If your office normally does Secret Santa or Yankee Swap gift exchanges, you can keep it going this year too. 33 Safe Vacations During CoronavirusTypes of Vacations and Places that If the show is a competition, then at the end of the performance have the audience vote for a winner via poll, or send a panel of judges into a breakout room to deliberate. The charm of subscription boxes is that theres something for everyone! Make the day memorable by organizing outside barbecues or small office parties. If theyd just put an extra $100 in my paycheck and said we cant have a party this year so get yourself a nice treat, Id have appreciated that too. To host an online award show, first create award categories. Gift ideas ranged, but included orchids, stay-at-home picnic baskets, family dinners, bookstore gift cards, and fancy coffee! - Nicole Canulla, Head of Marketing & Communications at DUST Identity, What I've found very engaging and will definitely continue to use even after we're no longer remote is Donut. These activities also make great spring spirit week ideas for work. Hand Sanitizers. This is a time to focus only on the people sitting before you. Talking about making employees feel valued, a great way to do so is by involving them in the decision-making process, wherever possible. Teammates can select a different background for each meeting or theme day, and can even swap backgrounds multiple times per call. 21 Fun Quarantine Christmas Ideas 2020 - Good Housekeeping But follow the 33 employee appreciation ideas articulated in this article. These events help boost company pride. Illustration by Supriya Kalidas. The top reason why the people enjoyed coming to work was because of "feeling appreciated.". Recognizing hard work and achievement in the workplace increase employee morale, encourage healthy competition, and creates a positive atmosphere. The best online holiday parties encourage interaction. Coronavirus has put a particular national spotlight on unmet needs of the growing older population in our country, and the tens of millions of overstretched family and professional caregivers they . These light-hearted contests can also easily be tied to raising money for charity. - Joe Wilson, Senior Career Advisor at MintResume, Our company gave us all sunflower seeds to care for and grow as we work from home. Or, you can use an app like Donut to match up opponents, and pairs can play games instead of scheduling a video chat. For three hours per week, staff can sign off anytime during the workday for rest and wellbeing, no questions asked. Companies with a corporate health plan are more likely to see more engaged employees. Heres a way to see people in-person from the safety of your cars: Our company has had a couple of drive-through events set up in the parking lot of the main company campus. Read about more virtual talent show ideas. Once the votes are in, book the top ranking classes. Getting your workplace ready in case COVID-19 arrives in your community. Find ways to start each day with positive energy and a sense of community. Its a really cool way to connect with your coworkers and find out more about their life outside of work. Invite team members to share concerns or issues that need to be addressed, and be sure time is also spent acknowledging what is working well and what team members are proud of. Virtual Theme Weeks Can Bring Students and Faculty Together Clear your schedule for at least an hour. For example, hold a Zoom ugly sweater contest, host a virtual Secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange, and sing Christmas carols. Commemorating a work anniversary is a robust employee engagement, development, and retention tool and a way to recognize and show your appreciation to a valued employee. Chances are, your company has one too. There's a lot you can do to be helpful from home. Show your employees some love by making sure that the snacks provided are healthy and nutritious. Ways to Boost Employee Morale During COVID-19 - Namely We regularly share the progress our sunflowers are making. Photo illustration by Slate. 5 Radical Ideas For Schooling During Coronavirus : NPR She had such a creative way for putting a holiday spin on our corporate branding, and theyre going to be a big hit! Make it meaningful for the employee so that they cherish it and put in their extra effort. The day-to-day work life might get hectic and tedious for everyone in the office. Theme Days. Starting a business during COVID-19 may seem impossible, but these 15 types of businesses can help you launch a business and even help others during the pandemic. There is no discussion in this exercise, it is simply a way for team members to connect with how others are feeling in the moment. Websites like Elfster or DrawNames will organize the whole process for you, letting you set a gift budget and providing space for participants to share their wish lists: I worked in a fully remote environment last holiday season, and this had been a tradition for several years, though it was entirely opt-in. Innovative Holiday and Winter Gatherings in the Time of COVID-19 In stock now. For instance, if you host a murder mystery, then include character cards in the boxes. 10 Fun Halloween Activities to Try With Employees Food is a big deal at work. Here's how the pandemic will change - CNN Here are answers to some of the most common questions about virtual spirit weeks. The chocolate tasting person is mailing out the tasting kits to all of us and will lead us through the tasting via Zoom. Social Media is the biggest influencer of our generation. By hosting your fundraisers online, you can reach new supporters both near and far from your school without needing to leave your desk. Simply gear each day's activities around a particular topic. Employees who want to learn about new tools, techniques, or topics but have less time on their hands will consider it a fabulous opportunity. Wed have the holiday party on Zoom, where folks would open what they had received from their gift giver. Along with trivia nights and snack boxes, some enterprising folks have floated the idea of virtual cocktail parties, costume contests or craft workshops to spice up virtual holiday celebrations.. Also, they grow more motivated to maintain or improve their good work. That can be too intimidating for your employees. Their diaries are told in words and. It's marketed as "COVID-19 style" since all schools across the state are currently shut down. Next, install game apps like rock paper scissors, tic tac toe, and trivia. Working from home can be lonely and mundane. Earth Day activities that are good for you and the planet during the For example, theme days, virtual talent shows, and costume contests. Real world elements make virtual exercises more engaging and interactive. 2023 teambuilding.com, all rights reserved | Terms | Privacy, virtual tours of museums, zoos, and parks, list of free virtual team building activities for work, list of the best remote team outing ideas, Post a picture from your first year at the company vs now, Take a screenshot in the unlikeliest Zoom meeting spot, Film a 30-second work from home snack cooking lesson, Dress-up accessories, like sunglasses, boas, and novelty headbands, Create a collaborative world map showing which countries team members have lived in or traveled to, Ask participants to compile top 5 travel bucket lists of the destinations they would most like to visit, and pair up teammates with similar interests for a video chat, Video chat with screen pals in different countries, Compile a photo slideshow of the teams collective travels, Most likely to forget to mute/unmute the mic, Lightning fingers, aka fastest Slack replies, Most likely to binge cat videos during the workday. This article is written by Barasha Medhi who is a part of the marketing team at Vantage Circle. Some ideas for your 30-minute morning check-ins include: One-Word Check-ins. Without a doubt, getting a specially curated box of snacks will make employees feel happy and contented. Ive found its a great way to know more about what a persons workday and life outside of work are like, as well as to better understand coworkers even those who work across the country. - Angela Ceresnie, CEO at Climb Credit. As we are a small team, we used to track this daily on a whiteboard in the office, but now we just check in each morning to see what each team member is planning to do that day. - Napala Pratini, Co-Founder at Habitual, We started including crosswords with internal jokes and references in our internal weekly newsletter. You could either give employees the option of attending short 10-15 minute workouts throughout the day, or hold one or two longer sessions. Inject Fun and Humor. I hope this article has in some small way helped your and your teams trek through this extraordinary time. Online escape rooms are online versions of thematic puzzle-solving games. When employees feel that their work is valued, their satisfaction and productivity rise. Things to do: 100 indoor activities if you're not feeling social yet COVID-19 is expected to last for many months, with a potential resurgence in the fall. I thought this was a great way for the company to show its appreciation for staff, and it provided us with plenty of new recipes to try out just in time for the weekend. - Adam Lumb, EN Site Manager at Cashcow, One of our perks is that we give employees up to an hour each day to do something positive for their physical or mental health, such as going on a walk, reading a book, taking an exercise class, or doing a meditation (no admin or work allowed!). Then, after that, we had the opportunity to go into breakout roomslast year, one room did Schitts Creek trivia (it was a favorite among many staffers), another did Pictionary using the annotate functions of Zoom. They are great team members. Promoting health is no longer seen as an initiative that yields 'soft' results. The second event is a winter wreath demo where again supplies are sent to peoples houses and you can follow along with the demo and put a non-denominational winter wreath together. You signed up for your preferred one beforehand and received a list of ingredients, then once the drinks were made, people came back to the big room and there were a couple of facilitated games and stuff (like trivia). The best way to decorate virtual offices is by using virtual meeting backgrounds. Not my cup of tea but a lot of people seemed to like it! At checkout the price was zero and you couldnt even enter a tip. Toilet paper and Netflix memes are very popular right now. The packages were delivered to our doors in the afternoon of our event. Believe it or not, such small stuff really sees a positively impacted company culture. Also, it doesnt have to be expensive. Student creates quarantine spirit week, brings people together Online Office Games is a friendly competition for remote teammates. Spirit week shakes up the normal routine and gives dispersed teammates a chance to get together and have fun. Working remotely creates a new set of challenges that arebeing amplified by the added stress of school closures andby the anxiety many are facing during this pandemic. During these Walk-and-Talk meetings, employees can stroll around their neighborhoods, nearby parks, or even backyards for a change of scenery and some fresh air. 29. Remote teams can dress up for remote meetings, even if their outfits wont be on display all day. Eight Fun Student Engagement Ideas During COVID-19 and Beyond Whats the Word on The Street? Give your entire team a chance to express their creativity with baby pumpkins, acrylic paints, and free pumpkin stencils. Here are three ways employers can reduce panic and keep employee morale up during the coronavirus outbreak. Dress-up days are one of the main events during spirit days at schools and offices. Instead of the usual tables and activities, they had booths set up where treats were handed through the window. Not to mention there's the option of booking an entertainer - choices include singer Jimmy Barnes and comedy duo Hamish and Andy - to spice up a webcam-based party. Spirit week attendees can either make their own backgrounds using Canva or Photoshop, or can download one from online. Virtual talent shows work best when there is a predetermined act order and an emcee to manage the flow. Perhaps to no ones surprise, drinking seems to be quite popular this year, and some companies have figured out how to incorporate it into remote events. Declaring theme days is one of the easiest spirit week ideas for work from home. Make it more special by hosting a "Make Your Own Taco" competition where the winner gets some form of employee reward. Share funny videos, do some riddles and brainsteasers, put music on in the background. Ask your remote team members to describe their day so far with an emoji or a string of emojis. The Five Keys to a Successful Team Retreat in the Age of COVID To host a virtual talent show, invite teammates to sign up for slots. Sending care packages to your remote teams builds buzz for the event and lets your employees know you care about them. And amid stay-at-home orders. Not to mention that birthday parties are an opportunity to appreciate peers. It definitely is the easiest and quickest Zoom icebreaker out there. While the other appreciation ideas might be feasible for particular projects and day-to-day work, employees will look for something more permanent in the long run. At the end of the week, count up the wins, and have the victors face off against each other for the championship. It's not only a nice little project to focus on, but gives us something to talk about that's not work or coronavirus. When you incorporate social media into your online spirit week scheduling, you make it easier for colleagues to find and friend each other. List of virtual spirit week ideas. Virtual Fun Run Cost: $$ Difficulty: 4 Earning Potential: Teammates could also give a short slideshow presentation of their home cities. Recommended Article: 50 Best Words of Appreciation for Employees. Be thoughtful with your messages of appreciation. During the call, participants can chat and play fun games, or co-work while enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. Slack game tournaments are great ideas for virtual spirit weeks. Recommended Case Study: Indias Largest Telecom Company Boosts their Global Employee Engagement with Vantage Rewards. Also, busy workdays are where lunches are spent with a sad sandwich while staring at the computer. Often, in the case of. Student Engagement: Spirit Weeks A number of schools and school districts have done weekly challenges where students participate in a themed activity, take a picture or video of it, and then upload and tag it with a specific hashtag so that the community can find, enjoy, and celebrate it with them. Whether you're looking for help communicating COVID safety guidelines to your guests, searching for face masks for couples and guests (so you can look stylish while complying with guidelines from the WHO and CDC) or are in need of a cute social distancing sign, we've got you covered (literally! Walking not only counts as physical activity, but also provides some mental health benefits. To establish team norms, ask: What behaviors and practices are most important right now to our teams effectiveness?. You will see that a few words of appreciation can do wonders for the workplace. These morning check-ins, no matter how short are invaluable for maintaining a sense of community, checking in on how team members are doing, and to stay focused on key priorities so that momentum and performance is maintained. 2022 Todos os direitos reservados. Keeping a workplace safe during the COVID-19 pandemic can be challenging. It is especially meaningful when the appreciation comes from their bosses. Book an Airbnb virtual experience. Plentiful sunshine. Or you might feel concerned about the health of others, such as those who you care for or live with. This helps your employees feel appreciated on an ongoing basis. Make Sure You're COVID Safe. Recommended Article: 25 Employee Engagement Activities To Reinvent Your Workforce. Even a simple gesture like an appreciation message or thoughtful gifts on valentines Day or anniversaries can make a huge difference. Coffee and Chocolate Tastings It doesn't have to be cocktail focused. It is working together that will get us through this time. We started this challenge at Booster. You may opt-out by. You might be worried about keeping yourself safe from coronavirus. 9 Ways to Help Others During the Coronavirus Pandemic First, choose a date and send a video meeting link to your colleagues. Wool socks, very plushy fleece blankets, playing cards, mugs, etc. I also personally feel that it's boosting my wellbeing and brightening my day. Or, you could start a gallery on social media or a cloud-based photo album, and invite teammates to vote on their favorite uploads throughout the week.