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7 Best Employee Engagement Activities For Team Building

Leo Migdal
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7 best employee engagement activities for team building

Employee engagement plays a crucial role in creating a productive and motivated workforce. Organizations focusing on employee engagement activities can significantly improve teamwork, communication, and overall job satisfaction. In this article, we explore some of the best employee engagement activities for team building, offering you practical ideas that can enhance collaboration and foster a positive work culture. Employee engagement is not just about ensuring that employees feel valued; it’s about creating an environment that promotes interaction, creativity, and mutual respect. Engaged employees are more likely to work collaboratively, feel connected to their team, and contribute positively to the company’s success. Effective team building activities help strengthen these bonds, improve communication, and increase collaboration.

Let’s dive into some of the best employee engagement activities that can bring your team together. Team building challenges, such as scavenger hunts, obstacle courses, or escape room games, promote problem-solving and collaboration. These activities force team members to think outside the box, collaborate under pressure, and make decisions quickly. They are great for breaking down silos and building trust within the team. Why it works: These activities create a fun and competitive environment that naturally brings people together while fostering a sense of achievement when the challenge is completed. By: Angela Robinson | Updated: April 29, 2025

You discovered our list of fun employee engagement activities. Employee engagement activities are exercises that increase employee motivation and positive feelings about the work environment. For example, animal therapy and departmental swaps. The purpose of these ideas is to vary the work routine and make employees interested in and passionate about work. These activities are also known as “team engagement activities”, “staff engagement activities”, “employee engagement exercises” and “activities for employees.” These activities align with employee engagement best practices and workforce engagement strategies, and are similar to virtual engagement ideas.

When teams grow used to activities like team lunches or employee awards, an entirely new and original idea can re-engage your group. Here is a list of unexpected and out-of-the-ordinary activities to break up the routine and excite employees. Manage team tasks inside Microsoft Teams. Track and analyze key performance metrics. Integrate Teamflect with over 200+ HRIS platforms. Automate and elevate performance with AI.

Streamline and digitize performance management. Engaging in team bonding games can greatly improve collaboration and refine workplace culture. Activities like “Two Truths and a Lie” encourage personal storytelling, whereas “Back-to-Back Drawing” focuses on communication skills through verbal descriptions. To further elevate team dynamics, consider challenges such as “Desert Island Necessities” and “Scavenger Hunt.” Each game serves a unique purpose and can lead to increased morale and teamwork. Explore these options to find the best fit for your team’s needs. “Two Truths and a Lie” serves as an engaging icebreaker game that encourages team interaction and personal storytelling.

In this activity, each participant shares three statements about themselves—two true and one false. This game typically lasts 5-10 minutes and is adaptable for groups of any size, making it ideal for both small teams and larger gatherings. It’s a fantastic choice among team bonding games for work, as it nurtures interpersonal relationships by revealing unique facts about each member. Moreover, it promotes critical thinking, as participants must listen actively and deduce which statement is the lie. Incorporating “Two Truths and a Lie” into training games for employees can improve communication and trust, setting a positive tone for collaboration. Back-to-Back Drawing is an effective team-building exercise intended to improve communication skills among participants.

You don't need fancy perks, 5-star chefs, or extravagant bonuses to increase engagement within your team. Often times it's the little things that give you the most bang for your buck. Even something as little as bringing a bit more fun into the office can often do wonders for improving team morale and engagement. This is where employee engagement games and activities prove vital. Breaking up the monotony of the work day with an activity or two allows employees to have some fun, burn off stress, and get a little friendly competition going between the team (7-game series... With this in mind, we've put together a comprehensive list of games and activities to do just that.

Plus, we’ll also show you why it’s important to set aside time for employee engagement in the first place. Let's get into it! Your organization is composed of individuals with different interests, passions, and personalities. This is a good place to start when planning engagement games and activities. Did you know that teams using engaging activities are up to 43% more likely to report higher levels of collaboration? Whether your group gathers in person or connects remotely, meaningful team building is proven to spark trust and unlock authentic connections.

With the right mix of fun challenges, creative games, and thoughtful recognition, you can turn ordinary teams into motivated groups ready to work together and achieve more than ever. Ever walked into a room full of strangers and felt that uncomfortable silence? Icebreaker games are the secret weapon that transforms awkward moments into opportunities for genuine connection. These brief facilitation exercises help teams break down social barriers and create an environment of trust and openness. According to research from team building experts, icebreakers are more than just silly games. They are strategic tools designed to help group members get to know each other quickly and begin working together with greater comfort.

By creating shared experiences and encouraging playful interaction, these activities reduce tension and make communication smoother. Some powerful icebreaker strategies include virtual challenges like the "five finger show-down" where team members reveal personal facts based on different finger positions or fun picture competitions that reveal personality. Check out our guide on engaging online team building games for more creative ideas. To implement effective icebreakers, focus on activities that are light hearted but meaningful. Keep them short (5-10 minutes), inclusive, and aligned with your team's culture. The goal is not just entertainment but creating genuine moments of connection that translate into better workplace collaboration.

Team building activities have earned a mixed reputation. When done right, they transform disconnected colleagues into a cohesive team that communicates better, solves problems faster, and genuinely enjoys working together. When done poorly, they become the stuff of awkward office memories that nobody wants to repeat. The difference comes down to purpose. The best team building activities aren't just fun games to fill an afternoon. They're strategic investments in how your team works together, and research from Gallup shows the stakes are high: managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement, and highly engaged teams see 23%...

Whether you're welcoming new team members, strengthening remote teams, or planning your next team building days, this guide covers activities that actually work, organized by what you're trying to accomplish. Before diving into specific team building ideas, it's worth understanding why investing in team cohesion pays off, especially in today's workplace. According to MIT research published in Harvard Business Review, social time accounts for more than 50% of positive changes in team communication patterns. That single finding explains why quick team building activities during team calls or before meetings can have an outsized impact on how your entire team collaborates. Believe it or not, fun team building activities for work are critically important to the success of your business. In fact, the personal bonds formed between team members actually give your company a competitive edge.

It’s all about engagement. There’s a pretty clear link between the personal bonds between your team members and their engagement level. A recent Gallup study found that close work friendships boost employee satisfaction by 50%, while people with a self-described best friend at work are seven times more likely to be fully engaged at work. Another Gallup study reported that engaged companies consistently outperform the competition when it comes to things like profits, productivity, and turnover. (Pretty important stuff if you ask us.) And it stands to reason – the closer you are to your co-workers, the happier you’ll be at work, and the more likely you’ll be to sacrifice... Here’s the best part – team building events don’t have to be boring and lame!

Highly engaged employees make your business 23% more profitable. But it’s on you to create an environment that fosters employee engagement. There are a host of employee engagement activities that can boost motivation and encourage ownership among employees. Here are 22 ways to get you started… Did you know that having an easily accessible staff schedule can also improve employee engagement? Try When I Work free for 14 days and see how much your team loves it.

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to the organization and its goals, as stated by Forbes. Employee engagement is how much your employees care about their work at your company. Are they invested, responsible, and excited about projects? Can they collaborate and do they respect one another? If so, you probably have healthy employee engagement already. If not, there are many things you can do to boost spirits and get employees more motivated.

If an employee can do their job, does it matter if they’re engaged? Yes! Studies show that engaged employees are happier, more productive, and a lot more likely to stick around.

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