Team building events in winter are the perfect solution to boost employee morale. Unless you live in the south, winter can be challenging for everyone. Shorter days, bad weather, and increased energy bills all take their toll on physical and mental well-being. However, planning fun team building activities in winter can help re-energize the workplace.
Knowing the best team building activities to plan in winter can be challenging. Icy, unpredictable weather during winter can make planning events problematic. And you may find it difficult to come up with original ideas to engage your employees. And let’s face it — some people find it challenging to arrange regular team building events at the best of times, never mind when there’s a blizzard outside.
Here at FullTilt Team Development, we have a range of fun-filled indoor and outdoor activities suitable for winter. These fun activities can help break the monotony of day-to-day office work, especially when employees are already suffering from a lack of motivation.
In the article, you will learn the benefits of organizing winter team building events. Additionally, you’ll find out the top nine corporate events that boost employee engagement.
The Challenges of Winter in the Workplace
Winter brings unique challenges to the workplace. Employees have returned from summer vacations, and next summer is several months away. Also, the shorter days, drop in temperature, longer commutes in the dark, and rainy weather seem to sap strength from people.
Here are a few statistics showing why working in an office is challenging in winter:
- Ice, slush, and snow create more risks when driving, resulting in longer commutes.
- Absenteeism increases in winter because more people get sick during cold weather.
- The “winter blues” or Seasonal Adjusted Disorder affects many people from late fall until early spring.
- Winter working conditions affect productivity because studies show workers are 12 percent more productive when they’re happy.
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Interestingly, companies that invest in employee support and worker satisfaction see an increase of 37 percent in productivity. Team building events in winter are an excellent way to address the negative impact of Old Man Winter.
Why Team Building Events in Winter Are a Great Idea
Organizing team building events in winter can be a great way to get everyone together and shake off the winter blues. In addition, it’s a fun and easy way for your employees to bond with each other. But team building in winter also addresses several issues that impact team productivity at this time of year.
The Benefits of Planning Team Building Events in Winter
Organizing corporate team building events can help address many of the challenges working in winter brings. Taking part in team building games or fun activities can promote well-being among employees. And your workers will have the satisfaction that you want to give something back.
Here are four benefits of organizing events for team building from October through March.
1. Break the monotony of short days and long nights
One of the benefits of a winter team building event is that you give everyone something to look forward to. Typically, during winter, there are fewer activities for people to participate in. Therefore, planning fun games for your teams can help boost team morale.
2. Boost productivity and team effectiveness
Planning fun, team building activities in winter is an excellent way to strengthen your team’s effectiveness. Typically, productivity decreases in winter. This could be due to staff illness, a lack of motivation, or extra stress due to holidays.
3. Promote good mental health
Team building helps to create a supportive and collaborative environment in the workplace. This is especially necessary from fall through spring, as many employees struggle with mental health issues during winter. Additionally, team building is a way to develop good social relationships, which are vital for a person’s emotional well-being.
4. Recover after the exhausting holidays
Many don’t realize how exhausting winter can be due to all the holidays. They start with Thanksgiving and Hannukkah and end with Christmas and New Year. All of this can cause stress, exhaustion, and strained relationships.
One study found that post-holiday blues cause people to feel empty, depressed, lonely, stressed, and have an overall sense of loss. Therefore, employers must provide a healthy work environment so employees can recover from the holiday season. And what could be better than a fun activity to get the whole team together?
The Top Nine Team Building Events For Winter
As the weather begins to turn colder, it can be an excellent time to plan team building corporate events. Of course, the benefits of activities to bring together employees is well documented. But due to the impact winter has on the workplace, team building activities in winter are even more vital.
Here are nine of the best team activities that can strengthen your company culture, support employees, and help teams function together more effectively.
Human Dog Sled — A Fun Team Building Event For Winter
One of the best outdoor team building activities for winter is the Human Dog Sled Challenge. Perfect for a snowy environment, this is an excellent opportunity to reward employees by participating in an exhilarating outdoor activity. In addition, this winter activity helps bond teams by promoting efficient teamwork, marketing strategies, and effective branding.
Benefits of the winter team building event
- Better communication and listening skills
- Help adapt to unexpected changes
- Strengthen project management skills
Plan a Community Charity Event – Anything It Takes
Many nonprofits and charities are busy during the holiday season. However, there is still a tremendous need for volunteer work after the New Year. You could check out Full ilt’s Anything It Takes to support a local cause or charity.
For example, you could hold a drive in the office to help collect foodstuffs, volunteer for different organizations, or donate useful items. Anything that gets teams involved and doing something good for others will make the beginning of the year great.
Benefits of the winter team building event
- Promote effective communication
- Encourage time management and planning
- Executing high-pressure strategies
The Wheelchair Connection — A FullTilt Team Building Event for Winter
Building wheelchairs is another team building event in winter with a charitable cause. The Wheelchairs for Charity event is an unforgettable experience for anyone taking part. The teams are tasked with delivering fully assembled wheelchairs to a local charity. This meaningful event brings together team members and creates connections with the local community.
Apart from helping to impart corporate skills for working in a stressful workplace, the event teaches the need for empathy, care, and compassion.
Benefits of the winter team building event
- Help develop leadership and time-management skills
- Make a sizeable donation to charity
- Promote collaboration and teamwork
End Hunger Games Charity Event – A Charitable Winter Team Building Event
During winter, you could plan an indoor event to collect non-perishable food items for local food banks. The End Hunger Games event is an engaging event to bolster creativity, friendly competition, and teamwork. Teams must collaborate to construct themed structures out of food cans. These are then donated to local charities or food pantries.
Benefits of the winter team building event
- Create a memorable experience for all involved
- Boost team morale
- Encourage healthy, open communication, collaboration, and teamwork
Dining in the Dark — A Winter Team Building Activity
What could be better than organizing a culinary team building event during the winter months? For example, Dining in the Dark is one of the most popular winter team building activities. You can plan this for any meal and in almost any location. The benefit of this team activity is that it turns an everyday event — eating a meal — into a useful, skills-learning event while enjoying a delicious meal
Benefits of the winter team building event
- Foster trust among team members
- Have an unforgettable meal with colleagues
- Open up your senses
Office Scavenger Hunt
Cold, dark winter days are the ideal time to arrange scavenger hunts in the office, another facility, or a warm exotic location. Scavenger hunts are an ideal winter activity for groups of people to work together and compete against each other. They are also great ways to bring people together and build camaraderie within a workplace.
Have you considered arranging a winter retreat that includes an outdoor scavenger hunt? FullTilt offers a wide range of corporate activities to take your team on a retreat to warmer climates. We organize team building events in the southern states, Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.
Benefits of the winter team building event
- Take your team to warm, exotic places to escape the harsh winter weather
- Give something back to employees and show your appreciation
- Enjoy a wide range of fun team building activities in warm locations
Divine Wine Experience
Why not get your teams together for the ultimate in wine experiences? The Divine Wine Experience allows participants to build a wine rack from corks, create their own wine blend, develop a brand, then market their wine blends. At the same time, team members learn more about wine.
This energetic workshop is more than knowing how to distinguish a merlot from a burgundy. Instead, it teaches ownership, engagement, and marketing strategies.
Benefits of the winter team building event
- Help to encourage appreciation for teamwork
- Develop problem-solving skills
- Increased knowledge of wine through tasting
Outstanding Performance Through Art
You can help team members think outside the box by organizing various art-themed events in winter. For example, the Outstanding Performance Arts activity is perfect for breaking the monotony of dark winter months.
Teams get the chance to develop their creative skills. This involves painting during a series of challenges set to music. After each challenge, there is a discussion of how the participant performed. This helps to develop real-world skills to improve team collaboration and creative thinking in the office.
Benefits of the winter team building event
- Blue Ocean thinking (outside-the-box problem solving)
- Develop skills to work effectively under pressure
- Improve time management and planning
Virtual Team Building Event for Winter
There are a host of virtual team building activities that you can plan for winter. These are not just for remote employees. In-office workers can also take part in virtual events. Many of these allow team members to take part from the comfort of their warm, cozy homes on a dark winter’s night. Additionally, virtual holiday party games can create a fun event to get into the holiday spirit.
How to Plan a Team Building Event in Winter
The winter season can often be a rough time for employee morale. However, with the right team building activities, you can help your employees get motivated and enjoy working through the winter months. And there is a ton of activities that you can organize to boost team morale in winter.
Are you having trouble coming up with an idea for your next winter team building activity? If so, we can help you plan your next event. Call FullTilt at 310-400-6285 or complete our contact form to discuss your team building goals. We can help organize a wide range of events, large and small — from small-scale activities like scavenger office hunts to large retreats in warm winter climates.