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How to make working in an office fun!

5 enjoyable team activities to make everyday office work fun

Ever heard the expression work hard play hard? Personally, I think it’s a very apt saying and one that we tend to inadvertently apply in the TLD offices. We’re a hard-working team with a lot of dedication to the jobs we do, but we also know how to have a good time whilst doing it as well as when we’re having a bit of “downtime”.

I’m not sure if everyone is as lucky as us, so we’ve decided to share a few of the things with you that we do here in the office that bring a bit of “play” into our daily lives!

1. Team lunches

team activities - lunch

You can’t go wrong with a bit of food to brighten the day! Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a daily occurrence as we’re often on different schedules! But it is something we do every now and then and it really does bring up office moral. There are a few different ways we do this:

We might order in some food in and then all take time out to chill out and eat together, allowing us to unwind and enjoy each other’s company.

Sometimes we do what we have nicknamed “Make My Lunch” (We’ve blogged about this in the past – take a read here). This is where one team member dons their apron and cooks up a culinary feast. A fair bit of pressure on the chef you might say, but it’s always a lot of fun!

Lastly, we might all leave the office (gasp!) and go out for lunch at a local restaurant. There are loads around Soho and I’m making it my personal mission to eat my way through them all!

2. Tea and coffee runs

Team activities - coffee

Now I know this might look like an obvious one, but tea and coffee are vital ingredients in the happiness measure in a design agency! We have an unwritten rule that everyone makes tea and coffee for everyone else so that we are sure never to be suffering from tea deprivation! It’s also a way of showing care and kindness towards fellow team members which is always a good thing!
Plus we all know that a lovely cup of tea or a steaming mug of coffee can help cure all sorts of things, from cold fingers (mugs = instant hand warmers), to bad day blues. We all need a little pick-me-up every now and then!

3. Office chair races

Team activities - chair race

This has actually happened! We did briefly contemplate moving the computers out the way so we had more space, but decided that was beyond our level of effort-giving. So instead we decided that the smaller entrance hall was a good a place as any. Which turned out to be fine considering the “no feet on the ground” rule – you don’t realise how much effort “air swimming” takes until you have to swim your way across a room using nothing but body momentum and an office chair!

4. Office banter

team banter

Whilst we work hard we also take time out to chat to each other and have a laugh. Whether for 3 mins or 15 mins, it’s always good tension reliever. It’s a proven fact that if you smile (even if you’re in a bad mood) it will immediately improve your mood. The simple action of thinking about smiling and using the smile muscles is enough to trigger happy chemicals in the brain. Aren’t we clever!
So taking time out to have a chat with team mates can be an instant mood booster!

5. Wine Fridays!

team activities - Wine Fridays

Need I say more! Almost every Friday we wind down in the afternoon with a beverage of choice, whether it be a glass of wine, a bottle of beer or a shared bottle of prosecco. It’s a lovely way to end the week and socialising with your team mates on a more social level does wonders for team morale.

So there you have it, an insight into a few things that make our office a happy environment on a day-to-day basis! There are many other team activities we do, such as evenings out and team weekends away, which you can read about here. I’m sure there are many more and every office is different – why not think about what makes you happy in your office? We’d love to hear about it!

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