Organizing fun work events for employees is a vital part of building a positive workplace culture. The benefits include team building, engaged employees, socializing outside of BAU interactions, and chances to connect with peers on a more personal level.
Here at SwipedOn, we love any excuse for a team-building get-together. A simple change of environment, getting the team busy with different challenges, and mixing with members from other departments all contribute to keeping our employees engaged and happy at work.
This is why we’ve compiled this list of 31 best work event ideas for team building, we hope it will spark some inspiration for others looking to spice up their work social activities and keep employees motivated.
We’ve tried and tested 90% of these work events. The other 10%? It’s on the work social activities bucket list for team SwipedOn.
Ready? Lessgo.
1.Cocktail Making
Happy hour until… everybody happy! Coming in hot with the perfect late afternoon work event. Do you have a bar close to work that serves cocktails or offers classes? If you’re in a city, it’s likely you do. No bars close by? All good, try a virtual cocktail masterclass. This one has the potential to be fun for everyone, everywhere, just be sure to find some mocktail options for a fully inclusive work social event.
2. White Water Rafting
This fun team-building activity is fairly specific to a location but it’s certainly worth a mention. Our office is a short drive from the world's highest rafted waterfall in Rotorua, New Zealand. Nothing like a bit of adrenaline to bring the team together!
3. Golf or Crazy Golf
Whether you’re in a city or in the ‘burbs, access to a golf course or crazy golf is pretty achievable. Swingers in the Gherkin in London is an excellent example of an urban mini golf course that your employees will love. A drink at hole 8 anyone? Yup, waiters will come and offer drinks while you’re playing (maybe not great for the work social activities budget but great customer service). An outdoor golf course or driving range is so fun, even if golf isn’t your thing, driving those buggies around certainly will be!
4. VR Gaming
Another tried and tested work event for the SwipedOn team. You only need access to a virtual reality gaming studio (like The Cave) and your team for a fun-filled afternoon for team bonding in the Metaverse. The best bit has to be watching the senior managers fighting pirate aliens and swiping fruit with swords while you wait for your turn (be sure to get some content for your next TikTok).
5. Bowls
It’s not just for the oldies. It also happens to be a great work event idea!
6. Go-Karting
What’s not to love about this work event?
7. Disc Golf
Like golf but… with discs. Time to fill everyone's lungs with oxygen for this fun group activity! Generally, disc golf courses are big, open spaces meaning everyone will get a bit of a workout. Each ‘hole’ is a cage which you need to throw the disc into (usually very far away from the start), and retrieving terribly thrown discs is all part of the fun. The great outdoors awaits!
8. Tree Planting
A work event for the nature lovers out there. At SwipedOn, we plant a tree for every new customer with Trees That Count, and we love getting involved in local planting projects while bringing the team together off-site. Allow for a half day out in nature and do something wholesome that gives back to the community.
9. Karaoke
Ahh something not so wholesome… but extremely fun. This work event idea needs no explanation. Google ‘karaoke bars near me’ and the rest will (hopefully) be history.
10. Escape Room
Claustrophobic? Great. Lock your team away and force them to use only their intelligence to get themselves out. It’s a fun team-building activity, we promise.
11. Pub quiz
You can link up this work event with a local pub quiz or hold your own in the office. We love the latter, it’s a great way to engage the team with your workplace culture, team, business, and brand by including questions specific to you. Book in an early knock-off, put on some drinks and snacks, and finish the day on a high.
12. Scavenger Hunt or Amazing Race
Essentially a scavenger hunt is a game where the organizers prepare a list of specific items, which the participants have to gather or complete all items on the list in a specific time frame. This is a great work social activity to nurture team building, get the team out of the office and use cognitive function simultaneously.
13. Local Walk & Breakfast
Gather the team for a pre-work walk in nature. We have a local hill that the team loves to hike, so we organized a sunrise walk followed by breakfast at a fave local spot and it was a great group activity to start the working day.
14. Hack Day
This work event originates in the tech industry but can definitely be applied to other industries. Hack day can be tackled either individually or in teams for extra team-building points, but the TLDR is to come up with a wild (work-related) idea and spend one whole working day putting it together and presenting it to the wider team after. It’s a great way to show your employees that their input is valued and cultivate new ideas for the business. WIN-WIN.
15. Table Tennis Tournament
Have a ping pong table on-site? Here’s your next work event: An in-house tournament. Motivate team members to take part by having spot prizes (the most spectacular fail is always a good one) to encourage those that don’t feel confident to still take part and get involved with the fun.
16. Bake-off
For this work event, encourage employees to whip up their signature baked dishes (we all have one, right?) and bring them in for a bake-off morning tea where everyone votes anonymously for their fave. Too easy, too delicious.
17. Shared Lunch
Another easy and tasty one to bring the team together. The same concept as the bake-off morning tea but a shared lunch featuring chats and banter over nibbles while showcasing the team's finest cooking (or supermarket-shopping) skills. Check for any dietary requirements prior for an inclusive work event for all.
18. Indoor rock climbing
Indoor rock climbing is generally easier to get straight into for a fun team building activity than the outdoor version but feel free to explore an outdoor option too! Great for team building and exercise away from the desk.
19. Boat Cruise
Where there is a river, harbor, or seafront, there is a boat cruise to be found. Flowing drinks, great views, onboard catering and lush spots to dock (optional depending on location) makes for an epic work event outside the office.
20. Paint & Sip / Pottery & Sip / Draw & Sip
You get the idea, get those creative juices flowing. The act of craft is proven to calm the mind, so this work event idea is not just for fun, it’s good for the noggin too. Wherever you’re located, it’s highly likely one of these events will be available close by and the class usually has a theme so there’s definitely educational value as well for anyone genuinely interested in a crafty upskill.
21. Croquet
Much like bowls, this work event idea is making a massive comeback as a fun team event for the younger generations. Usually run by members of the older generation who fizz for the sport.
22. Planetarium
Got a boujee budget? Brilliant, lessgo to a planetarium. Educational, mind-blowing, and relaxing all at the same time, this work event can be combined with a tipple of vino — or 0% vino — for a Christmas party or business birthday.
23. Cooking class
Who doesn’t love an educational work event that genuinely helps with real-life responsibilities? The best bit is definitely bringing the team together to chow down on their creations post-cook.
24. Masterclasses with employees
Empower your team and utilize their strengths by running quick, fun masterclasses on specific subjects. Recently our marketing team ran a TikTok masterclass for anyone who wanted to learn about the platform and the team loved it! They are still fairly confused but the feedback was promising.
25. PechaKucha
Japanese for ‘chit-chat’, PechaKucha is a storytelling format where a presenter shows 20 slides for 20 seconds of commentary each. At a PechaKucha Night, individuals gather and share personal presentations about anything they like. This work social activity can help team members gain confidence speaking in front of a group of people as well as educate the wider team about each individual.
26. Geocaching
Like a scavenger hunt but digital, Geocaching is a fun team building activity that will get a bit of rivalry going amongst the team. They can go out to local spots during lunch breaks or even when out and about on the weekends.
27. Wine & Beer Tasting
Usually accompanied by nibbles, this work social activity can be at the local pub, craft brewery, cider factory, or winery depending on your location. Want to step it up a notch? Head out of town to a vineyard and enjoy the scenic views, good food, and sunshine.
28. High Ropes / Tree Top Walk
Character building as well as team building, this work event may have some of your staff battling a fear of heights while others become their cheerleaders.
29. Inflatable water course
If you want to go full send on the obstacle course vibe for your work event, take it to the water. Enough said.
30. Barista Workshop
Who doesn’t LOVE coffee? Give power to the people with this work event and enlist the skills of a professional barista to teach the team how to make their fave brew. This one might not be advertised but you could approach your local cafe about running the event for you.
31. Laser tag ⚡️
We were going to put paintballing but we think laser tag is a much less brutal version of the same concept. A fun run-around and a great winter work event option.
