One crucial aspect of maintaining a positive work environment is employee engagement. Keeping employees engaged helps to ensure that they are satisfied with their job and leads to them staying with your organization longer.

However, employee engagement has taken a hit since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Lots of people are leaving their jobs to find better opportunities.

According to a Gallup Workplace study, “among actively disengaged workers in 2021, 74% are either actively looking for new employment or watching for openings.”

What this tells us is that employee engagement is more important now than ever. Keeping your team engaged can create a healthy work environment and make them less likely to look for another position.

Coming up with ideas to keep your team engaged can be difficult, though. We wrote this article to cover why employee engagement activities are important and provide some ideas that you can use to keep your team engaged and happy in 2022 and beyond.

Why are employee engagement activities important?

As an employer, it is your responsibility to create a positive work environment and to keep your team happy so that they stay around.

Employee engagement is a big part of that. If your team is engaged and interacts with each other more often, they will stay with your organization longer, and they will be more likely to enjoy working for you.

It’s a win-win situation. You get happy, more productive team members, and your team gets a great place to work.

Employee Engagement Activity Ideas

Themed Parties

Having parties and celebrations in-office can significantly boost employee engagement. These can be short hour-long parties during your lunch break, or they can be after work hours.

The planning and participation in these events can get team members excited about working with your organization.

Examples: Holiday parties, birthday celebrations, etc.

Outdoor Activities

Another great option is team outings. If your team members love being outside and interacting with nature, outdoor activities can be a great choice.

Examples: Visiting local parks, state or national parks, pumpkin patches (in the fall), walking/hiking trails, etc.

Sporting Events

Similarly, if your team is interested in sports, you can take them to local sporting events. Whether it is a minor or professional game, a sporting event can be a great event to bond with employees.

Examples: Local baseball games, professional football or basketball games, etc.

Potlucks (Shared Lunches)

A potluck is a shared lunch where everyone brings a different dish to share. These can be great employee engagement activities because it gets each team member involved and can help people get to know more about each other.

Examples: Picnics, in-office lunches, at-home dinners, etc.

Team-Building Activities

Team-building activities are great for both new teams with new members and teams that have worked together for a long time. They can be competitive or collaborative. The main goal is to force team members to interact and work together.

Examples: Escape rooms (in-person or virtual), board games, scavenger hunts, etc.

Special Fun Days

They might be simple, but special themed days can be great for employee engagement. They allow for some freedom and flexibility, which all team members appreciate.

Examples: Bring your kid/pet to work day, casual Friday, etc.

Volunteer or Charity Events

Giving back to your local community can be a fun way to build relationships with your team. Volunteering around town or holding/attending charity events can be good for the workplace and for the community.

Examples: Planting trees, charity auctions, etc.

Lunch + Trainings Sessions

If you want to integrate training with employee engagement activities, holding your training during a shared meal can be very effective. Catering food and eating with your team while listening to a training session can make the training less disliked by them and boost engagement if you allow for questions and comments as well.

Examples: Leadership luncheons, guest speakers, PowerPoint lunches, etc.

Trivia Games

Another fun activity to get your team engaged is trivia games. Whether the trivia is about your company, about the market your company is in, about trends, or even about something random, they can help team members get excited about working.

Bonus Tip: Catering food is always a good idea and gets your team excited. When in doubt, get food.

Examples: Workplace trivia, book, TV, or movie trivia, etc.

Competitions

A little healthy competition can be a great thing for your workplace. Competition can bring people together and help with team-building as well. Competition gets team members motivated and engaged, whether they are on a team or competing alone.

Examples: Sales competitions, team competitions, etc.

Awards or Recognitions

One great way to get your team excited and engaged is through various awards. Recognition for achievement is crucial for employee engagement. If you show your appreciation for someone’s achievements and accomplishments, they will enjoy working with you more and be more engaged at work.

Examples: Employee of the week/month, top salesperson, most __ in a week/month, etc.

Book Clubs

If your team members are bookworms, holding weekly book club meetings can be a great way to get them engaged and excited about coming to work. A great time to do this is during lunch breaks, as talking about personal interests such as books can be a great way to pass time during a shared meal at work.

Examples: Weekly/monthly book club meetings, one book for everyone to read, etc.

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