20 Fun Ideas for Out of Office Work Functions
Whether it’s a company anniversary or holiday celebration, throwing out of office work functions can help bring the fun in your work environment. There are a plenty of ways to do this on a budget. Here’s a few ideas to help make any office get-together an even better experience.
Happy Hours
You can never go wrong with a simple happy hour session after work. Grab a drink or two with your team at your local bar, or make plans to discover a new venue altogether.
Bowling Night
Bowling is a classic game with simple rules that all of your coworkers can follow and bring out their competitive side.
Potluck Party
Celebrate the diversity within your company by highlighting the variety of foods your teams’ home countries have to deliver. It’s a great way to learn more about the people you work with every day.
Office Olympics
Hosting or renting a space for “Office Olympics” can be fun, competitive, and showcase the comradery of your team. From simple party games or relay races, you can form a group of determined coworkers to win a prize at the end.
Escape Rooms
With escape rooms, you and your colleagues have to solve a series of cryptic puzzles and clues to exit a room within a certain time limit. Escape rooms encourage fun ways for team building and problem-solving and are popping up in more major cities around the nation.
Game Night
Plan a night out with your colleagues and add some creative games in the mix, with board games like Monopoly or Scrabble, or activity-based games like Charades.
Sports Events
Whether it’s basketball, baseball, football, or another professional sport, there’s a certain kind of sporting event that your team members enjoy. Have a night out at a game featuring their favorite sports teams.
Office Awards Banquet
From employee of the year to best performance in sales, there’s plenty of award categories that you can create to help inspire and motivate your fellow employees. You can make custom certifications for each award categories so that others can share it proudly in your company
Go-Kart Racing
You’ll definitely have a blast with your colleagues riding through different indoor or outdoor tracks at your local go-kart speedway.
Company Anniversary Celebration
For any big company milestone – the date of your first hire, first sale, or the company origin – it will provide an opportunity to both celebrate company-wide accomplishments and reflect on the state of the business.
Food-Eating Competition.
These can be very entertaining moments for your teams to participate in. Form your own challenge or visit a restaurant that has already come up with one.
Rent a Party Pad or Boat
Enjoy a nice weekend out in a lavish mansion or a luxurious yacht to reward you and your team for their overall hard work. You can often find great deals on grand vacation rentals on Airbnb – especially off season.
Volunteer
Giving back and doing charity work is a great way for your team members to bond. Place-based volunteering ideas can include things like volunteering at a local soup kitchen. If your group aims to utilize their professional skills, look for a nonprofit that needs help in your field.
Take a Group Class / Workshop
One of the best out of work activities you can encourage are specific learning opportunities that further others’ career. Taking a workshop or class can be beneficial not only for the individual but for the company as well.
Yoga
Yoga classes can be a fun, calming and social experience with your colleagues after a long day at work.
Create a Company Vlog Channel
A collective activity you can do with teammates, starting a fun vlog series from all your out of work activities can help capture and share moments behind your company culture.
Sign Up for a Relay or Run Together
Both competitive and fun, you can even include this activity with a charity like a Relay for Life.
Brewery or Wine Tasting Tour
Simple and unique, going on a drinking tour is just like a happy hour but on wheels. This type of company outing idea is usually best during the summer. Rent a charter bus and take your colleagues to some wineries, vineyards, or breweries around your local area.
Themed Parties
Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Superheroes…you can mix and match different themes during an evening out with your coworkers.
BBQ Picnic
If you’re on a budget, a simple BBQ at the park can be a low-cost way to get your team to enjoy a day out of the office. Make sure to account for any vegetarians or vegans in your company too.
