10 Fun Activities for Enhancing Employee Engagement

Intro

It’s not up for debate.

A team of highly engaged employees is crucial for the long-term success of a business. Happy employees produce better work, are less likely to quit, collaborate more effectively with peers, and can even help their companies generate more revenue.

But enhancing employee engagement levels isn’t always a simple process—and often, those in charge tend to organize activities that employees would rather stay home from than participate in.

It’s time for a new wave of fresh, fun activities that employees actually glean confidence and enjoyment from.

In this post, we’ll look at some employee engagement activities that help people feel more relaxed and connected to their job roles for a happier, healthier, and more functional work environment.

What Does Employee Engagement Really Mean?

Employee engagement describes the emotional relationship that employees have with their work. It’s the level of commitment that people have to their organization and the sense of pride, purpose, or connection they feel in response to their company role.

A high employee engagement rate means that employees feel recognized, valued, heard, and motivated within their company, and experience healthy relationships with both their peers and superiors.

Ultimately, employee engagement is the symptom of a happy, healthy and productive organization.

There are lots of amazing benefits to high employee engagement, such as:

• Low employee turnover – When employees are engaged, they’re more likely to want to stay with a company rather than seek new opportunities elsewhere. This keeps employee turnover rates at a consistently lower level and boosts retention.
• Enhanced productivity – Employees who feel a sense of purpose and connection to their roles tend to be more productive. This results in a higher quality and quantity output of work.
• Reduced stress and burnout – Burnout is one of the biggest issues facing workers today and it's also one of the most challenging to address as it affects physical and mental health. Investing in employee engagement is one way to fix that.
• Improved customer service – Employees that work directly with customers need to be present, warm, and friendly to perform their job well. High employee engagement contributes to all of these traits, helping your customer service rankings improve.
• Healthier collaboration – Happy employees create stronger, more cohesive teams. This makes it easier to execute collaborative projects with greater success.
• Lower absenteeism – When you enjoy what you do, you don’t feel the need to get away as much. High employee engagement prevents absenteeism levels from skyrocketing.
• Higher revenue – Engaged employees can produce 20% higher sales, and contribute to 21% more profitability for the companies they work for. It’s much easier to put 100% effort into what you do when your organization puts effort into making (and keeping) you happy.

That’s a lot of benefits!

High engagement isn’t just good for employees, it’s good for business. By implementing a strong employee engagement strategy, your business can thrive from the inside out.

10 Activities For Enhancing Employee Engagement

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Understanding the importance of high employee engagement is one thing. But making it a reality is another.

Employees are people before they are workers, and people can be difficult to keep happy. From stress to illness to fatigue, finding ways to keep their spirits lifted is a full-time job.

But with this list of activities, any company can start lifting the energy of the office and encourage employees to get more in touch with their fun side. From puppies to storytelling, this list is designed to help you think out of the box when it comes to fostering higher employee engagement levels at work.

1. Office puppy therapy

Playing with puppies not only offers therapeutic benefits, but it can also improve your mental health. You can collaborate with a local dog shelter to bring in a group of baby animals (kittens or rabbits also work well) for the employees to cuddle and play with for a day, preferably in a comfortable enclosed area.

The best thing about this activity is that it benefits both the employees and the puppies. Just make sure to rule out any employee allergies before organizing this activity.

2. Group creativity sessions

According to a 2020 study, being creative amongst friends or co-workers is one of the most effective ways to de-stress. Hosting group creativity sessions (each time you can focus on a different form of creative expression) is a great way to give employees a break from work and have some low-stakes fun together.

You can visit a ceramics studio where everyone gets to glaze a different object, learn how to paint a landscape together, or simply whip out a bunch of art supplies and let loose as a team.

Bonus benefit: Group creativity sessions are excellent for building collaboration skills and stimulating creative problem-solving in the workplace.

3. Weekly funky outfit day

Casual Fridays have been an employee engagement favorite throughout the years. However, you can take this classic idea a step further by encouraging employees to dress as fashionably or as whacky as they like.

You can even have a low-stakes competition for the best-dressed employee—and make it a regular thing. Once weekly is a familiar pace for this kind of activity and gives employees the opportunity to try out a wide variety of different outfits. Easy, low-effort, and reliably fun!

4. Compliment circles

Everyone wants to feel appreciated and valued for what they contribute to the organization. Sharing affirmative statements about each other’s work ethic, friendly demeanor, team spirit, or leadership skills is important for building healthy professional relationships, and showing co-workers you care.

Compliment circles can be hosted in person, or implemented in the form of anonymous notes. However, if you do pick the latter, it’s a good idea for HR or some other manager to sort through submissions in order to make sure all of them are appropriate and equally dispersed.

5. Weekly or monthly shared meal

Eating together breeds community spirit. Weekly lunches are a great way to bring employees together as a unit and relax while sharing delicious food. You could outsource a chef to come and prepare and serve a shareable meal at the office, or even go out somewhere if it is within budget.

6. Team Lego building

This one might sound a little funny, but there are plenty of adults who love building Lego just as much as any child. And there are plenty of sets targeted at an older audience too.

Separating into groups and holding a competition for who can complete their Lego set the fastest is a brain-tickling but fun way to encourage employee engagement.

7. Explore local attractions

Sometimes, it’s fun to be a tourist in your own city. And who knows, you may have a few employees in the office who are not from the local area. Spending a day touring through your city’s best attractions is a great way to get reacquainted with what your city has to offer while bonding with co-workers.

8. Group volunteering

Volunteering has a powerful positive effect on mental health. It helps people develop a sense of purpose and self-confidence and enhances empathy. Plus, it benefits the community.

There are dozens of different types of charities which accept volunteering—from animal shelters to homeless shelters to local farms—there’s bound to be an option close by that would appreciate the support. Doing good as a team is undoubtedly one of the best ways to enhance engagement.

9. Failure exhibition

Corporate environments can often feel hierarchical; because they usually are. But remembering that everyone is human and makes mistakes can do wonders for employee engagement.

A failure exhibition also sometimes called a “museum of failures” is when a group of people get together and share some of their silliest, most hilarious mistakes, both in and out of the office. Sharing these moments of “failure” can help people feel more relaxed and connected to their peers.

This activity works especially well if some employees work remotely and are not on-site, as everyone can take part. It’s also bound to get people laughing, which is important for employee morale!

10. Get out into nature

Taking your employees out of the office and deep into nature is a tried-and-tested method for boosting employee engagement. Whether it’s a forest, the beach, or the mountains, there are endless options for natural places to explore. Pack a picnic, forget about work for a while, and soak up the fresh air and sunlight together.

Pro tip: Ask your employees for input

You can research the best employee engagement-enhancing activities all you like. But at the end of the day, your employees themselves are the best people to ask.

Keeping the lines of communication open about what sort of activities your employees would most like to enjoy will help you to organize activities that they actually respond to. It will also show them that you genuinely care about making their work experiences as positive and enjoyable as possible.

The Bottom Line

When you think about it, employee engagement is simple. Employees aren’t asking for much. They just want fair remuneration and benefits like paid time off, ample growth opportunities, a safe, positive work environment, and a few fun excursions every once in a while.

Hopefully, these ideas have inspired you to create a work environment that’s not only functional and professional, but warm, empathic, enjoyable, and engaging, too. Over to you!