25 Virtual Team Building Activities To Build Trust And Collaboration

Leo Migdal

-Dec 12, 2025, 2:39 AM

25 virtual team building activities to build trust and collaboration

Building strong teams remotely is challenging. Recent research shows that 4 in 10 jobs now allow some amount of remote work (Robert Half, 2025). Yet 60% of managers find it more challenging to evaluate and connect with remote employees compared to in-office teams (SHRM, 2024). With teams now split between remote and hybrid arrangements, it’s harder to build the trust and camaraderie that drive high performance and job satisfaction. Virtual team building activities can help solve this problem. When done right, they create genuine connections, improve communication, and boost team morale in ways that translate directly to better collaboration and results.

The key is choosing activities that feel authentic rather than forced, and that work in digital environments. In this guide, we'll explore 25 proven virtual team building activities designed specifically for remote and hybrid teams. These aren't your typical trust falls, they're practical, engaging activities designed for busy professionals that deliver measurable improvements in team dynamics. We organized our team building activities by time commitment and purpose for easy selection. Feel free to jump to the section that best fits your needs: Virtual team building differs significantly from in-person activities.

Without physical presence, you need to be more intentional about creating engagement and connection. The most effective virtual team building activities share several key characteristics: Schedule a chat and get personalized venue recommendations Explore venues & activities in one place Book a demo to explore 1,000+ curated venues and activities for your next event If you look at your team as a well-oiled machine, trust is essential to keep everything running smoothly.

Without it, even the most talented teams will grind to a halt, creating friction that damages both relationships and results. The data speaks volumes about trust's impact on performance. According to Gallup, teams with high trust levels are 50% more productive than their low-trust counterparts. Even more compelling, Harvard Business Review reports that employees at high-trust organizations experience 74% less stress and 106% more energy at work than those at low-trust companies. Connecting with your team can be challenging, especially now that many remote employees are working from home part of the time. But it’s crucial to keep workplace culture and team building alive, even when we’re all more spread out than before.

That’s where virtual team-building session activities come in. So, why is team building important? First, it helps build trust among coworkers. When you work on projects together, as most virtual teams do, it’s crucial to trust your teammates to help and complete different parts of the project. Without that trust and good relationships, projects can slow down, not turn out as well, or even get stuck and not finish at all. <img decoding="async" src="https://bordio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Key-Areas-of-Improvement-for-Managers-PDF.png" alt="Key Areas of Improvement for Managers PDF" width="430" height="748.5" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-6485" srcset="https://bordio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Key-Areas-of-Improvement-for-Managers-PDF.png 860w, https://bordio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Key-Areas-of-Improvement-for-Managers-PDF-172x300.png 172w, https://bordio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Key-Areas-of-Improvement-for-Managers-PDF-588x1024.png 588w, https://bordio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Key-Areas-of-Improvement-for-Managers-PDF-768x1337.png 768w, https://bordio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Key-Areas-of-Improvement-for-Managers-PDF-317x552.png 317w, https://bordio.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Key-Areas-of-Improvement-for-Managers-PDF-148x257.png 148w" sizes="(max-width: 860px) 100vw, 860px" />

Team building involves various activities and exercises that help employees get to know each other better and learn to work together. These activities make the team more cohesive, improve communication, and help build trust among team members. The goal is to create a positive work environment that makes everyone more productive. Here are some key points about team building: Team members practice managing disagreements healthily through activities that require negotiation, active listening, and problem-solving. These skills translate into the workplace, enabling the team to resolve conflicts with understanding and respect rather than frustration or resentment.

By learning to manage conflict effectively, the team creates a healthier work environment where issues are addressed openly, and relationships remain strong. For an accessible version of this page/site, please contact us by phone at 1-888-622-3343 Are you sometimes aware that your team is working side by side, but not truly together? Have you seen that the best employees can struggle to work together in the absence of trust? In this day and age, the real connections and trust that teams build is essential, but can also be harder to connect to each other than before. When teammates don't trust each other, the lines of communication can break down, creativity can stall, and stress can amplify.

On a positive note, once you complete some trust building activities at work, you will find that you can turn these situations around and create an environment where everyone feels important, valued, and supported. Trust is the key ingredient in every high functioning team's recipe for success. Without it, even the best strategies and brightest minds can't go to work for them. Remote work has revolutionised how teams communicate and collaborate. While it offers flexibility and access to global talent, it also creates invisible barriers between team members. Many remote workers report feeling isolated, disconnected from colleagues, and uncertain about their place within the team culture.

Most generic virtual team-building activities struggle to truly capture participants' interest. Teams dread mandatory "fun" sessions that feel forced or waste precious time. The challenge lies in finding virtual team-building activities that genuinely engage remote workers while building meaningful connections. This comprehensive guide presents 25 proven icebreakers for remote teams that your employees will look forward to. These activities are designed specifically for remote work environments, tested by distributed teams, and crafted to solve real connection challenges that remote managers face daily. Remote teams that lack regular interaction often struggle to build trust.

Face-to-face conversations naturally create bonds through shared experiences and casual interactions. Virtual team-building activities for work replicate these organic moments, helping team members see each other as whole people rather than voices on calls. Companies implementing structured virtual team building report 25% higher employee engagement and a 21% increase in productivity. Teams that connect on a personal level communicate more effectively during work projects. They ask questions sooner, share ideas freely, and collaborate without hesitation. Assign, track, and collaborate on emails using Hiver’s Shared Inbox

Scale customer service across channels by unifying conversations AI-powered bots and live chat for conversational support You’re sitting in a meeting, and while everyone’s logged in, it feels like your remote team is somewhere on the other side of the world. Each person is working on their own tasks, and the only thing connecting you all is a shared to-do list. You know your team is capable of more—better communication, smoother collaboration, and stronger bonds—but the challenge is finding a way to bring everyone together, even when you’re not in the same room. That’s where team-building activities come in.

But let’s face it—most activities are designed for in-person teams. Remote teams need something that fits their unique challenges. Struggling to get your virtual team to connect beyond emails and Zoom calls? Remote work can feel a little isolating, making it tough to build real relationships. But what if team bonding could be both enjoyable and effective, even for teams working together virtually? These 25 online team-building games are designed to help your team bond, improve communication, and make collaboration more fun.

Ready to turn your virtual team into a tight-knit group? Let’s get started exploring some of the best team-building games online. Virtual team-building games are a strategic move to strengthen your team’s dynamics, boost engagement, and shape a positive team culture. Here’s why team-building games for virtual teams matter. This is our list of the best free virtual team building activities for work. Free virtual team building activities are costless, interesting exercises that teams play online.

For example, the dress code game, and the drinking water contest. The purpose of these exercises is to improve employee engagement in remote and hybrid teams at no additional cost. These activities are also known as “free online team building activities for work.” These ideas are a subset of virtual team building activities and virtual group activities, and are a way to improve virtual staff engagement. These activities can increase participation at virtual team events. and improve virtual trainings.

Remote workers and homeschooling students sometimes feel lonely for rarely interacting with colleagues. However, participating in free online games for virtual teams is a great way to curb loneliness and rekindle zeal for remote teams. Here is our pick of free virtual team building games and activities to consider. Never Have I Ever is among the top online team activities for team bonding. Never Have I Ever is a game based on sharing experiences. Trust is the foundation of every high-performing team, but in remote and hybrid environments, it can be harder to build and maintain.

Without daily in-person interactions, misunderstandings, miscommunication and a lack of connection can erode confidence between colleagues, which ultimately impacts collaboration and productivity. Leaders of dispersed teams must intentionally foster inter-team trust, creating opportunities for teammates to be transparent and vulnerable in sharing their experiences. Here, 20 Forbes Coaches Council members share effective exercises leaders do with remote and/or hybrid teams to strengthen trust among team members, improve cohesion and elevate performance. One effective exercise for building trust in remote or hybrid teams is a “Working With Me” document. Invite each member, including the leaders, to share their strengths, opportunity areas and preferred work. The team shares the documents to foster empathy and connection.

The team builds psychological safety by creating space for open sharing, which is essential for trust. - Dr. Jennifer Bryant, Reaching From Within, An Empowerment Journey LLC Team members usually have various Enneagram types. So I recommend a short mindfulness practice that acknowledges the unique strengths of each Enneagram type and the value each type brings to teamwork. Include a reflective meditation of gratitude containing supportive affirmations for each Enneatype, which enhances understanding, acceptance and trust between team members.

25 Virtual Team Building Activities To Build Trust And Collaboration

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