25 Activities to Boost Employee Morale

Remote and hybrid work are now simply part of how many teams operate, and most of us have found ways to settle in by creating a schedule, setting a routine to structure our days, and making the overall experience smoother. While many may enjoy avoiding the morning commute or being able to go for a walk and stretch on our break, working apart still comes with some inevitable challenges, and teams back in the office face their own, from packed calendars to back-to-back meetings.

The way to aid your employees in tackling some of these challenges, at least when it comes to work, is to boost employee morale. It is widely accepted that creating a positive environment where your staff is happy and motivated enhances productivity. However, I would encourage you to think about boosting your employees’ morale not just for the sake of your business but for the sake of your team members as individuals. There are little things you can do as an employer to help your staff feel connected, valued and encourage a sense of job satisfaction.

Below are 25 activities to boost employee morale, grouped into everyday habits, team activities, ideas for new-hire orientation, and ideas for remote and hybrid teams. Pick a few from each group rather than relying on a single big event each year.

How to boost employee morale every day

1. Communicate, communicate, communicate

When it comes to remote working, risking over communication is safer than potentially leaving your staff feeling in the dark. There is one caveat though, ensure you are effectively communicating, choosing a suitable method for more sensitive topics, and knowing when a conversation needs to be private as opposed to public. When it comes to leading your team, communicate with your staff about their specific goals and tasks, you can help your staff see the bigger picture with updates on current projects, clients, and even the overall company mission. Look out for your employees, this can be achieved by regular check-ins, and this might help you identify potential disengagement before it becomes an issue. If you want your employees to trust you, your communication needs to be clear; being transparent is imperative.

2. Celebrate your employees

The easiest way to boost employee morale is to make them feel seen and appreciated. Recognize the hard work of your employees, go out of your way to give them a shout-out, just ensure it is a meaningful and sincere compliment. Do not allow the structure of remote work to prevent you from celebrating birthdays, anniversaries in the company, and milestones; these are important, and your team will appreciate you remembering. Take the time to reach out to an employee to congratulate them on their achievements, any direct client feedback, and if appropriate, do it publicly; it will only take a minute of your meeting, but it will mean a lot to your staff. Similarly, you could encourage your team to celebrate one another, and they may have greater insight into who is really shining.

3. Create a wellness culture

Work on improving your company’s working culture. We often face an almost toxic productivity culture, and finding a work/life balance is difficult enough without throwing remote work into the mix too. Remind your staff about the importance of taking their breaks and working only during work hours; that email can wait until tomorrow. If you would like to take it further, why not suggest a wellness-themed activity? We offer virtual wellness classes, including meditation and virtual yoga, that can help your employees unwind and practice mindfulness, always guided by an experienced teacher. This can help promote a culture of wellness in your company.

4. Help your team connect

One of the most unfortunate aspects of remote working is the lack of connection and interaction. You can tackle this by providing an opportunity for your staff to come together and converse. This may be through a platform like Slack or even a weekly check-in session over video-call. This can be a chance for your team to share both personal and professional news, discuss new and exciting projects, or even brag about a new skill they have acquired.

5. Ask for feedback, then act on it

Listen to your team and how your employees feel. Ask your employees what it is that they need. Is it guidance and support? Is it clear goals and tasks? Is it an opportunity to connect and share? Is it improving your company culture? Take their feedback on board and decide what it is that will best meet the needs of your employees. When you figure it out, make it a constant priority by choosing to engage in day to day practices and habits that will create a constructive working environment, increase employee happiness and keep your employees engaged.

6. Protect focus time and offer flexibility

Morale drops when every hour is booked. Protect blocks of meeting-free time, be flexible about when people do their best work where the role allows, and judge the team on outcomes rather than hours online.

Team activities that lift morale

7. Book a fun team activity

Another way to improve employee morale is to provide your team with a new experience, something fun and unexpected that breaks up the routine. Here at KraftyLab, we offer a wide range of online team bonding activities for your team to enjoy, ranging from a virtual coffee tasting or a virtual mixology class to a relaxing craft activity like candle-making. This will allow your team to not only bond over doing something creative and new together, but maybe learn a new skill or find a new hobby.

8. Host a team trivia game

A friendly quiz is one of the easiest ways to get people laughing together. Split into small teams, mix up departments, and keep the questions light. Run it yourself with free questions, or book hosted virtual trivia and let a live host handle the questions and scoring.

9. Share a team lunch

Food brings people together. Take the team out, order in, or for remote teams, give everyone the same meal budget and eat together on camera. Our virtual lunch ideas guide has more formats, from lunch and learns to cook-alongs.

10. Start a peer recognition wall

Create a shared channel, or a board in the office, where anyone can thank a colleague for specific help. Read a few of the notes aloud at your next all-hands so the thanks travels further.

11. Volunteer together

Pick a local cause, or a volunteering project people can do from home, and give the team a few paid hours to do it together. Working toward something outside the day job gives people a shared sense of purpose.

12. Run a lunch and learn series

Invite a teammate or an outside speaker to teach something useful or fun for 30 minutes over lunch, from budgeting basics to public speaking. Rotate the teachers so everyone gets a chance to share what they know.

13. Try a creative workshop

Hands-on activities like painting, candle making or cooking give people a break from their screens and something to show for it at the end. With a kit shipped to each person, remote teammates can take part too.

14. Set a team wellness challenge

Set a friendly team goal, like a daily step count or a week of stretch breaks, and share progress in a group chat. Keep it optional and celebrate taking part rather than naming winners.

15. Plan a game day or field day

Block an afternoon for games: board games in the office, a field day outside, or quick online games for remote staff. Our list of outdoor team building activities has plenty of ideas for getting everyone outside.

16. Give small, unexpected perks

A surprise coffee delivery, a care package or an early finish before a holiday weekend shows people you noticed their effort. Small gestures that arrive without a reason often land best.

Morale boosters for new-hire orientation

Morale starts on day one. A warm, well-planned first week helps new hires settle in and sets the tone for how they feel about the team. For a full checklist, see our guide to employee onboarding.

17. Send a welcome kit before day one

Ship a small welcome package with company swag, a handwritten note from their manager and anything they need for the first week, so new hires arrive feeling expected. We also put together welcome kits and new-hire gifts.

18. Pair every new hire with a buddy

Assign a peer outside their reporting line who can answer everyday questions and invite them to lunch or a virtual coffee in the first few weeks. It gives new hires a friendly first contact beyond their manager.

19. Play a get-to-know-you game at orientation

Games give new hires an easy way to meet the team without the pressure of a formal introduction. Team Discovery Challenge is a hosted onboarding activity that mixes a scavenger hunt with show and tell, so people learn about each other through the items they find. It starts at $875 for up to 25 people (about $35 each).

20. Share how you like to work

Ask each team member to write a short note on how they like to work: their preferred hours, how they like to get feedback, and the best way to reach them. New hires get a head start, and the whole team learns something about each other.

21. Schedule check-ins at 30, 60 and 90 days

Short, planned conversations help new hires raise questions early and show them that their progress is noticed. Ask what is going well, what is confusing, and what would help them do their best work.

Ideas for remote and hybrid teams

22. Set up virtual coffee roulette

Pair people at random each week for a 15-minute video coffee with no agenda. It brings back the hallway chats remote teams miss.

23. Play games online together

Hosted games on a video call give distributed teams a shared hour of fun without any travel. A murder mystery works well for mixed groups because everyone plays detective and nobody has to act; see our virtual murder mystery games.

24. Open meetings with an icebreaker

Start recurring meetings with a quick check-in question or game, and end a few minutes early when you can. Our icebreaker games for team building list has 40 to choose from.

25. Bring people together in person

If your team is spread out, budget for an occasional meetup or offsite, so remote colleagues get time together face to face. When you do meet, a hosted activity can come to your office: our in-person team building events run in cities across the US.

Whichever ideas you choose, keep asking your team what they need and make morale a regular habit rather than a one-off. Small, consistent gestures add up.