Let’s face it – there’s a shortage of fun in all our lives right now. Plus, feeling valued by our employers and connected to co-workers is more difficult as many of us are working from home. We looked around to find fun ideas for using Microsoft Teams videoconferencing tool for cultivating culture within a team that can’t be physically together. Here are our favorite 5 tips:

Breakfast club Mondays: “Every Monday morning, any of Keyfactor’s employees can join a video call,” writes Lisa Ardill of siliconrepublic.com. "They’re encouraged to bring their favorite mug of tea or coffee and chat about how their weekend went. This is a great way to kick off the week with some interactive engagement that doesn’t rely on business talk.”

Daily syncs: “At Skillcrush, we spend our mornings syncing up on video conferences including a 15-minute ‘daily’ in which each team just … talks,” writes Kit Warchol of Skillcrush.com. “In fact, our 15-minute meeting often expands to half an hour because a good chunk of it revolves around us making the sort of small talk you’d usually get at lunch.”

Lunch for 5: “We usually have a randomizer that selects 5 people from across the company each week to get a stipend and go out to lunch together,” said Mathilde Collin, CEO at frontapp.com. “The goal is to encourage cross-functional bonding with people you might not work with day-to-day. This continues to run, but instead people can order delivery and hop on a call to eat and chat."

Open mic Thursdays: “Thursday afternoons at Keyfactor are set aside for a video call dedicated to casual conversation and bonding,” writes Lisa Ardill of siliconrepublic.com. “Employees are encouraged to perform, whether it’s playing an instrument, singing or showcasing another talent. The company referred to this as a fun way of helping staff to decompress at the end of the day and towards the end of the week.”

Messy desk pictures: “When you work in an office, you feel compelled to keep your desk at least minimally clean: no used tissues, 3-day old cereal bowls, or constellations of coffee rings,” writes Sarah Goff-Dupont of atlassian.com. “But when you work from home, there’s no such social contract to uphold. So one of our rituals … is ‘messy desk Thursdays’ in which we out ourselves for the abysmal state of our workstations while the ROTFL 🤣 and 🤦🏽‍♀️ facepalm emojis fly fast and thick. It’s also a chance for your preternaturally tidy teammates to do some humble bragging about their austere, magazine-worthy office spaces.” 

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