Fun Office Activities to Break the 9-5 Monotony

by Julia Kicinski

Work doesn't always have to be eight hours of intense concentration at a desk. In fact, that kind of job becomes monotonous very quickly, even for employees who thrive on a 9-5 schedule. Encouraging a fun, flexible atmosphere in your office space makes the workday much more interesting, which can improve overall concentration and contentment at work. Here are some fun activities you can try working into your regular office routines next time you notice an employee stifling a yawn in the middle of the day.

1. Shared Office Playlist

Everyone loves a good playlist, especially employees who find that listening to music while they work increases their productivity and improves their mood. Try introducing a shared office playlist via a streaming service like Spotify where employees can both share their favorite songs and discover new music. The beauty of a community playlist is that you can play it out loud as quiet background music in the shared office space or allow staff to listen with headphones to avoid interrupting others who may find music distracting. Let your employees control the music choices, but it might be a good idea to suggest they get together first to establish some guidelines, such as inoffensive lyrics or a limitation of genres. Of course, there's always one jokester in the group who won't be able to resist dropping an upbeat song into a calm classical playlist—that's bound to wake somebody up during the workday!

2. Statue Challenge

If a colleague suddenly freezes mid-sentence while talking to you in the office, watch out! A statue challenge may be underfoot. In this game, one person assigned to be the statue freezes at an undisclosed point in the day. As others around the room catch on, they also turn into statues; the last person to notice loses. This activity works best in an open space, but the rules can be adapted for different office layouts.

The statue challenge can be a fun game to incorporate into your office's weekly schedule. Your employees' sense of sight and awareness of their surroundings will be at peak levels as they watch for any unusual activity—or lack thereof—on the day of the game. The anticipation increases alertness and removes a level of monotony from the day.

3. Interactive Bulletin Board

Have some prominent wall space? Add a bulletin board! It can be anything from a clear glass wall for sticky notes to a traditional cork board, whatever matches your office design. Invite employees to contribute answers to a theme or question like: "Worst Vacations I've Taken" or "Advice for Office Rookies." Choose topics that encourage interaction among colleagues and offer the opportunity to share both humorous and helpful stories and advice. Although the topic can be updated as often or as seldom as you like, a monthly rotation should offer ample time for employees to enjoy each other's answers without losing interest in the activity.

4. Doodle Wall

Don't limit interactive spaces to the public office area! Install a doodle board in the break room offering full creative liberties. At minimum, try hanging a small dry erase board (and customize it for additional entertainment!) for activities like hangman or tic tac toe and sharing funny or encouraging messages. Better yet, get creative with an entire doodle wall! Blackboard or whiteboard paint used with chalk or markers can turn walls into blank canvases for a variety of artwork. Just make sure everyone knows that the wall will be regularly erased and cleaned so they don't get unreasonably attached to their creations or forget to take pictures.

5. Break Room Community Activities

Some people aren't artsy...and not all of them know it. Therefore, adding games to the break room can offer a nice alternate activity that everyone can enjoy. If you have the space, try bringing in larger games like ping-pong or foosball. Tabletop games are also good choices for break rooms of any size. Keep in mind that, although games like Risk and Monopoly are fun, they can't usually be completed during break time, so it's better to stick to providing shorter games like Checkers or Othello. You could also offer card games that participants can jump in and out of. An occasional round of Phase 10 could turn into quite the anticipated routine when players keep track of their progress.

A coloring corner or community jigsaw puzzle is also a great way to draw people in to break room activities. Make these activities more interesting by stocking 3D puzzles or even special ordering puzzles created from popular office photos. Employees will have a blast trying to find the one piece in a group photo with their face on it or recreating a fun event in tiny bits and pieces, homing in on small details they never noticed before.

6. Tournaments

Everyone loves a good competition, but too often they miss out because they're waiting for someone to organize it. Eliminate that problem by setting up a tournament space that's ready for use at a moment's notice. For example, store custom company cornhole boards where employees can easily access them on break. Give winners a greater sense of accomplishment by hanging a "Current High Score" sign near the playing location. Signmojo.com has a great selection of signs with changeable inserts that can be used to keep track of tournament champions.

Any game can turn into a tournament, whether formally planned and tracked or not. Rock, Paper, Scissors and any number of board games can work their way into the competition. If you end up with too many tournaments to keep track of on high score signs, you can always set up a dry erase A-frame sign and regularly update it with the winners.

7. Fitness Program

That company fitness center is looking great, but it might get a little more traffic if you organized a group fitness program. The program doesn't have to be anything strenuous, but try setting some team goals like a number of miles run or pounds lifted within the time span of your program. Have everybody keep track of their personal progress along the way, perhaps in a shared spreadsheet to make data keeping easier. You can even do this if you don't have an official fitness center. Your fitness program might be as simple as setting a group step goal, which can be accomplished in or out of doors.

8. Group Walk

Don't look now, but that perpetually sleepy employee is nodding off again. You know who we're talking about. Maybe next time, instead of delivering a playful poke in the ribs, be kind and offer an invitation for a short walk. Getting employees out of their chairs during the day offers a change of scenery and an endorphin boost. Try organizing regular group walks—outside of formal break times, if possible—so interested staff can get some fresh air and a chance to clear their heads. This activity will break up office routine just enough to bring employees back to their desks refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready to continue the workday.

9. Desk Decoration Contest

Add a touch of excitement to the workplace by scheduling an occasional desk decorating contest. Decide on a theme as general as "Spring" or as specific as a current popular movie and let everyone loose. This will be the perfect opportunity they've been waiting for to use those eccentric decorations and knickknacks that have been hanging around the house for years. Instead of management deciding who wins, have everyone in the office vote on their favorite interpretation of the theme. This is an activity with tricky timing—make it a regular enough occurrence that the tradition can become part of your company culture, but don't plan new contests so close together that employees don't have time to enjoy current decorations.

10. Obscure Holiday Party

Do you ever bake a special pastry in honor of Pi Day? (For those not in the know, that would be March 14, or 3.14.) Rather than focusing all your office parties around traditional holidays when so many other events are happening, why not mix in events throughout the year that celebrate your employees' favorite obscure holidays? For instance, celebrate National Pizza Day on February 9 with a pizza potluck. Lost Sock Memorial Day (May 9) can be a great occasion to bring mismatched socks to the office for a craft project. If you do incorporate these themed parties, be prepared for the possibility of an organized bubble wrap explosion at the end of January on Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day! Keeping fun events like these occurring throughout the year helps keep the office environment from getting stale and boring.

11. Secret Santa Gift Exchange

We've all participated in that obligatory office secret Santa or white elephant gift exchange around Christmas. Sometimes it can be fun, but other times it just puts one more gift on the list of things to stress about related to the approaching holiday. Here's a thought: gift exchanges don't have to wait until Christmas! Planning an unexpected gift exchange at odd times in the year can make the event more fun and meaningful for employees. It's also an excellent opportunity to brighten up a month like March or October that may feel slow compared to the rush of the summer and winter months.

12. Events Schedule

With all of these fun activities going on, you want to make sure your employees know what's happening when. Post an events schedule in a prominent location in the office so everybody can remember what day the statue challenge is held, where to meet for walks or parties, and when to bring in food for a potluck. Be sure to update the schedule regularly so your employees know that they can depend on it for accurate information.

A monotonous office life is not necessarily due to the work, the workload, or the dedication of the employees themselves. Sometimes it helps just to have a change in pace or routine to refocus on the task at hand. Adding in some excitement and activities might be just the thing to keep your employees happy and productive. Plus, your office will quickly build a reputation of fostering the best work environment around!