teaching communication among team members. It is also a little silly so it’s great for boosting team spirit.

How to play: Give each team member 4 scraps of paper and ask them to put any word or phrase on it. All paper slips are folded up and then added to a bowl. The group is them divided into two teams. Switching off between teams, each team member has one minute to give as many hints about the words that they pull from the fishbowl as possible. The game is played in 3 rounds. The first round allows the hinter to describe the word using any language possible with the same rules as Taboo. The second round requires the hinter to act out the word like in charades. In the last round the hinter can only give one word hints. Each round lasts as long as there are words in the bowl. Once all words have been guessed, each team tallies their scrap paper words and replaces them back in the bowl for the next round. 

Corporate Team Building Activities for Work or Play

You can build camaraderie among your team members with post-work or lunch time pickup games and activities. The activities below all take about an hour or less but you will be reaping the benefits for months to come. 

Board Games and Card Games

Team building board games are a great way to get your team together and encourage collaboration and cooperation. These games provide an opportunity for team members to work together towards a common goal, fostering communication and camaraderie. They also help in developing problem-solving skills, strategic thinking, and building trust between team members. Here are a few to try:

  • Just One: This game requires everyone to work together to succeed. This cooperative game has team members give hints about a word to a guesser. The only problem? You can only have one word clues and no one can give the same clue. It’s a great way to build team relationships as your team will learn about the way that each team member thinks and associates.
  • Codenames Pictures: This game is great because it will require teams to work together while developing their ability understand each team members way of thinking. Play as rival spy networks trying to make contact with your agents. Split your group into two teams and try to choose the correct images based on one word clues.
  • Cranium: This classic encourages team members to learn about each team member’s unique talents. Each team must gather a unique set of players who the work together to solve puzzles based on their individual areas of strength. 

Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are a great team building event for a work environment because they require excellent teamwork and communication skills to succeed. In an escape room, participants are tasked with solving puzzles within a certain time frame to “escape” from the room. You can also choose from a wide variety of escape room themes and locations a well–from virtual to in person, intense to laid back. They all require employees to work together, communicate effectively, and collaborate to achieve the team goals. The game also allows participants to showcase their leadership qualities as they take charge and delegate tasks to ensure the team’s success. The intense and interactive nature of the game helps in building trust and rapport among team members, as they learn to rely on and support each other while under pressure. By working together to overcome challenges, employees develop a stronger bond and a more cohesive team dynamic. Overall, escape rooms provide an engaging and memorable way for employees to strengthen their teamwork skills and improve their ability to work together to achieve common goals. 

Count to 20

This one is a quick team building activity that is simple for corporate teams to do before meetings. It requires team members to not only be aware of other team members but also to work together with limited communication. 

How to play: Have everyone sit in a circle and try to count from one to 20. Anyone can start the count off or say a number at any time, however, if two people jump in at the same time to say a number, the count starts over.

Went well, went OK, and could have been done better

A more work-oriented team activity, this one is great for hearing what your team members think about their past work projects as a group. However, it doesn’t need to be a post-mortem topic. It can be anything! By bringing down the stakes, you both improve your skills at assessing project success as well as improve bonds between your team members. 

How to play: The original activity has everyone write on Post-it notes what they thought went well, another Post-it note of what they thought went OK, and a last Post-it note of what they thought could have been done better. Once everyone is done have them place the post it notes on the table in their separate categories, and talk through them and come up with potential solutions to problem areas as a group. To turn it into a game, create an imaginary scenario and see what your team comes up with. Here are a few to get you started:

  • Rescuing the princess (or prince) from the tower
  • Assisting Sherlock Holmes on his latest case
  • Building a castle in the sky
  • Capturing new Bigfoot footage

Remote or Hybrid Team Activities

Virtual team building is a must in this age, but we all know how few opportunities for team bonding remotely. The suggestions below do not require you to be in person and will help grow personal relationships between team members. 

Virtual Escape Games for Team Building

Virtual escape games are great team building activities for remote and hybrid teams because they allow teams to work together and solve problems all online. They are an excellent way to increase team productivity. These escape games are great because some of them can host big groups of up to 100 players or small groups as little as 6 players. 

Online Get-together Games

Online games can be an excellent choice for remote team building activities for several reasons. Firstly, they require interactive communication and collaboration between team members. These games also provide a sense of achievement when the team successfully guesses the answer, boosting morale and motivation. By participating in these games, team members can break the monotony of virtual meetings and have an enjoyable and engaging experience, ultimately leading to a more connected and cohesive remote team. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Gartic Phone: This game is great for working on team communication. Similar to telephone, players start by writing a sentence, the next player draws the sentence, and the next player tries to describe the results. It’s a fun, quick game that will put everyone in a good mood before the start of a meeting.
  • Skribbl: This Pictionary clone encourages team members to get creative while also allowing for some friendly competition. It’s a quick game that can energize your team before you get down to business.
  • Jackbox: These games are for people who love team building exercises but do not have the time. Each iteration of the game contains a variety of quick party games that are all hilarious and engaging. 

Some of the most popular team building activities have also been adapted for the internet, so if you have a classic game in mind, we recommend doing a quick search for an online variant as well. 

Conclusion

Team building activities can be a great way to bring together a large group of people, whether in person or remote, and encourage team members to work together. By incorporating fun games and activities, it can help in creating a positive and supportive environment within the team. It is important to think outside the box when planning these activities, as it can help in fostering creativity and innovation within the team. Team building activities should not only be about creating a strong bond between team members, but also about helping them develop trust and communication skills that are essential for a successful team. Whether it’s a simple icebreaker game or a more complex team project, these activities can ultimately bring everyone together and promote a sense of unity and camaraderie among team members. So why not start thinking about some fun team building activities that can help bring your team closer together?