Team-building activities are socializing exercises for teams that strengthen teamwork relationships among coworkers. These activities are an excellent approach to developing skills like creative thinking and collaboration.
According to research, workplace relationships are vital to 89 percent of employees’ total quality of life. The study also found that even a single office friendship might increase employees’ attachment to their company.
Building deep relationships among coworkers improves employees’ work experiences, making them happier and more committed to their jobs. This benefits businesses, as happy employees tend to accomplish more for the organization.
We have divided the team-building activities into two sections for this article. First, we will discuss some of our favorite outdoor team-building activities—these are the ones that can be used outside the office premises.
Next, we will talk about short 5-minute team-building activities that you can easily organize and are less time-consuming in general. However, these activities can be organized both indoors and outdoors.
How outdoor team building enhances employees well-being
Outdoor team-building activities do more than just bring coworkers together—they’re a great way to boost mental well-being and reduce stress. Getting out of the office, breathing in some fresh air, and spending time in nature can do wonders for your team’s mood and overall happiness. Here’s how outdoor activities help improve mental health and make everyone feel more connected:
1. Fresh air and natural environments
The atmosphere has a direct influence on every human being. In this case, it is relevant to spend some time away from work, as it allows a person to regain the balance in his or her body. The outdoors accomplishes this by reducing cortisol levels while also improving the mood of individuals who are outside. There is something about being outdoors in nature that gives you a sense of tranquility and comfort that you may not necessarily experience in modern-day life. Taking the office outdoors for some team building is truly like a break from the monotony and refreshes the mind.
2. Physical activity and stress relief
Engaging in some sort of activity is an effective way to release endorphins, the happy hormones within our brains. Playing a team sport such as a relay or tug of war or during work breaks encourages you to let go of stress and have fun. Playing soccer is a great example. It’s short and intense, which is exactly what you need to relieve stress. It also alleviates physical tension such as muscle tightness that is often associated with sitting behind a desk for long hours. Dance with your team and you’ll not only boost your brainpower but also get a great workout!
3. Strengthening social connections
Team-building activities in nature are the best way to bond with colleagues. They are free and unstructured, so there’s no better option. You are not stuck in meetings or racing against the clock. You are conquering challenges head-on, just like you would in a scavenger hunt or ropes course. These exercises build trust, effective communication, and cordial relationships between employees. When employees engage in off-work activities outside of work, they are guaranteed a positive relationship when they return to the workplace.
4. Mental clarity and focus
There’s no doubt about it: taking a break from office work is one of the best ways to clear your mind. Outdoor activities allow you to switch off from work and focus on other activities as a team. With fewer distractions, individuals can think clearly, find new solutions, and approach the issue differently. A team can and should recharge and prepare to face the next challenge with a simple excursion. This could be a few minutes of park brainstorming or an outdoor teambuilding session with problem-solving tactics.
5. Happiness and job satisfaction
It’s a simple fact: when team members are happy mentally and emotionally, they are happy at work. Outdoor team-building activities provide exactly what they need to achieve this. After the outdoor activities, team bonding, and entertainment, people report back to work fully revitalized and with a positive outlook, without a doubt. This undoubtedly enhances job satisfaction, morale, and the overall productivity of the staff. Furthermore, while work and play are combined, people remain focused and committed to their tasks and each other.
The next time you plan a team-building day, remember that there are many advantages to taking the group outside. This is not just about pleasure. Outdoor team-building activities are an effective way to relieve stress, improve mental well-being, and enhance enjoyment and bonding at work. Whether it’s a thrilling event or a leisurely walk, the great outdoors is an ideal setting for these activities.
Outdoor team building activities
Outdoor team building activities are fun and thrilling for all of us. While they give us some break from work, they also prove to be educational and skill enhancing. So, without further ado, let’s dive into some of our top favorite outdoor team building activities for improving team dynamics.
Scavenger Hunt
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This has to be the favorite one for so many of us. Remember when we used to get so excited for scavenger hunts as a child? Well, it is still among the most renowned outdoor activities. To begin a hunt, we usually first hide various items at different places and a list of clues is drafted to spot the hidden items. However, it must be kept in mind that the distance between clues should not be so large that it exhausts the team members. Ideally, it should take only a few hours to find the items. Every round should have a specified deadline for the group to accomplish the task. The team that finds all the hidden items first should then be rewarded with a prize. Scavenger hunts enhance your team’s problem solving skills as they go beyond various clues to find an item and solve a problem at hand.
Go for a rope course
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The rope course is quite a popular choice for corporate outdoor team building events. Participants are often challenged to trust each other and work together to reach a mutual goal in most courses. Employees that fear heights can also opt for a low ropes course while those who do not can go for a high ropes course that takes people to 15-20 feet above the ground. Rope courses help build trust between employees and enhance their team working spirits.
Survive the challenge
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This challenge will put your team’s surviving skills into practice. Let your team assume that they have been stranded on an island. Each team is given a set of unusual items, such as a light, a blanket, and some rope. Reenact this encounter at a neighboring park and let your team survive the challenge for the entire day with the items available to them. It will also help improve the critical thinking skills of your team and build upon their strengths.
Volleyball at the beach
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Nothing brings employees together like a healthy volleyball competition at the beach. Set up a net or rent one at the beach, divide employees into different teams, and get going. To make thighs more fun, you can even invite random people on the beach to play along. Volleyball will help lighten the mood of your team and build upon their team spirits.
Ziplining
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If your company is full of thrill seekers, ziplining could be the perfect activity for them! You’ll be propelled around some of the most beautiful spots of your location while attached to a rope and harness. Zipline is a great way to reduce stress and conquer your anxieties as it helps build upon your self-esteem.
Axe throwing
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Axe throwing at outdoor venues has grown in popularity over the previous year. Teams arrive to select lanes and objectives, and the axes are targeted to their specified objectives keeping in mind the safety of the people surrounding you. This is a great activity for building on your team’s target-achieving skills.
5-minute team-building activities
Some of us may not have the time and resources to conduct outdoor team building activities, however, in this case, you can also organize 5-minute team building activities within your office premises. Although the outdoor activities are long and fun, short 5-minute activities can also be educational and very fun. We collected some interesting ideas that you can use to play with your team members in just under 5-minutes.
Acts of kindness
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This is a great 5-minute team building activity that spreads positivity and goodness. Spending the day performing small acts of kindness is an excellent exercise as it offers delight to so many people. Whether you spend the day penning compliments on notecards and handing them out to your coworkers, or you buy lunch for them. We can ensure that no matter how big or small the act is, it will make someone’s day.
Blind drawing
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Blind drawing allows your team members to express themselves creatively. All you’ll need is paper, a pen, and a whiteboard. Team members are split into pairs and given some drawing materials. One of the members is handed a photograph that is hidden from their partners.
The partner holding the photo can only describe the picture with adjectives – meaning, they cannot tell what exactly they see in the photograph. When the timer runs out, everyone compares their sketches. The results are frequently amusing, and they can assist your team members to communicate better.
Draw how you feel
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Do you have introverts on your team who can’t really speak up about what they really feel? Well, just before your meeting, you can let them draw anything they feel like. This will help you dig into how they feel and what is going on in their mind. Let’s suppose they draw a coffee – they might just need a break to refresh their mind. Or maybe, they draw a beach – well, they might just need to go on a vacation. It will not only help build upon your team’s creative skills but also help you analyze how they feel.
Never have I ever
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Start with splitting an equal amount of candies among team members and sit in a circle. Then go around the circle as each employee finishes the sentence with “never have I ever..” finishing with something they have never done before – for instance, “never have I ever been to a beach.” If anyone in the team has been to a beach then they can eat the candy and vice versa.
Be prepared for some great surprises to know about your co-workers. However, you may need to establish some ground rules for what individuals cannot communicate. But when done correctly, this is one of the most enjoyable and interesting games we have ever played.
One word storyline
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This is also an interesting 5-minute game that you can play with your team members. It starts with an individual saying a single word and passing it on to the next member of the team. Every member has to think of a suitable word that complements the previous word or sentence and turn it into a story. This can also build upon your team’s creative skills.
Team trivia
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Team trivia is an excellent way to get to know one another. Collect interesting details about your coworkers and turn them into a quiz. You can play this game at any of your team meetings. For example, ask a question about someone new from your team each week, then allow that person to tell you a unique experience they encountered.
Final Thoughts
Employees typically look forward to participating in team building activities since it allows them to spend some time apart from just working. Sitting on your desks and working all day can exhaust your brain and therefore it’s important to give work a fun element while enhancing team building within an organization. The change of location in the case of outdoor and indoor activities can help build upon your team’s attitude and motivational levels.
Furthermore, there are numerous outdoor and indoor activities that are both interesting and entertaining for teams. Because the choices are practically endless, having a team-building activity outside or indoors may be just what your team needs to build upon their strengths and creative skills.
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