Following my recent blog on Spicing up Virtual Meetings, it appears that lockdowns and working from home full time is here to stay for a while yet. But fear not, our team, particularly our people2people Melbourne team have become pros at handling the rollercoaster ride of keeping the team positive and engaged in challenging times.

Here are some of my favourite activities you may or may not have introduced to your team.

Mindful Mondays / Wellness Wednesdays – a team member volunteers to run a virtual yoga, Pilates, meditation or stretching class once a week. It’s a great way to relax and break up the day.

Step Challenge – as competitive recruiters, it’s no surprise that this has high engagement across all branches. I would recommend using the app StrideKick for teams of up to 10, you can set a variety of challenges including a team goal or highest steps in a designated timeframe. Healthy competition to encourage getting away from the desk everyday, especially in the cold winter months, helps with keeping active, motivated and positive.

Reality TV lowdown – a personal favourite of mine! Any reality TV junkies like me get together to discuss the latest episode of their guilty pleasure.

Online cooking classes – a volunteer demonstrates to the team how to make their favourite dish. We would run this on a Friday night and enjoy a meal virtually together. I have heard colleagues say thanks to this idea they have multiple delicious meals added to their recipe rotation at home.

Cocktail making classes- another Friday night (or its 5 o’clock somewhere) activity. We have seen classic cocktails and created p2p coloured concoctions to enjoy virtually together.

Trivia nights – another Friday night or afternoon break activity. Know your audience, pick topics and questions that will engage the team.

Art Challenge – a handful of classic art paintings were shared for the team to recreate. The entries were very impressive. The judging panel, the entire people2people group!

And finally and most importantly celebrate the long awaited Donut Day with… donuts! I remember when our MD in Melbourne organised a delivery of fancy donuts to all our homes when Melbourne hit zero cases in 2020. It’s hard to say what tasted better, the donuts or freedom, but it was a very ‘sweet’ gesture.

With any virtual social events, we always make a conscious effort to not talk about work or the dreaded C-19 word. The point is to try to switch the focus to lighthearted ideas and enjoy seeing colleagues socially. Please feel free to use any of these ideas and introduce them to your team. If you have any other fun suggestions for people2people to try, please share in the comments below.  The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.