Introduction
Have you ever wondered why employees of some organizations are so open with each other, whereas at some organizations employees do not even know each other and barely initiate communication with each other? Are you interested in creating a positive work environment for your employees where there are few conflicts and more friendliness?
If you are facing lots of conflicts in your workplace, there must be a lack of communication and a sense of understanding between each other. To incorporate understanding and a positive attitude between them, you may be missing out on performing fun employee engagement activities for your employees. Employment engagement activities cater to problem-solving skills, better communication, a positive environment, more productivity, and higher levels of engagement.
In this blog, you will learn about various employee engagement activities and why they are necessary for your organization. There are many root causes of low employee engagement that hinder the communication process in an organization, leading to lower productivity levels among employees. Employee engagement activities play a crucial role in fostering better employee engagement. You will also find fun and interesting employee engagement activities and games that can help you bring your employees together.
What is Employee Engagement?
The engagement of an employee with their work, organization, and colleagues dictates the connection, commitment, and involvement they have with the organization. Employee engagement also heavily affects the productivity levels of the employees of an organization. When an employee is happy and connected with their work, they are more likely to be self-motivated and satisfied with their work. On the other hand, when employees are not happy with their work, they will not be interested in doing it.
Now the question is, what causes them to be happy about their work? The workplace environment, communication, and understanding among the employees can be the answer. When employees continuously work for hours and have no work-life balance, this leads to frustration and lower productivity levels. Employee engagement is an individual’s emotional and psychological attachment to their work, team, and organization. Employee engagement promotes productivity, motivation, and the willingness to contribute to the organization’s success.
Root Causes of Low Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is a salient aspect of an organization, as employees are the ones who run an organization in reality. Here are some root causes of low employee engagement in an organization:
- Lack of Communication: Open communication between employees and the management is crucial to make connections and fostering better understanding among the employees. Lack of communication can lead to feelings of lack of values, respect, and appreciation among employees.
- Lack of Recognition: When an employee feels that their work is not recognized they may feel less interested in their work. Management must ensure that the hard work and achievements of employees are recognized and appreciated. Recognition caters to a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction among the employees leading to higher productivity and motivation towards their work.
- Burnout of Employees: In a fast-paced workplace environment, burnout is very common. You can avoid burnout by easing the process of work for employees. When employees are overworked and overwhelmed by their work pressure they may tend to be less productive than usual. They may not feel satisfied and happy with their work-life if they are experiencing burnout.
- Disinterest in the Work: Employees must love their work in order to thrive in it. Employee engagement encourages passion and interest in one’s work. But if employees do not enjoy their work this can lead to decreased productivity, motivation, and satisfaction.
- Workplace Culture: Workplace culture is a fundamental factor that influences an employee’s productivity and happiness. Employees mostly spend their time of the day in their workplace and if your workplace culture is not very conducive to a positive environment then your employees may feel irritated and overwhelmed throughout the day.
Also Read: Professional Networking: The Art of Building Meaningful Connections
Benefits of Employee Engagement Activities
Employee engagement activities foster a well-engaged workforce that results in higher motivation, a positive environment, and passion among the employees for their work. Here are some more benefits of employee engagement activities.
- Improved job satisfaction
- Higher productivity
- Better communication
- Increased employee retention
- Enhanced work quality
- High business revenue
- Increased creativity and innovation
- Higher attendance of employees
Also Read: 16 Personality Types: What is Your Personality Type? | DT Evolve
15 Fun and Interesting Employee Engagement Activities
Do-Nothing Day
Give your employees a one-day break monthly or bi-weekly. A do-nothing day can encourage employees to relax in their workplace. On this day, employees can come to the office, talk to each other about topics other than their office, make connections, and have fun together. This employee engagement activity can create a sense of community. This will enhance their communication skills, and understanding, and give them space to share their ideas and experiences with each other.
Recognition Programs
Gather all your colleagues in one place. Make sure that everyone is included in this game. Call out the employees one by one and encourage them to say a few kind and good words about five colleagues about their achievements, qualities, and so on. This employee engagement activity takes no extra effort and does not cost any money. Decide on one day a week for executing this employee engagement activity, and ensure that managers also participate in the activity. This will infuse employee engagement, improve communication, increase productivity, and reduce conflicts between employees.
Granting Nap Time
This can sound weird, but cutting some slack for employees can improve their moods and help them work better. It can be difficult for employees to stay productive for the whole day, so leaving some time for them to rest can help them stay productive for the whole day. When the employees are well-rested, they are more likely to focus on their work and produce incredible outcomes. Exercising this daily can improve employee engagement and lead to higher productivity. However, leaders are responsible for creating a healthy and happy environment for their teams.
Make Their Physical and Mental Health a Priority
Conduct health contests on monthly basis. You can give away benefits for completing 6000 steps daily for a month, running for a month, and eating healthy for a month. This will not only boost their health but also improve their work quality. Nobody will deny a hefty amount of money, so they will all actively participate in this employee engagement activity. This will improve their health, productivity levels, and mental health. Also, if your employees are healthy then they will need less sick time.
Dumb Charades
Employee engagement activities like dumb charades allow all the employees to join together and have a fun time together. In this game, divide the employees into two or three teams. The opposition team will choose a word or movie name from a jar and give it to the player of the other team. The player has to explain that word or name of the movie through actions, body language, and gestures without uttering a single word. The team that has to guess the word has a limited time limit. This will encourage them to communicate and foster problem solving skills in the employees.
Day For Hobbies
Decide on one day for this activity, most likely, Friday will be best for this employee engagement activity. Invite all the employees to participate in this activity. In this activity, encourage your employees to come one by one and share their hobbies and secret talents with other employees. This will help them learn different skills from each other and enhance their bonding. Sharing hobbies with each other will let employees know about each other, and employees will feel recognized in an organization.
Sporting Events
Conduct sporting events like the lemon and spoon race, sack race, three-leg race, and many more. In a lemon and spoon race, employees have to put a spoon in their mouth and place a lemon on the curve of the spoon. The one who is successful in balancing a lemon on the spoon while finishing the race will be the winner. The sack race requires you to put your legs in a sack and finish the race without falling and sticking your leg out of the sack. In a three-leg race, a pair of players will have to tie the left leg of one player with the right leg of another runner.
This is a great team-building activity for your employees and will also increase employee engagement.
Two Truths and a Lie
In this activity, a player will share three things about themselves, two of which will be the truth and one of which will be a lie. The other players have to identify which statement is a lie. This exercise demonstrates how well the team members know each other and enhances their communication skills.
Quiz games
This employee engagement activity is a short and fun activity with a pinch of knowledge. To play this game, divide the employees into teams according to the number of employees you have. On answering one question correctly, each team will get one point. The team that scores the most points will be the winner. If any team does not know the answer, then it will be eliminated from the game as the round proceeds. This will encourage employees to solve problems together and work as a team.
Human Knot
Make teams of employees, have them stand in a circle, and let them hold hands with two other people who are opposite them. This will create a tangled “knot.” The employees then have to untangle themselves without letting go of each other’s hands. The team that untangles themselves first will be the winner.
Minefield Game
In this activity, one player will be blindfolded and will have to navigate through a “minefield” of different objects on the floor while their teammates give them verbal directions to navigate for a particular object. This activity will enhance communication and trust among the employees.
Foosball Tournament
Join two desks together to set up a foosball table, and place a ping pong ball in the center of the table. Make two teams of two players each and make them stand on either side of the table. A player will score a point when they hit the ball into the opponent’s goal. This team-building activity is great for increasing employee engagement. They will learn to work in a team and help each other solve problems.
The “Who Am I?” Game
In this activity, you can either choose celebrity names or employee names. Write the names of employees on chits and place them in a jar. The player has to pull out a chit, and their teammates have to guess that name. The player can only describe that name through gestures, body language, and actions. If the teammates fail to guess the name correctly, they will not score anything.
Office Scavenger Hunt
Decide on the items that you will include in the office scavenger hunt. These items can be office supplies, bottles, or anything else. Divide the employees into teams and give each team a list of items they need to find within the office. The list should have clearly mentioned specific items, such as, ”red stapler”, “black pen”, etc. Set a time limit depending on the number of items on the list. This activity will encourage employees to collaborate and solve problems together.
Stacking Cups
In this activity, divide employees into two teams at a time. Two teams will stack cups separately while asking each other some riddles or puzzles. While stacking cups, teammates have to solve those riddles, and then only they will score a point. If a team is unable to figure out a riddle, the opposing team may choose one cup from their stack and cause that stack to collapse.
Also Read: 5 Amazing ways for Resolving Conflicts: Thomas-Kilmann Model | DT Evolve
Conclusion
In this blog, you will learn about the importance of employee engagement. Employee engagement is an essential part of an organization. There are many causes of low employee engagement that cause lower productivity in an organization. Employee engagement activities can solve the problems of lower productivity, frustration among employees, decreased communication, and a high level of tension between employees. There are 15 fun and interesting employee engagement activities to help you solve all the communication problems in your organization. These employee management activities have many benefits.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The engagement of an employee with their work, organization, and colleagues dictates the connection, commitment, and involvement they have with the organization. Employee engagement also heavily affects the productivity levels of the employees of an organization.
Some benefits of employee engagement activities include improved job satisfaction, higher productivity, better communication, increased employee retention, enhanced work quality, high business revenue, increased creativity and innovation, and higher attendance of employees.
You can choose the right employee engagement activities based on your company culture, the interests of your employees, and the goals and vision of your organization.
Some causes of low employee engagement in an organization are lack of communication, lack of recognition, burnout of employees, disinterest in the work, and workplace culture.
Some employee engagement activities that can be performed during remote work are virtual team-building events, regular virtual check-ins, and virtual coffee breaks together.
Some employee engagement activities that organizations can perform in their workplace are recognition programs, granting nap time, making employee’s physical and mental health a priority, dumb charades, day for hobbies, sporting events, two truths and a lie, quiz games, the human knot, the minefield game, the foosball tournament, the “who am I?” game, the office scavenger hunt, and stacking cups.