“Play is the highest form of research.”

We are not saying it. This famous statement had been made by none other than Albert Einstein. Fun office games at work in the form of team building games, team bonding activities, and more ensure that work becomes even better. Not only this, but these games at work also ensure that the hidden skills of the employees are discovered. Further, 2020 turned the tables around with the pandemic and remote working entered the equation. It became all the more important to instill fun office games in the work curriculum so that the overall work environment becomes a better one. This is also good for teams as team building activities ensure that even though remote, this group of people, when put together and directed towards the vision and mission of the organization, are capable of working together, bonding together, and coming up with ideas that lift the organization as a whole.

Now that the world and work-life are slowly coming back to normal, the need for instilling fun at workplaces is more. Office games, whether in-house or remote, are a good way to do that. In this article, we will talk all about everyday quick fun office games, office party games, and even some of the best office game ideas for you to implement at work. What are you waiting for? Delve and indulge, pick up your pens, and note down the pointers.

What are the Advantages of Fun Office Games at Work?

 

Before we start with the actual listing down of games that can perk up your work environment, it is important to know why it is important. Yes, everyone knows it makes the work environment better, thus contributing towards the overall productivity and mood of the employees. But these are common benefits, why create specific slots and ideas for elaborate office games? Because the advantages go beyond the obvious. Here are a few that we are listing down:

Improves Cognitive Skills and Functions

This is important because, at work, an employee at any level is expected to apply their own skills to come up with solutions. Fun office games that involve everyone, hone these cognitive skills of the employees and helps them apply the same in real work situations as well, as they gain confidence from work games.

Increases Employee Motivation

Of course, just like any other gaming activity, office games online or offline are also based on the normal tenets of competition, engagement, and encouragement. Thus, employees who regularly participate experience both wins and losses, thus imbibing an employee motivation that goes beyond office party games.

Encourages Teamwork

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Another extremely important reason to encourage quick fun office games is the fact that most of these games involve teamwork. Thus, it enables you to gauge who are the people who work best together and in what way can they, collectively, be a bigger asset to the organization.
Encourages strategy development: Fun office games improve the planning and decision-making skills as well, thus enhancing the strategy development skills of the employees which is extremely important for the organization as a whole.

Positive Company Culture

Fun office games or office party games contribute towards increasing employee motivation and productivity, thus creating a better team environment and by extension, a better company culture. Positive company culture creates the leaders of tomorrow. Activities such as fun office games play a huge role in the same.

Reduces Attrition Rate

Fun office games contribute towards a great company culture and highly motivated employees, which infuses loyalty within the employees, thus reducing the attrition rate. This also creates a better reputation for the organization.

Office party games or just usual fun office games can create an amazing vibe at work that works towards creating a better work environment, contributing towards highly motivated and productive employees.

Why are Office Games Important?

While fun office games have a lot of advantages to offer, it is also important to know and acknowledge why it is important to conduct various office games and team building activities. Research proves that remote working employees have a slightly weaker relationship with their colleagues than the ones who are working in the house.

Not only this, but there are also figures to prove that during the whole remote working scenario, there is a substantial chunk of employees that are suffering from acute loneliness, which is a prerequisite for many mental health issues. This not only affects them personally but also is not good for their professional growth. This does not mean that an employee cannot feel lonely in a room full of colleagues. That is also another issue.

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Connections cannot be automated. People need to bond with each other to create productive teams. Office games and activities break the ice and ensure that colleagues know each other better as people and connect better to collectively achieve what the organization stands for. It also enables them to be more loyal towards their workplace and their teams.

The point is that Office games and team building activities help out here as they work towards keeping the bond and social connect alive. If curated and conducted in a way in which it involves each and every employee, office games and other activities can turn out to be instrumental in breaking the ice and creating long-lasting bonds between colleagues. This further is beneficial for the organization as a whole.

Fun Office Games to Keep the Momentum Running!

2020 has been the year of remote working. We, humans, are social animals, and thus, while the idea of remote working is convenient in certain aspects, it also takes away the mere reason for existence; socializing. As a result, fragmented relationships, shoddy team behavior, and more are some of the many problematic issues that may plague an organization, if the remote working is not tactfully handled. Office party games or even normal games to play at work ensure that the employees are connected with each other and with the organization, in a fun and energetic manner. This does away with the anti-social bit of remote working and ensures that everyone is connected to each other in values and in deed.

Thus, keeping that in mind, we have a few office game ideas that can truly make remote working a fun and learning experience. This list is a full-of-fun curation that comprises office party games, team building activities, office games online, and much more. Whether your organization has a complete remote set-up or you are the ones who are slowly rejoining work, albeit, with cautiousness, these fun office games will ensure that work becomes a fun place to be.

Office Game Ideas #1
‘Roam’ Was Built in a Day

A simple wordplay and a lot of innovation for this work-play game. The first one on the list is not one of the office games online. Instead, this one will require a physical presence. But, as we said, as the normal is resuming and offices are slowly reopening, these ideas are a great way to break the ice for employees who are joining after the long remote working hiatus or even new joinees for whom coming back to work would be a new experience.

Taking its cue from the original adage, this one involves a scavenger hunt of sorts and has been originated at Let’s Roam, so much so that it has been named Let’s Roam Scavenger Hunt. This has been a major hit, whenever conducted, and has been successful in bringing the employees together.

Office Game Ideas #2
Sports Tournaments

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Physical sports are never out of fashion. There are always those employees who are good at some sport and are now donning suits to drive a deal out of the park. Refurbish their sporty souls and conduct tournaments. These can be within city teams if your organization has branches spread across. This is one of those fun office games that not only enforce team spirit in full force but also throws many professional skill surprises your way. You never know who is the talented dark horse in the team till you see them scoring that particularly difficult straight drive, or even saving that goal which almost made it to the net. Sports tournaments are a good way of conducting office games.

Office Game Ideas #3
Office Game Room

A generic yet amazing idea of having fun office games indoor is having a separate room or section for office games. This section can have both indoor and outdoor games and team building activities, such as ping pong, chess, carrom, foosball as indoor office games, and basketball, cycling, football, cricket, and more for outside office games. Office game rooms provide a great respite from the usual stress, at the same time helping the employees bond with each other across the length and breadth of teams and departments.

Office Game Ideas #4
Online Gaming

Have you heard of Riot Games? Yes, it is the same leading name in the field of online games creation. For an organization that indulges in creating something that interactive and fun, one has to think of revolutionary ways of keeping the fire alive internally as well. So, they have a unique system in the form of employee team building activities and other fun office games. Riot employees are also known as rioters. These employees enjoy a monthly fund which is known as the Riot fund, which is pooled and used to create any game that they want. This is a super cool idea that can be adapted for your organization as well.

Office Game Ideas #5
Bring Your Pet to Work

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Not exactly a game, but something that can instantly perk up the mood. Figure out who are the pet owners and who are the animal-loving employees at your organization. Also, figure out who has a phobia and who is absolutely not comfortable around animals. Create a dual activity for both sets by asking the pet owners to bring their pets to work. Fur therapy actually works wonders for those who love animals. You can also connect with your local shelter and ask if they have sessions on bringing animals to workplaces. Ensure that the work environment is not hostile towards animals and is pet friendly, if only for a day. This will be one of the most memorable team building activities, you’ll see.

Office Game Ideas #6
Office Shark Tank

This is one of the most fruitful games to play at work. You can either organize it offline or online. It is basically a game between the key leaders who pose as investors or sharks and the employees, who are termed, pitchers. This game requires the pitchers, either the team representative or the leader, to pitch the team’s idea to the ‘shark’ or investor. If the shark bites or takes a bite out of the idea, the team gets funding. It’s a win-win situation that increases team motivation, team bonding, innovation, and much, much more. However, ensure that the other teams get some prizes or bonuses too for their ideas. The whole idea of office games is to keep the work environment happy, healthy, and competitive. But in no way should it turn political and toxic.

Office Game Ideas #7
Drink up!

This one is a hardcore office party game, so get the drinks ready for this one. If you have watched the popular sitcom ‘How I Met Your Mother’ then this would sound familiar. Remember when everyone took a sip out of their drinks when Robin said ‘But… Ummm?’ Well, this can be done by using phrases used by colleagues. Every time they say the phrase, it’s time to take a sip. This one’s quite fun.

Office Game Ideas #8
Guess the Price

This is a quite simple game and you can conduct it offline as well. As the name suggests, the game is simple. The employees or participants have to just guess the price of the product. It can be anything; a simple scissor, a pair of pins, a stapler, or even a desk. The one who guesses the price right gets points. The rules may vary depending upon whether the host wants the participants to guess the exact price or a price range. This is one of those office games that judge the analytical and observational skills of the employees as they express how aware they are of the things around them.

Do you need office games to get the ball rolling?

Honestly, yes. Office games may sound frivolous but play a huge role in creating a better, more productive, and more loyal environment. All of these traits are quite valuable in today’s era. With remote work putting the employees through a haze, even when the workplaces are slowly reopening, breaking the ice is important and so is taking care of mental health. Office games are a fun and easy way of doing that.

Does your office have office games and fun team building activities? Hit us up and tag us at @HarmonizeHQ to tell us all about it.