If we spend an average of 90,000 hours at work in a lifetime, for some of us, that will add up to a lot of time spent under fluorescent lights staring at a screen. Getting outside can make you healthier; from helping to improve mental health to increasing productivity, leaving the screen behind can have a positive impact on your health and output.
As an employer, of course you want your employees to be happy, healthy and productive. And given the studies mentioned above, it’s clear that encouraging your employees to go outside is one way to help improve their lives. With that in mind, we’ve got the top outdoor team-building activities to get your employees outdoors and working together.
1. Support your local sports team
Whether you choose a professional or semi-professional team, getting outside to take in a sporting event is a great team-building activity. The time away from the office allows colleagues to get to know each other in a more relaxed setting and employees are united through cheering on the home team!
2. Be a tourist in your own city
Check out your city through the eyes of a tourist. Choose a popular tourist destination in your town and take a tour. Consider indulging in a food tour, testing your balance with a Segway tour or hitting the waters with a boat tour. Your employees will appreciate the time out of the office and the break from the 9 to 5 grind. Who knows, you may even learn something new and gain a new appreciation for the city you call home!
3. Hit the links at a corporate golf event
What better way to enjoy the sunny warm weather than taking a swing at a nearby golf course. You don’t have to be a pro to appreciate the breathtaking vistas and it’s always fun to learn something new. Mix teams with different skill levels to help coach beginners and play a tournament style such as Best Ball or Scramble that keeps the pace moving and limits frustration for the newbies.
Low cost/no cost team-building activities
Working with a tight budget? No problem! We’ve got options for outdoor corporate team building activities that won’t break the bank.
1. Host a scavenger hunt
Try a scavenger hunt to improve team dynamics and get your employees moving. Last year, Adecco held a scavenger hunt for our employees across Canada in support of Win4Youth, our global sporting program. Adecco branches and corporate departments across Canada competed against each other by submitting photos and videos of the team working together to perform challenges issued by our corporate head office. Need some ideas for fun clues to add to your scavenger hunt? These are a couple of the challenges we issued to our teams last year:
- Take a picture with your doppelganger
- Take a picture of your team doing their best yoga pose
- Take a picture with the president of the company
- Take a picture of a Canadian icon
- Take a video of your team and strangers dancing.
2. Volunteer
Improve office morale and give back to your local community by volunteering as a team this summer. Volunteering is a great way to boost employee engagement and give back to those less fortunate, all while highlighting your organization’s corporate social responsibility program. Helping employees feel better about themselves and the organization they work for.
3. Set up challenges for your team
For team-building games without materials, think about introducing daily/weekly/monthly challenges for your employees to get them outside and away from their screens for a little while. Company-wide Couch to 5K challenge? Monthly department meeting in the park? Nature photography competition? The activities and amount of friendly competition are specific to your teams, but by encouraging your team to take a break and flex different muscles can help make them more productive and ready to work when they get back to their desks.
It’s why Adecco supports the Win4Youth program, where Adecco colleagues, clients and temporary employees track their kilometres and sporting hours in support of a corporate donation to Plan International based on our results. It’s a program that introduces a small level of competition into our day and allows us to see our activity and where we’ve made improvements. If you’re an Adecco client, join us here!