While working is the main goal of any job, you also need your team to have fun. This will boost employee motivation and happiness.

That, in turn, will increase productivity, innovation, and loyalty. But how do you create a fun work-from-anywhere culture?

Incorporate the following tips to ensure your work culture is fun and keeps your team engaged.

Have Remote Virtual Coffee Breaks

One of the most common recommendations you will find is to incorporate remote coffee breaks into your day with the goal of socializing. There are several ways you can do this.

You can have them as coffee breaks in the middle of the day or as an activity first thing in the morning. 

You can also choose whether these are group coffee breaks or smaller ones.

For example, you could have a coffee break with the entire team. Or break up into smaller groups, either randomly or based on projects.

Break employees into pairs or groups of three to four, depending on your team and preferences. You can even have different group sizes each time. 

Structure Large Video Calls 

If you want a fun activity that involves a larger group of people on video chat, you need some semblance of organization. Otherwise, you will end up with a lot of awkward silence and people talking over each other.

One great way to get around this is to come up with a theme ahead of time and then let everyone share their perspective in turn.

The theme could be sharing a favorite mug, giving a tour of their workspace, or talking about their favorite hobbies.

This is also a great opportunity for your team to introduce their pets or children. Think of it as a chance for your team to bond with each other. 

Create Group Chats

Any work-from-anywhere team will have at least one text-based method of communication, whether it is Slack, Discord, or something else.

Use your company’s preferred method to create a just-for-fun channel where your team can talk about things unrelated to work. Think of it as a virtual water cooler. 

Find Interactive Online Activities

Just because your team is all in different places, that doesn’t mean that you can’t play games or do other activities together.

For example, if your team includes many gamers, you could organize a video game night with a different game every week.

For even better results, choose a game requiring teamwork. This can be on mobile such as Among Us or Player Battlegrounds (one of our favorites), or a PC game like Apex Legends (also one of our favorites).

You can also find games that are more mainstream, such as websites that host online Pictionary or charades. There are also plenty of online board games and jigsaw puzzles. 

Find Interactive Online/Offline Activities 

When coming up with activities for your team to do together online, don’t limit yourself to things that can only be done online.

Most activities that we traditionally do in person, like a happy hour, can become virtual with some modifications. For example, you could have a virtual happy hour every Friday after work where everyone brings their own beverage. 

You can also get creative with other activities. One idea would be to order an arts and craft kit to be sent to each employee and then do them all together one evening. There are also kits for other activities, from making cocktails to wine and cheese pairings to baking or cooking activities. 

You can even use a game like mentioned above. Charades, for example, works well over video chat. Trivia can also work. With some screen-sharing and the use of Paint, you can even do Pictionary.

Or try a tournament with rock, paper, and scissors. This is simple to do using breakout rooms. 

Some other activities to try can include virtual escape rooms, virtual museum tours, virtual lip sync battles, virtual dance-offs, or virtual yoga or meditation. You can even create a team book club. 

Send a Weekly Newsletter With Updates From Everyone

Since your team can’t talk to each other in person, consider creating a bi-weekly or monthly team newsletter.

Use it to let team members share exciting moments in their lives and list upcoming birthdays.

Encourage Your Team to Practice Self Care

In addition to all of the interactive activities, make sure to encourage your employees to take time for self-care.

Some of this can be done as a team, such as group yoga, meditation, or stretching sessions. But you should also encourage team members to take breaks as needed throughout the day.

Remember that for remote workers, the goal should be hitting deadlines, not working every second of every day. 

Encourage Feedback 

The best way to figure out what will make the work culture fun for your team is to ask them.

Send out a survey asking your team to share what type of activities they would prefer and which ones they would prefer not to do.