Celebrate National Fun at Work Day Ideas for 2024

This year’s Fun at Work Day was different than usual. Our office party planning committee organized a trip to a local escape room for everyone, with remote employees able to join virtually. Going off-property was new for our team, who often plans trivia nights and parties in the office.

Jackie found the escape room on a website for employee party planners. The reviews said it wasn’t too scary or complicated, so we reserved spots, needing to break into teams. Deciding teams sparked arguments, like high school gym class. We had to name captains and pick names from hats.

Once settled, groups discussed escape room strategies. Phones are usually prohibited, but staff made an exception for remote participants. However, they couldn’t help us, and we couldn’t use phones. As the event neared, competitiveness emerged, causing office arguments.

National Fun at Work Day Ideas for Employees 2024

Our typical Fun at Work Day ideas for employees and managers did not include an escape room. As we watched people argue about teams and how they would execute their strategies, we wondered if this was a good idea. We weren’t convinced that the teams with remote employees as a member wouldn’t cheat, and we needed to figure out how to prevent that. Since the winning prize was a swag package from SwagMagic, we wanted to ensure the win was deserved. 

At one of the planning meetings, someone pointed out that maybe we should cancel the whole escape room idea and just plan for fun games at work as we did in the past. Employee engagement games were always popular among our staff, but we wanted to please those looking forward to the escape room and a night out. 

We decided to hold a company-wide meeting to make a final decision. We would take a vote, management included, and figure out whether the escape room would be a good idea. Well, the meeting went differently than we expected. Half of the team voted yes, and half voted no, and yet another fight erupted. 

Needless to say, management wasn’t pleased. 

Themed dress-up day

Encourage employees to come dressed according to fun themes like their favorite decade, movie/TV characters, heroes vs villains, etc. Make it a contest and award prizes.

Office Olympics

Set up various “sports” events around the office using office supplies. Have employees form teams and compete in cardboard box sled racing, paper airplane flying contests, office chair races, etc. Give awards.

Bring Your Pet to Work Day

Allow employees to bring their pets to work for a day. Having animals in the office promotes bonding, stress relief, and smiles. You could even have pet contests.

Fun at Work Day Gift and Swag Ideas for Employee Engagement

Our Fun at Work Day gift ideas faded as the office fought over a typical party or escape room. Eventually, management had to step in with their Fun Day at Work ideas. The escape room seemed like something that probably wouldn’t happen as accusations of potential cheating shot across the room. 

We really wanted to come up with inexpensive employee engagement ideas that would allow us to come together outside of the office, but things weren’t looking too good. Management said no to the escape room, as they decided it was pushing people apart instead of bringing them together.

Swag Kit

A swag kit filled with fun branded items like mugs, t-shirts, and stickers is a great way to encourage employees and bring extra happiness to the workday. The swag can inspire a sense of unified team spirit while also allowing people to express themselves. It’s an easy way to facilitate some fun without too much effort or planning needed.

Custom Funny Costume

Providing custom funny costumes aligns well with team building events and happy hours, allowing employees to leave their normal roles and identities at work. Trying on a silly costume encourages laughter, self-expression, and a leveling of the company hierarchy. It can help employees bond and unwind, strengthening relationships for better collaboration.

Virtual Gifts and Experiences

Virtual gifts and experiences are a creative way to encourage employees while remote working or social distancing. Online trivia, virtual cooking classes, and delivered food gifts allow people to enjoy perks and team-building opportunities even from afar. These thoughtful gestures boost morale, spark joy in the workday, and show employees they are valued, keeping engagement and productivity high despite the limitations of an isolated workspace.

Fun Day at Work Games to Boost Morale

The party planning committee returned to square one, planning Fun at Work Day games and Fun at Work Day online games to include our virtual team. As we outlined some Fun at Work Day games for team building, we discussed where everything went wrong. 

We landed on the fact that Steve and Tim were on separate teams, and because one was a copywriter and the other was a web designer, they couldn’t get along. So, we moved forward with fun office games to boost morale and quick fun office games to bring people together, Steve and Tim included. 

Scavenger Hunt

A virtual scavenger hunt on Zoom with teams finding silly items from around their homes to show on camera is a fun idea that gets small groups interacting. It boosts productivity when employees return to work smiling.

Virtual Game Night

Mix up the casual dress code and ideate ways to celebrate National Fun Day at work through a virtual game night on platforms like Zoom. Friendly competition makes for even more fun!

Fun Activities for Work Day to Define Company Culture

We chose prizes for our Fun at Work Day activities, all from SwagMagic and SnackMagic, as we knew our employees would appreciate it. We got enough items that Steve and Tim wouldn’t argue more and planned Fun at Work Day Activities for team building to bring everyone back together who were still arguing over the escape room. 

The small fun activities for employees in office, like Twister and a giant checkerboard, proved to be fruitful in bringing people back together. Though we couldn’t do the escape room, we had a successful day!

Video Call for Team Bonding

Schedule video calls solely for boosting morale and fun interactions between teams/departments. No work talk allowed! It’s a great idea to celebrate National Fun at Work Day.

Fun Committee

Appoint a committee to source fun ideas to celebrate International Fun at Work Day annually. From planning spirit days to activities, they develop team-building events for productivity sprinkled with laughter.

Team Lunch

A catered team lunch break sparks joy and camaraderie, encouraging employees to connect and unwind together amid their workloads. Sharing a delicious meal facilitates casual conversations that strengthen relationships for better collaboration. It also shows leadership values their team members’ happiness and comfort at work.

Have Fun at Work Day Virtual Games

Our remote staff, who swore they wouldn’t cheat in the escape room, felt excluded from our Fun at Work Day virtual activities. We began planning Fun at Work Day online activities for the remote team, asking for their input on Fun at Work Day virtual games. 

They gave us plenty of options for fun activities for online meetings, and the online component of our fun day was also an enormous success. Management was pleased and advised us only to plan another off-property event again if it was a catered dinner. 

Host a Virtual Escape Room

Mark International Fun at Work Day by gathering teams on Zoom to solve clues and escape virtual rooms, encouraging camaraderie through these remote team-building activities.

Virtual City Tour

A virtual city tour is an engaging remote team building activity, allowing employees to explore new places and learn about different cultures together from their own desks. It facilitates fun conversations that bring down walls between colleagues, strengthening bonds for more united teamwork. The virtual adventure boosts morale and energizes people.

Snacks and Lunch Party

A snack and lunch party offers an excellent opportunity to spark joy, community, and collective recharging. Setting up festive snack stations around the office with a range of sweet and savory treats lets people graze casually, taking small breaks to refuel their energy and chat with different colleagues. Bringing in a popular local restaurant or food truck for lunch enables the entire team to unite, strengthening connections over a shared delicious meal. The combo of constant snack access to keep spirits high and a communal lunch to unite everyone sets the stage for improving relationships and reenergizing the team for greater collaboration and creativity.

Snack Kit

Providing a creative snack kit with various treats encourages employees to take healthy breaks and brings some extra joy to their day. It allows people to bond over food and chat casually with colleagues about life, not just work. These conversations build connections that will facilitate better teamwork and innovation.

Superior Dishes

Ordering in dishes from superior dishes boosts morale and brings people together. Trying signature regional foods becomes a unique team building activity, allowing colleagues to bond over meals. It also shows leadership cares about employee happiness and comfort at work, resulting in higher engagement.

Employee Fun with SwagMagic

SwagMagic saved the day, turning our traditional employee fun day into a successful event. With sweatshirts and t-shirts representing the copywriting and design teams, Tim and Steve struck a truce and stopped arguing. Snack boxes from SnackMagic kept everyone full and satisfied, and there was enough for employees to bring the extras home. 

We shipped out prizes and gifts to the remote team, who reported back that everything was fantastic. Overall, our fun day in the office enabled more team-building opportunities than the escape room, and we even saved a little bit of money!

What creative ways to have fun at work and lift employee morale?

Having a National Have Fun at Work Day, where employees can wear casual clothes, decorate their workspaces, and take fun trivia breaks, is a great way to inject fun into the work environment. Simple ideas like virtual team building activities when working from home or fun work contests also make for a more engaging work culture.

How can we create a fun, engaging atmosphere for our upcoming themed work event?

Decorating the office and having themed food, music, and trivia games based around the theme will help get people excited and boost employee morale. You can also have virtual participants who work from home join in by shipping them event supplies or offering online games and activities to keep the fun going despite remote work. The right theme and inclusive planning are key to a lively event.

What are some of the benefits of having fun days and activities at work?

Infusing trivia, games, creative dress up days and team building activities at work gives employees a mental break, reduces job-related stress, and brings a sense of camaraderie and morale boost. Allowing and encouraging fun activities in the work environment, whether virtual or in-person, motivates employees, sparks creativity, promotes bonding between teams, and creates a happier workplace culture.