Fun things to improve work and make colleagues smile

[NeonLover]

I’d like ideas of things I could do or bring in for employees/colleagues to cheer up our working day or give everyone a boost. Already get bonuses and good amount of leave etc so I’m looking for small acts of fun

eg baking and bringing in cakes, Easter egg at Easter,

Is this your business and they are your employees? Or do you all simply work together?

At work we started doing a daily crossword together. Sounds a bit sad but is actually really fun! We just do The Guardian quick crossword as it's online and just the right amount of difficulty. This is with a team of 6.

Always food where I work 🤣
Team drinks/socials/offsites.

Bringing in cakes,, chocolates, Easter eggs etc are always good.

Arranging bowling trips, meals out can put pressure on people in terms of time and money.

Maybe once every so often have a bring-and-share lunch.

Definitely food! I started an annual Easter Egg hunt at my place. It's since been taken up by the social committee so I don't have to do it any more. They also run a themed lunch every month, bringing in different cuisines for people to socialise over.

We have a jigsaw. Everyone is trying to do a couple of pieces a day.

Somewhere I worked once someone baked fresh pastries before work and brought them in. They went down really well as they were still warm from the oven.

We do the local daily newspaper quiz at 3.45 every day. Yesterday I was the only person who knew what hagiography was.

Depends on the size of the team. A couple of things that were introduced where I used to work were
Random acts of Kindness ( allocated a person) didn’t have to cost money. Some bought small gifts, chocolate bar, fancy pen, something personal, left it on their desk whilst others did a rota job or a duty for them.
Senior staff provided a cooked breakfast/ croissants etc once a term. Wellbeing days with pamper/ activity sessions once a year maybe.
Need a few staff for this but there was a rota for sending round a positive/ uplifting or amusing message weekly. Some were printed and displayed.
Someone used to bake weekly during Great British Bake off. At my daughter’s last place of work they drew names of contestants and the week that your person went out you took cakes or savoury item in.
Maybe ask the team for ideas?

I always have a vase of daffodils on my desk at this time of year, gives the office a nice lift.

These are great ideas thanks. Not my business but I manage a team

Ask them?
Any of the suggestions thus far are nice, but all can backfire, eg flowers can trigger allergies, cakes might not be suitable for gluten intolerance, social events outside of work time could exclude those with caring responsibilities.
It's great that you want to do something like this, but starting with ideas from your staff might be a good plan.

Years ago we did a guess the baby competition across a department. The pictures were on a notice board and you had to fill in a card. It was so funny seeing the photos but also nice bonding too. It sparked a lot of conversations about peoples lives afterwards, yeah I was in Mexico, yes that was my Mum who died when I young, my grandad had a butchers shop etc etc

I like the crossword idea!

Sorry to be miserable but I struggle with my weight and would absolutely hate cakes, pastries, chocolate etc being brought out regularly with an unspoken obligation to join in, be part of the fun etc. I’d definitely check with the team that they would all like it before starting that one.

Could you go for a wall together at lunchtime or do a litter pick? Something activity-related rather than buying or eating.

We have a fridge that is stocked with a variety of soft drinks, waters, beers and wine.

We also have a social budget, people are encouraged to self organise small social events and can then request to use some of the budget. For example we have board game nights and we request from the budget some money for a few pizzas to be delivered to the office, whilst also making use of the beer fridge. At least once a week there is a social like this, nothing that costs the company extreme amounts either!

Table quiz is always a nice one. Or a bet where everyone pays a small amount and the winner wins the pot. Maybe a sports one and a TV show for those who don't like sports. My family do a silly eurovision one, we don't even care about the songs but it makes voting exciting.

A sweepstake for the upcoming Grand National (5 April). £1 entry and the entrance money divided between the top three.
Encourage people to bring in food bank items, and take to the nearest food bank when you have enough. Just remember not to nag people to bring something in, or comment on what they do!
Have a look and see if there are any local initiatives that people could do together at the weekend if they wanted. Things like a litter pick, or river clearance.

I don’t like cakes, biscuits, sweet things generally. My manager spotted that and when she brought in sweet things for a meeting, she’d bring some cheesy biscuits or similar for me. That’s the sort of thoughtfulness that marks out a good manager, IMO.

Also, the happiest workplaces I’ve been in are the ones where the staff get along well enough to develop their own running jokes, and tea-making systems, and book swaps, and food swaps etc, without these needing to be imposed from the top down.

Our company used to do croissants and cappuccinos on some Fridays after a hectic week and lunchtime pizzas occasionally.
cakes were often brought in by colleagues.

We had a weekly riddle that went on the notice board. First person to answer correctly on the day had to make up the riddle for the following week.
One colleague used to post some words of wisdom on a Friday before she left too - just a silly message saying something funny/positive but not too twee.

One of those filter coffee makers with the hot plate. I got one second hand, cleaned it up and took it into work. People took turns in bringing in the ground coffee.

We do a weekly smile - something that has made us smile goes on a post-it. Even in the shittest weeks it gives everyone a chance to lift a mood!