Gone are the days of wondering who microwaved last night’s fish in the breakroom. Today, many employees work comfortably from their couch or kitchen table, often without ever needing to put on “real” pants. Despite initial concerns about remote work and performance, it turns out that working from home is actually making people better at their jobs.
The data is clear: remote work benefits both employees and employers. It leads to increased productivity, lower office overhead costs, and a happier workforce. In fact, 93% of working professionals claim that working remotely positively impacts their mental health.
This new way of working isn’t going anywhere, either. More and more companies are shifting to partial or fully remote teams. So it’s not surprising that a recent study by Upwork estimates that over 22% of the American workforce will be remote by 2025. That’s about 36.3 million people, representing an 87% increase from pre-2020 levels.
The idea of never having another awkward bathroom encounter or elevator ride is appealing to most. But let’s face it: working with remote teams comes with its own set of challenges.
Building strong team bonds virtually isn’t as easy or as quick as when you’re working face-to-face in a physical office for eight hours a day. To create meaningful connections, leaders must put on their creative thinking caps and find ways to promote unity and a collaborative spirit despite the distance.
Here’s how to make it happen.
What’s the Big Deal with Remote Team Building?
Unlike in-office teams, remote employees can’t bond over lunchtime burrito runs. Without a bit of virtual legwork, virtual team members remain strangers. But why does this even matter?
Remote Team Building Defined
Remote team building refers to using varying activities, strategies, and exercises to improve interpersonal relationships in a no-office environment. Put simply, leaders create virtual situations where remote employees can bond to build cohesion within their team. Building these bonds keeps employees motivated, engaged, and aligned with team objectives.
This task is easier in traditional in-person offices, as proximity helps relationships blossom organically over time. Remote team development requires much more planning and regularity, relying on virtual tools in digital environments to create meaningful working relationships.
The upside of remote work is that virtual team-building activities can take just about any form. From remote game nights and online talent shows, managers can let their imaginations run (appropriately) wild.
Why Remote Team Building Matters
Remote team building offers two huge benefits: happier employees and more collaborative teams.
The studies on mental health and remote work are mostly positive, but some findings show that remote work can lead to feelings of isolation, which in turn can cause depression and disconnection—issues that hurt both employee happiness and overall performance.
The studies on mental health and remote work are generally positive. However, some findings suggest remote work leads to feelings of isolation, depression, and disconnection—all of which are detrimental to employee happiness and overall performance.
This isn’t a shocking finding. Humans crave social interaction. Some people naturally thrive on the energy of an in-person office environment and struggle in a virtual work setting. That’s why online team-building events are important. They help counter negative feelings by fostering a sense of connection.
And because happier people make better teammates, virtual team building not only lifts spirits but also enhances team collaboration. When remote workers trust their colleagues and feel comfortable communicating openly, everyone benefits.
Remote team development activities break the ice and build rapport among colleagues. Over time, these efforts boost collaboration, communication, and productivity, no matter the physical distance.
Common Challenges Faced by Remote Teams
While employees often say they enjoy working virtually, remote teams can face significant challenges that impact their performance, particularly when it comes to mental health. Studies show that up to 40% of remote workers experience symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Communication is another common hurdle in the virtual workplace. Relying on text-based communication like instant messages and emails increases the risk of miscommunications and misunderstandings. After all, there’s only so much emojis and GIFs can convey.
Time zone differences further complicate matters, leading to delayed responses and making real-time collaboration difficult. Over time, these issues can snowball into frustration, confusion, project delays, and even conflict within the team.
Benefits of Stronger Remote Team Bonds
Stronger bonds between employees lead to a more effective, productive, and unified team. When team members trust each other and communicate well, everything improves—collaboration, productivity, efficiency, and overall work quality.
A close-knit team dynamic also boosts job satisfaction. When employees feel valued by their team and company, they’re more likely to stay in their roles. Additionally, more bonded remote teams find it easier to share diverse perspectives and ideas, which enhances problem-solving and creativity. Strong relationships are especially valuable during times of conflict, as team members are more likely to address issues constructively rather than letting them fester.
Let’s Brainstorm Virtual Team Building Ideas
Choosing the right activities for remote teams is a personalized process, as there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Some employees may enjoy playing online games, while others might prefer the challenge of a fitness competition. To select activities that everyone will enjoy, it’s important to consider the personalities and preferences of each team member.
With that in mind, here are some team-building activity ideas that can help bring your remote team closer together.
Virtual Icebreakers
Virtual icebreakers are short, engaging activities that help remote workers get to know each other. Some examples include virtual coffee breaks for casual conversations during the workday, a round of Two Truths and a Lie to learn surprising facts about each team member, and Remote Show-and-Tell.
Think of them like a professional first date. You might feel a bit silly at first, but that’s exactly what helps break the ice and allows everyone to start getting to know each other. When facilitated well, icebreakers help alleviate some of the initial awkwardness of virtual meetings while fostering a more friendly, relaxed working atmosphere.
Collaborative Online Games
There’s a reason gamers have a reputation as master strategists. Online games enhance teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills, and they make it fun. The collaborative nature of virtual team games requires participants to work together to achieve a common goal, much like in their real-life jobs. That’s why they’re ideal for building team dynamics.
For example, virtual escape rooms challenge teams to solve puzzles and “escape” a scenario within a set time. This requires strong communication and critical thinking from all members. Virtual murder mysteries are similar. Players need to use collaboration and strategic thinking skills, making them another excellent choice. Games like online Pictionary and other multiplayer video games also require strategic cooperation.
Skill-Based Workshops
Skill-based workshops accomplish two goals simultaneously. They allow team members to pick up new skills while providing opportunities for team bonding. Workshops also encourage collaboration and shared learning experiences in many different settings.
For instance, virtual cooking classes let culinary-inclined teammates connect while learning to make the Italian classic spaghetti carbonara. Group language classes offer employees the opportunity to broaden their linguistic horizons together, while online coding challenges promote technical skills and team problem-solving abilities.
Through these activities, remote teams can learn from their mistakes, support one another, and ultimately master new skills together.
Fitness and Wellness Activities
Fitness and wellness events are another two-for-one form of team-building. They contribute to a positive team culture while reducing stress levels and promoting a healthier work-life balance.
For example, virtual yoga sessions help teams alleviate the physical strain of remote desk work and relax together. Remote step challenges encourage friendly inter-team competition and encourage team members to stay active. Guided meditation sessions let colleagues share a moment of mindfulness and calm.
If your organization’s mission includes fostering a healthier, more connected workforce, then fitness and wellness activities could be an ideal choice for your remote team. Keep in mind, though, that they may require additional accessibility considerations.
Creative Team Projects
Creative team projects allow teams to work toward a shared goal while expressing their individual personalities.
For instance, in a virtual talent show, workers can showcase special talents, like playing the guitar or puppeteering, in a supportive atmosphere. Others may enjoy collaborative story-writing, where they collectively contribute to a piece of digital art. For those who prefer more challenging activities, digital music collaboration and virtual short filmmaking are exciting ideas for team projects.
Virtual Competitions
Positive competition in the digital office can boost camaraderie among employees. For instance, managers can organize virtual cooking or baking challenges where everyone prepares the same recipe at home and then shares their results on a video call. To keep things fair, different judges can be designated for each event, with the winning dish earning the title of “Best in Show.”
Additionally, leaders could arrange online trivia nights or pub quizzes, either for individual teams or as a company-wide battle of the brains.
Best Practices for Organizing Virtual Team Building Activities
Choosing the right virtual team building even requires leaders to consider not only the team members’ likes and dislikes but also accessibility, scheduling, and inclusivity.
Choosing the Right Activities
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to virtual team-building efforts. That means leaders must consider individual preferences and feelings when planning events so they are as enjoyable, engaging, and effective as possible.
The best way to begin is by assessing your team members’ preferences and interests. For instance, an accounting team might prefer a group round of video games over a collaborative storytelling event. Meanwhile, marketing professionals who feel creatively drained after work might benefit from learning something new to help reset their minds.
To maximize participation, leaders should also consider the team’s size and work schedules to make all activities as inclusive as possible. The goal is to create events that are accessible and feasible for all members, regardless of physicality or location.
Another good idea to make virtual team building activities even more meaningful is to match events to the team’s current challenges and goals. For example, teams that struggle with communication should participate in events focused on improving collaboration and teamwork. If morale is low around the virtual office, leaders should opt for more fun, lighthearted events to lift spirits and relieve stress.
Scheduling and Frequency
Time zone differences are a critical aspect to consider when scheduling virtual team-building activities. No one wants to participate in a cooking challenge or try to turn their brains on for trivia at 2 a.m. Leaders must determine the best time to accommodate as many participants as possible so no one feels inconvenienced or excluded. Scheduling apps and world clocks are basic yet useful tools for making this a cohesive process.
Deciding how often to hold these activities requires careful planning to balance the team’s need for fun with their workload. Scheduling regular events, whether bi-weekly or monthly, helps maintain team-building momentum without overwhelming anyone’s calendar. Flexibility is crucial, though—during particularly stressful periods, more frequent activities might be needed, while times of heavy workloads may warrant a break.
Managers should strive to master balancing structured events to boost team morale with more informal social interactions to build team culture. Planned activities created by leadership help support specific goals. However, more casual conversations and hangouts build organic connections and strengthen inter-team relationships.
Incorporating Inclusivity
The main goal of every virtual team-building exercise is to make sure each team member feels valued and included. These events should be accessible and enjoyable for everyone, no matter their physical abilities, culture, or location. That’s why leaders need to adapt activities to fit the diverse needs of their team.
Fostering a safe and respectful environment is a key part of inclusivity. It’s important to set clear guidelines for interactions, emphasizing respect so everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and contributing. This helps build stronger connections across the team.
Of course, not everyone will be able or eager to join in for various reasons—whether it’s anxiety, illness, or a packed calendar. And that’s perfectly okay. It’s not always possible to have full attendance, and that’s something to keep in mind.
Gathering Feedback and Adjusting
Without the power of telepathy, the only way for managers to understand how team-building events are received is by collecting feedback from the team.
After each activity, leaders should decide how employees can submit their input—whether through team votes, anonymous surveys, or direct conversations. This feedback is invaluable for planning future events and takes some of the pressure off the team leader’s shoulders. Plus, being responsive to feedback shows that leaders value their team’s opinions and are committed to fostering a positive and supportive team culture.
Tools and Platforms for Remote Team Building
Online platforms, apps, tools, and software make facilitating remote team bonding easy. With so many options at their fingertips, leaders can get creative when choosing the best tools for their team.
Video Conferencing Tools
Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other video conferencing tools are essential for facilitating remote work and team-building activities. These platforms provide the critical infrastructure needed for virtual interactions, allowing teams to connect and collaborate almost as effectively as in person, no matter where they are.
These tools also come with features that enhance the video conferencing experience. Breakout rooms enable smaller groups to split off from the main meeting for focused discussions or activities. Screen sharing allows presenters to display their information in real time, making collaboration seamless. Virtual backgrounds add a fun and personal touch to meetings, helping employees express their personalities while creating a more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.
Collaboration Platforms
Slack is one of the most popular collaboration tools, offering real-time messaging through channels and direct messages. It makes sharing updates, reminders, and even polls about upcoming events simple and efficient. Additionally, Slack supports a wide range of integrations, from software tools to virtual team trivia games and apps for virtual coffee breaks.
Trello and Asana are also widely used for project management. Both platforms are excellent options for planning and tracking the progress of team events. Plus, they integrate with external tools like Google Meet and Zoom, which further streamlines event planning and execution.
Online Game Platforms
Virtual games via online game platforms are a great way to help teams blow off some steam while still boosting team spirit. If the internet is full of one thing for certain, it’s gaming options.
Kahoot is a quiz-based platform that enables teams to develop and participate in customized trivia games based on educational information, personal fun facts about one another, or any other topic. JackBox Games provides quirky and fun games for casual, more lighthearted team-building sessions. These games are perfect for icebreaker activities or simply to encourage laughter after a long day. Tabletopia enables a virtual game of a huge selection of board games, allowing teams to play together through a more strategic, collaborative experience.
Wellness and Fitness Apps
Using fitness and wellness applications for team-building helps employees stay active and healthy while bonding. Their versatile nature allows leaders to choose how they want to add a healthful element to their virtual office.
Headspace and Calm, two popular wellness apps, offer guided meditation sessions and mindfulness exercises that help employees take a few minutes to find peace and rejuvenation. Leaders can integrate these apps into the virtual office to promote mental well-being and reduce stress. For instance, scheduling collective mindfulness breaks during high-stress periods can encourage relaxation and mental clarity.
Strava, a well-known fitness app, enables companies to organize virtual cycling or running challenges, promoting physical activity and healthy competition among team members.
These applications like these help remote employees stay mindful of their emotional and physical health while enhancing company culture. With regular use, they can reduce burnout, improve overall well-being, and foster a more balanced and supportive work environment.
Measuring Your Remote Team Building Efforts
Just like any other office endeavor or campaign, companies must figure out how to quantify the impact of their remote team-building efforts to determine whether they’re successful.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
KPIs are essential in measuring the success and performance of many business areas, even in team-building efforts. A few of the most important KPIs regarding team building include:
- Team productivity and collaboration levels evaluate how well the team works together. These KPIs indicate whether team-building activities are effectively improving efficiency and cooperation levels.
- Employee engagement and participation rates measure how actively each team member is in activities. These rates offer insights into enthusiasm and connection levels.
- Employee satisfaction and retention rates assess the likelihood of employees staying with the company by evaluating overall job satisfaction. They also reflect the long-term impact of team-building efforts on morale and loyalty.
Surveying Team Members
Surveys are a great way to get information directly from the source and assess the effectiveness of remote team-building efforts. By designing well-structured surveys, leadership can gather both quantitative and qualitative data on team morale, dynamics, and overall satisfaction with activities.
Some teams may benefit from an anonymous survey, which allows employees to share their honest opinions without the awkwardness of directly telling their manager they didn’t enjoy an event.
Surveys should include questions about how much employees enjoyed specific activities, how connected they felt to their team members, and a space for suggestions on future events. Analyzing these responses allows event organizers to make data-driven decisions and tailor the next team-building activity to better meet the team’s needs.
Continuous Improvement
Gathering all this feedback is pointless unless it’s put to good use. Leaders should establish a feedback loop to continuously refine team-building strategies based on survey results and key performance indicators.
Often, simply asking team members directly what they’d like to do to build team cohesion can provide valuable insights—at least until someone suggests paid company nap time. Incorporating employee feedback not only keeps events engaging and relevant but also makes employees feel heard. Like a science experiment, leaders should track the outcomes of each event, identifying what worked and what didn’t, to ensure that each activity is better than the last.
Final Verdict: Are Virtual Team Building Activities Worth It?
Remote work has many perks for employers and employees, but not all smiles and pajama parties. Virtual teams can sometimes feel more like a group of distant pen pals than a cohesive, communicative unit. This disconnect is understandable when team members are miles—or even continents—apart.
That’s why company leaders and managers need to get creative with virtual team-building activities. Doing so builds more productive, cohesive, and engaged remote workforces.
The good news is that virtual team-building doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking or require months of planning. Leaders can start small with one or two activities that are both fun and aligned with team goals. Then, they can evolve the events based on employee feedback. Online trivia games or virtual group cooking classes might seem frivolous to those accustomed to those used to paper-shuffling traditional offices. However, these “silly” events have the power to bond teams and reduce feelings of isolation in the virtual workplace.
As remote work continues to grow, methods for building team morale and cohesion must evolve as well. The advancement of technology will inevitably bring exciting new ways to support these efforts. Leaders should keep themselves open and adaptable to these innovations to foster strong, connected teams, no matter where they’re located.
FAQs
What are the best remote team building activities for small teams?
Online games and quizzes are some of the best activities for small virtual teams as they engage everyone and scale easily for more players. Virtual escape rooms are another great option, as they require small teams to work together closely and are easy to scale. Other options include digital art projects, remote show-and-tell, and collaborative story writing.
How often should remote teams engage in team building activities?
Ideally, remote companies should organize in team-building events regularly, whether that’s on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis. Building bonds between team members doesn’t happen overnight and requires many opportunities to create strong connections.
That said, when deciding on frequency, remember to be considerate of your team’s workload and general availability.
Can remote team building activities be effective across different time zones?
Yes, such activities are effective across varying time zones by scheduling flexible sessions, offering rotating event times, and using more asynchronous activities to ensure everyone can participate.
What tools are essential for remote team building?
Video conference tools, collaboration platforms, online gaming websites or platforms, and/or wellness and fitness apps are some of the most essential tools for team building across remote teams. Each offers a way for teams to compete, communicate, or just have fun with one another while boosting team cohesion and morale.
How can I measure the success of remote team building activities?
Utilizing Key Performance Indicators, like employee participation rates and retention metrics, alongside regular employee surveys allows companies to measure the success of their team-building initiatives.
