7 Office Games to Increase Productivity

Imagine this. It’s Monday morning, and Jill’s teammate Wena storms into their office. One glance at her already tells Jill that today is not Wena’s day. And from experience, it probably won’t be her other teammates’ days either.
After all, negative vibes from grumpy teammates are contagious.
Jill is the supervisor for her small team of seven. She knows she has to do something this morning – or every Monday morning for that matter – to clear the air. Otherwise, she fears her team will fail to deliver excellent work today.
If this keeps up, the stress may even get to Jill herself. Now was as good a time as any to make the office a breeding ground for happier, healthier employees.

The question on Jill’s mind right now: how?

Happy Employees Make the Best Employees

Happy employees are the best people you’ll want in a team. More than their positive attitude, they bring about great results in the workplace. Studies have shown differences in the performance of happy employees vis-à-vis unhappy ones, namely:

• Productivity levels of happy employees were 12% higher than unhappy ones.
• They outperform the competition by 20%.
• They produce 37% greater sales.

With all the stress that work can bring, it’s hard to believe you can even be a happy employee. According to this survey, there are 4 main causes of stress:

• Deadlines
• Interpersonal relationships
• Staff management
• Work Issues

That’s not even counting the sources of stress outside the office. Given how much stress penetrates our lives, it might be a good idea to find ways to reduce the damage.

Relieve the Tension Through Office Games

Stress is a nonnegotiable element at work. But there are still ways to lessen its adverse effects. One such way is by introducing some great office games for employees.

1. Fill the Thank Tank

Gratitude can reap the best rewards. Being thankful – and being thanked – have positive effects on you and your teammates. This is a game designed to make everyone thankful for things they may have taken for granted.
Doing this at the start of the week will have employees beginning their day with a positive outlook.

How to play:

1. Gather your team in a meeting on Monday mornings.
2. Let each member share one highlight of their weekend. It has to be something they are grateful for.

Notes:

• It doesn’t need to be anything fancy, like a vacation or getting a huge gift. Encourage to think even of the little things that made their weekend.
• Don’t forget to break the ice by starting with your own answer.

2. The Question Game

We always love learning new things about other people. How about a game that helps you and your employees do just that?

How to play:

1. Create a giant game board by using the whiteboard.
2. Write on it the question of the day. (e.g. What is your favorite drink from Starbucks?)
3. Let the employees write their answers beside their nickname.

Notes:

• If whiteboards are unavailable, use other available resources like manila paper.
• You can use your employees’ answers for future reference. Certain answers tell you about their personal lives or struggles. Use these to reward or mentor your employees.

3. Who’s Who?

Have a go at this simple yet entertaining guessing game. Can you recognize your teammates when they were kids?

Play this game for a fun way to see colleagues in a different and cuter light.

How to play:

1. Email your team to prepare a childhood photo of them to bring to the office.
2. Let them know that they should hide the photo from their teammates.
3. Tell them to send their photos to the assigned person.
4. Use a removable adhesive to stick the pictures on a bulletin board.
5. Create this header: “Who’s Who?”
6. Attach a blank sheet below each photo and let the employees guess away.

4. Take What You Need

Sometimes people’s favorite subject to talk about is themselves. You can play this office game and lets them chat away while getting to know their co-workers.

How to play:

1. Prepare a purse filled with coins.
2. Ask everyone to sit around in a circle.
3. Pass around the purse and tell them, “Take as much as you think you’ll need.”
4. Once done, ask them to count the coins they have.
5. Each person has to share one fact about themselves for every coin they have. So if you take 10 coins, share 10 things about you.

Note:

• Keep the purpose of taking the coins a secret.
• You can limit the number of coins a person can take if you have limited time.
• Encourage them to just share using short statements. (e.g. Only child, valedictorian in elementary, favorite subject is Science)

5. Show and Tell

This simple exercise encourages employees to play a part in the company’s growth. They also get the chance to improve their communication skills, critical thinking, and creativity.

How to play:

1. Set aside a regular schedule for the activity. Once per month or once every three months should do.
2. Ask your team to list down ideas that will help improve the company.
3. Allow them to present their suggestions in a show-and-tell setting.

6. Incentivize Goals

People love getting incentives after doing a great job. Rewarding employees with generous incentives also motivates them to do better in their work. Goal-setting isn’t the most enjoyable of tasks. Put some fun into achieving goals through this office game.

How to play:

1. Ask your team to create monthly and yearly goals.
2. Give a surprise reward for every goal that they achieve successfully.

Note:

• The rewards can be simple and inexpensive, such as movie tickets or gift certificates. Small rewards can be handed out for the easier or shorter goals.
• Save the more expensive rewards, like a trip to Palawan, for bigger accomplishments.

7. Employee Appreciation Day

Who doesn’t like being commended for their work? Recognition in one way or another is what many of us look forward to after a tiring work week. An Employee Appreciation Day lets your team know that their contributions are valuable to the company.
Commendations inspire everyone to deliver excellent work. Having an appreciation day will also set the standard for all aspiring achievers.

How to play:

1. Recognize someone’s contribution at the start of every staff meeting.
2. Encourage other co-workers to honor the Employee of the Day by signing the certificate of appreciation.

Let Happiness be Your Disease

It doesn’t take a lot to organize the office games included in this list. In case you don’t know where to start, the best thing to do is find the most relevant game for your team.
Figure out your employees’ needs. Do they need some cheering up via a round of Fill the Thank Tank? Or perhaps they need some good bonding moments over a session of the Question Game?
Take it from Jill who started these regular office games with her team. In just a couple of weeks, she saw how much her teammates’ moods perked up with these great activities. They still experience work-related stress, of course, but this time they have more ways to battle it.

What games do you want to introduce to your team?