Team Engagement Journey > Team Engagement Toolbox > Building Fun

Building Fun

A FAMILY TOOL: BELONGING & INTIMACY

Adding intentional fun into team meetings has a number of benefits including overall improved team cohesion and more creativity. This tool provides multiple ways to build these entrench fun in your team dynamics.

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Purpose

To help teams improve and morale and focus by fostering fun in team meetings

Typical scenarios

  • When a team has low morale and little motivation to spend social time together
  • When a team wants to boost morale and implement a fun element
  • When a team wants to capitalize on existing team routines to incorporate fun

Why this is important

Most teams operate in a primarily logical manner, focused on task completion, problem-solving and decision making, largely neglecting any relational elements.  However, teams that operate from both approaches increase innovation, creativity, and relational connectivity, increasing the likelihood of collective brilliance. When the atmosphere in a team is fun and joyful, the whole team benefits from happy hormones: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins.

The process

Steps for building fun

Incorporating a fun element into a meeting is important for several reasons:

Enhances engagement: Fun activities or moments can capture participants’ attention and keep them engaged throughout the meeting, reducing boredom and distraction.

Boosts morale: Adding fun can improve overall team morale, making the workplace feel more positive and enjoyable. This can lead to a happier and more motivated workforce.

Encourages team bonding: Fun elements can serve as icebreakers, helping team members get to know each other better and build stronger relationships. This can foster a sense of camaraderie and teamwork.

Reduces stress: Meetings can be stressful, especially when discussing challenging topics. Fun activities can help lighten the mood and reduce stress, making the meeting more pleasant for everyone involved.

Stimulates creativity: A relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere can stimulate creativity and open-mindedness. Fun activities can encourage team members to think outside the box and contribute innovative ideas.

Increases participation: When meetings are enjoyable, participants are more likely to actively participate and contribute. This can lead to more dynamic discussions and better decision-making.

Improves retention of information: People are more likely to remember information presented in a fun and engaging way. Incorporating fun elements can help reinforce key points and make the meeting’s content more memorable.

Breaks monotony: Regularly scheduled meetings can become monotonous. Introducing fun elements can break the routine and keep things fresh, making participants look forward to meetings.

Builds a positive culture: Regularly incorporating fun into meetings can contribute to a positive organisational culture where employees feel valued and enjoy coming to work.

It is important to share responsibility for driving a fun and joyful atmosphere – it gives team members a sense of ownership and increases buy-in. A fun, joyful atmosphere is not dependent on the leader alone.

Create official time at the beginning of key meetings. If this is not prioritised it will be neglected when deadlines are looming or when people are late for meetings. Choose one or two non-operational meetings to start with and get the team used to the rhythm. Only once the team is used to it should you consider adding it to meetings where time is usually short or highly pressured.

Choose one of the following options:

    Each team member shares one thing that they are grateful for that day.

    Why gratitude? Research has shown that expressing gratitude regularly has a substantial positive effect on mental well-being. Dopamine is released in response to positive outcomes, praise, and food. Sharing what you are grateful for with your team elevates and celebrates your shared humanity, not just productivity. When hearing out others it also multiplies your own!

    Each team member gets a turn to recognise or affirm someone in the team, 

      Oxytocin is released during playful interactions with others. Giving and receiving compliments can trigger the release of oxytocin in your team. For small teams, each member can say something about everyone else, while in larger teams they can just share about someone next to or across from them.

      An interesting or funny question

        The purpose here is simply to laugh together. The more original the question, the funnier it will be. Some ideas to play with:

        • What is the most random thing in your car/handbag at the moment?
        • What is the funniest thing a child you know has had a meltdown about?
        • Would you rather wear pajamas to work for a week or a full superhero costume for a day?
        • Would you rather have coffee on tap or a nap room at work?
        • Explain your weekend only using corporate language/slang.
        • What was your most embarrassing work blunder?
        • Describe a movie or song as badly as possible while still keeping it recognisable
        • Describe your role at work using wrong answers only.

        Icebreaker game

          Here are a few examples of icebreaker games.

          Office chair races

          Get on those wheelie chairs and put them to good use. Teams or solo efforts, depending on how much space you have. Helmets are recommended, especially if your team has highly competitive or exuberant members.

          Paper airplane contests

          Raid the office printer and fill the air with joy. Give marks for longest flight, accuracy, most ornate build, prettiest design and anything else the team finds fun. Competition is optional, but serves as a good incentive for creativity.

          Sticky Note Face

          Equipment: Sticky notes

          Objective: Stick as many sticky notes as possible to your face within one minute.

          Instructions:

          • Each participant gets a stack of sticky notes.
          • When the timer starts, participants have one minute to stick as many sticky notes as possible to their faces.
          • The participant with the most sticky notes on their face when time is up wins.

          Sticky Note Relay

          Equipment: Sticky notes, a wall or board

          Objective: Transfer sticky notes from one location to another without using your hands.

          Instructions:

          • Each participant gets a stack of sticky notes.
          • Participants start at one end of the room with the sticky notes on a table and must transfer them to a designated spot on a wall or board.
          • They can only use their nose to pick up and stick the notes onto the wall or board.
          • When the timer starts, participants have one minute to transfer as many sticky notes as possible.
          • The participant who transfers the most sticky notes wins.

          Word In The Middle

          Equipment: Just the team

          Objective: Find the word in the middle of  the two starting words

          Instructions:

          • This process continues with two different people each turn until both people say the same word
          • Two people say a random word at the same time (for example, “cat” and “inflation”
          • Two other people think of the word they think is between “cat” and “inflation” (for example, “garfield” and “market”)
          • This process continues with two different people each turn until both people say the same word

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