Ever since life has been returning to normal, workplaces have sent their employees back to the office, arranged a hybrid setup, or have made their work-from-home situation a permanent one. Whatever the case, it was very important for companies that their members could work well with one another and also have fun together. They have thought of ways to increase interaction among employees, wherever their place of work may be. One of this is to plan and invite everyone to join icebreaker activities during meetings or virtual sessions.
It may look like all fun and games but icebreaker activities contribute a lot to an employee’s happiness in the workplace. According to Indeed.com, it boosts morale and builds rapport among employees. It gives them an opportunity to bond with one another in a light and friendly environment. There are different icebreaker activities you can do in the workplace to invite some fun into your work dynamic.
You may try icebreakers that help in team-building. One famous activity is called the marshmallow challenge. Here the employees will be grouped into four and each group will be given one yard of tape, 20 sticks of spaghetti, one yard of string, and a marshmallow. The challenge is for each group to build a sturdy structure with the marshmallow on top. The tallest structure wins. For an extra challenge, you may allot a time limit or a minimum height requirement. This will allow the members of the team to be creative and work with one another in order to devise the best plan.
You can also play a pass a message game. The employees will be divided again into four or five groups. They will be asked to line up and each person who is at the front of the line should step forward and wait for the message that the host will either show them or whisper to their ears. They will memorize the message that they got and pass it on to the next person in line. The last person will return to the start of the line, approach the host, and give the message that he or she got from the game. Just like in the workplace, messages can get confusing when being passed from mouth to mouth. This is the perfect example of how to illustrate the need for clear and direct language so as to avoid confusion. You’ll be surprised with how different the message would turn out from the start to the very end.
If you are about to start a meeting, you don’t have to dive into your agenda right away. You can start by having an icebreaker activity that will wake everyone’s senses up before dealing with the serious matters. For example, you can give everyone a pop quiz on the history of the company and its future plans, or anything about pop culture such as basketball for boys while fashion and beauty for the girls. You can also have a fun On this day game. You ask everyone where they were at a specific date or a season or life phase in general. Their memory cells will be working to remember where they were at that stated point in time. You can also have a fun one-sentence game that can get everyone thinking. Basically, you’ll give a base sentence and each member of the team will add one word to the sentence until a whole story is created.
When you organize a conference, you can also have an ice breaker so that people would get to know others from different places and companies.
One fun game is asking people to write a problem and then having others offer a solution for it. Besides their name tags, ask them to write a problem they want to solve or a goal that they want to reach. Besides it, ask them to write one of their strengths. The objective of the game is for people to offer a solution in which they are an expert of or to approach people who they think can help them with their dilemma.
You can also have a bingo game wherein a conference participant needs to complete five answers in a row or in a column in order to get BINGO. Each square will have a trait and each participant will have to look for another participant wherein the trait in the square applies to them. For example, you are looking for someone who’s wearing black glasses. Ask them to sign the square. For more interaction, they should be able to get the name and share one trivia about them before they sign the square.
If you are still having virtual meetings, you can also do icebreakers virtually. You can play with emojis wherein people will guess what the other person’s mood is based on the emoji he or she sent in the chat box. You can ask them to play a game of charades or guess who someone is based on first impressions (if it’s your first-ever meeting.) You can ask a question such as “What three items will you take to a remote island?” or “What is the highlight of your week that made you proud to have accomplished?” and have everyone answer.
Breaking the ice is important so that any initial awkwardness can be gone. It could take time though so make sure you are wary of how many minutes you have already dedicated to the icebreaker part of your meeting or conference.
You also want to be productive and efficient with your time even if you have many fun activities for the employees. You can do this by making sure everyone works at their optimum, with focus and efficiency. A standing desk can help do just that.
Pro Standing Desk (E5)
Conveniently shift into a standing position with the Pro Standing Desk (E5) from FlexiSpot. This makes use of an improved motor technology to be more user-friendly. Basically, its dual-motor lifting system is combined with the double crossbeam structure which ensures a smoother operation and a stable experience.
No need to worry about its stability because with a loading capacity of up to 275 pounds, it remains sturdy and wobble-free at its highest point and even during movement.
It features an advanced keypad panel featuring three height presets, a sit-stand reminder that allows you to set a timer from 0 to 99 minutes, and an anti-collision feature that automatically stops movement when obstacles are encountered.
