Working from home can be dull and isolating if you’re sitting in front of your computer all day, communicating solely through emails and instant messaging. Since the pandemic created the need for employees to work virtually, many businesses have experienced the benefits of this, including lower overhead by eliminating the need for office space and more productive working hours without the necessity for commuting. This has prompted the shift we are now seeing as companies contemplate making the move toward virtual employees more permanent. Because of this, it is more important than ever for businesses to focus on engagement and motivation. Here are 3 ways you can make remote work fun for your team.
1 – Meet Regularly
If you were working in an office, your team would probably have daily or weekly meetings. Additionally, you would have smaller meetings with individual co-workers. Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean these things can’t take place. With the help of programs like Viber and Zoom, you can still conduct interactive meetings. Seeing faces and hearing voices provides stimulation and valuable social interaction that cannot be replaced by emails and text messages. These also build and sustain key relationships and break up the monotony of working on your computer all day. Ultimately, these virtual yet interactive meetings will make the workday more interesting and engaging.
2 – Don’t Just Talk Business
There’s this funny tendency to get right to business when using digital communications, but that doesn’t make work very fun. As you conduct team meetings, include things that you would normally do in person. Start the meeting with what you’re grateful for and ask others to share. This will create an open dialogue among team members and encourage conversation. Just because we aren’t gathering in the break room or around the water cooler doesn’t mean we can’t have meaningful conversations and get to know one another better. It is these non-work-related interactions that build a foundation for better team relationships. Plus, it makes work more fun!
3 – Be Creative
To make remote work fun for a team, you must be creative. Don’t just hold a meeting. Add something extra and different to it. Include a silly element by assigning a theme, such as crazy hat or crazy hair day. Or have everyone change their Zoom background to a destination they’d love to visit someday. Another idea is to incorporate an icebreaker at the start of your meeting. Ask everyone to share an embarrassing story from their childhood, their favorite movie and why, or someone they’d love to have dinner with if they could sit down at the table with anyone, past or present. You can also host a virtual gathering that isn’t about work at all! For instance, you can plan a remote picnic. Everyone can get together via Zoom at lunchtime to eat and chat about whatever’s on their mind. These are just a few things you can integrate into your meetings and culture to build team rapport and add some fun to the workday.
Summary of Ways to Make Remote Work Fun for a Team
It’s certainly more challenging to keep teams motivated and energized when everyone is working from home. Team leaders and team members must make a conscious effort to break the monotony. Incorporating fun and team-building activities into the work schedule is critical to the success of our virtual working worlds. Above are just a few ways to do so. If you have ideas to share, we’d love to hear them!
