7 Virtual Team Building Activities That Boost Employee Wellbeing

Virtual team building activities offer remote teams a way to merge together in a more relaxed and unassuming virtual setting.  Activities can consist of contests, dares, and are usually via cloud-based video communication platforms like Zoom, GoToMeeting, or Google Meet. An agenda is often laid out on Fellow to keep the virtual meeting productive and focused.

• Why is virtual team building important?
• Benefits of remote team building activities
• 7 Virtual Team Building Activities

Why is virtual team building important?

The essence of team building activities is to:

•  Establish kinship between team members 
• Enhance communication
• Combat remote work fatigue
• Reduce feelings of isolation and other mental health problems 
• Encourage team-spirit
• Promote employee well-being in general 

As a result, businesses establish a bond with remote staff members while also connecting team activities to company objectives. Still, the shift from in-office to remote work has led to a host of challenges, like feelings of unpreparedness and isolation, that each employee copes with differently. Yet, remote workers present a very promising outlook for the companies that hire them.  

A study by Gallup reveals that although remote employees may feel despondent and isolated, it’s not the norm. The company conducted a recent poll of 1900 remote employees and found:

• 90% intend to work remotely indefinitely 

• 94% endorse working outside the office

• 21% said the feeling of loneliness is the most challenging  

Benefits of remote team building activities

Team building for remote workers creates a genuine feeling of camaraderie between workers just as much as in-office teams. It also improves team output. Without strong team morale- which is one of the main purposes of virtual team building activities– company productivity suffers inducing high employee turnover. This may ultimately lead to exhaustion and tensions for remaining team members, as they try to make allowances for the increased workload. 

Additionally, bringing team members together eases the multiple challenges intrinsically factored into the template of remote working. Team performance is enhanced, stress decreases, and technology appears less robotic and more, well, human.      

7 Virtual team building activities

Workers well-suited for virtual games are usually those at ease working with teams meaning that they are good-tempered, adapt readily to change, and deal with stressful situations on the job without freaking out.  

Take advantage of all or a few of the virtual activities listed below to break ground among team members. 

• Goosechase
• Virtual Show & Tell
• Real-Time Remote Office
• Crime Junkie Virtual Icebreaker
• Two Truths and One Lie
• Friendly Q&A
• Snapshot Icebreaker

1 Goosechase   

Goosechase is an app advertised as a scavenger hunt game used to encourage positive competitiveness between team workers. This activity will expose the gladiatorial energies of each participant while tapping into their ambitions via a solution geared strategy

2 Virtual Show & Tell

This activity helps to enhance communication skills between team members in a fun and affable manner. Additionally, when team members share a bit about their lives, it deepens the connections between workers. Ask employees to put together a short story prior to the beginning of the activity. Or, they can perform unprompted and carry on about whatever comes to mind. The impromptu approach inspires unhindered creative thinking.  

3 Real-Time Remote Office

Whoever shows up at the beginning of the workday launches a video chat. Feel free to chat about non-work-related topics like the latest news or why dogs love cheese. Team members join the video chat individually when they begin their workday and can last however long feels necessary. This video communication contributes to a feeling of camaraderie between team workers and offers a chance for watercooler chats.

4 Crime Junkie Virtual Icebreaker

This activity is sure to break the ice among team members. Organize a Crime Virtual Murder Mystery and divide players into teams and begin unsolving the mystery! Participants use their problem-solving skills and race against time to beat the other teams. When the mystery is solved, celebrate the winning team’s “eureka moment.” This quizzical activity enhances team cooperation as working together is the only way to solve the mystery successfully.    

5 Two Truths and One Lie

Two Truths and One Lie is a very popular team-building game and easily played virtually, either through video calls or messaging apps. The only thing that’s required is a superb WiFi connection and a bit of craftiness. Team players take two minutes to concoct two truths and one lie. 

For example, a team member might say:

• I go volcano exploring once a year.
• I own 3 laptops each in a different language.
• I once dated someone in high school who is now a very famous actor.

Participants must figure out which of the three sentences is a lie. This activity is not about gaining points, the enjoyment lies – no pun intended – in learning about other team members. 

6 Friendly Q&A

This easy-going activity takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes. Before scheduling your online meeting, have each team member answer three tricky questions about themselves. 

For example:

• Which food would you choose if you could only eat that one food for a month and why?
• If you lived to be 120 and one of your senses had to go first, which one would you choose?
• What is something you wouldn’t do even if you were paid to do it?

Try to match each answer with the right person. After figuring out who answered what, have the person explain why they chose a particular answer. This activity creates an enhanced bond between colleagues.

7 Snapshot Icebreaker

Snapshot Virtual Icebreaker is a simple and great activity for team building. Ask participants to take a photo of their choosing. It can be anything like a painting, a coffee pot, or the top of their refrigerator. Each person must upload their image to a shared online whiteboard to create a digital collage of each image. Each participant should view each photo and ask questions. Be creative and designate a theme each round or have the team guess what the item is by cropping the images!

Work and Play Can Coexist 

The list can go on and on. Company leaders can come up with their own team-building activities as well. There are countless solitaire games and Slack games for office employees. And there is sufficient research to prove that games boost productivity and wellness.

Virtual team building is one of the surest ways to maintain a fantastic remote workforce while also nurturing company goals. The feat is about managing an efficient team that can work and play. If your company is victorious, the rewards are epic.