Since the COVID pandemic, most corporations have started to implement virtual team building activities because working from home leads to increased isolation, distractions at home, and workplace disconnect. This subsequently can lead to less efficiency and productivity, not to mention the lack of bonding and interaction as compared to working in the office. Many people have also found it difficult to separate work and life while working from home, which may also contribute to feeling overwhelmed or experiencing emotional burnout.

You can try to make virtual staff meetings fun and engaging by having virtual icebreakers, online team building games, and challenges, and budget more time for virtual socializing while keeping the virtual meetings short. If you’re looking for some ideas then you’ve come to the right place! Here are 25 creative virtual team building activities that can help bring your team closer than ever while still staying safe in the comfort of your own homes.

How Do You Choose the Right Virtual Team Building Activity?

With so many variations of virtual team building games out there, there is no one right answer to the perfect selection of team building games. However, you can take into account a few considerations that can help you choose the most suitable games for your employees or colleagues. Firstly, think about what you want to achieve from the team building activities, for example, to bring the team together to build more trust, address problems and improve performance or build specific collaborative skills that are needed in the workplace.

Once you have an end goal, consider the amount of time you have for these virtual team building activities. Keep in mind that with more time, the team building experience will have more depth and involvement which can help solve any underlying issues that are present. Budget is also an important consideration as expenses are still involved despite activities being carried out virtually. Finally, you can select the activities of your choice according to your end goal, time availability, and budget.

What Are the Benefits Of A Virtual Team Building Activity?

Business owners usually organize team building activities to motivate their employees and strive to gain alignment on organizational, team, and employee and employer goals. Today, virtual team building helps to keep teams connected even when they can’t physically be together. Its popularity has increased ever since the COVID outbreak. There are many advantages to organizing virtual team building activities such as an improvement in communication between staff and departments which will help staff to complete their tasks and solve problems. This will also lead to increased productivity and better morale.

Employers can also identify leaders within the workforce by seeing how each employee approaches the activities given by solving difficult problems with a positive outlook. The confidence level of employees will also increase as they gain more confidence in themselves and each other and have more courage to express creative ideas. A happy and cooperative workplace will naturally lead to better mental health and an increase in the level of trust and respect amongst one another.

25 Best Virtual Team Building Activities For Corporate in 2022

1. Baking

Baking is a great activity to do with your team. It can help stimulate your senses, boost your creativity, and best of all you’ll end up with delicious treats that can be shared with your family and friends. It is even said that baking can help relieve stress, which makes it a perfect choice to help you relax after many days of hard work. You don’t even need to worry too much as you will receive a complete ingredient pack beforehand. 

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improves creativity and innovation
• Enhances communication and teamwork
• Improves the ability to adapt to new challenges

Check it out here!

2. Terrarium Making

If you’ve ever seen a terrarium, you would know they look like cute little gardens in a glass ball, and using this as a team building activity is a brilliant idea. In the session, the instructor will introduce the basic terrarium-making materials such as stone, moss, sand, soil, and so on, and your team will be guided step by step on how to properly place them. After learning the basic instructions, your team will have to use their imagination, creativity, and most importantly their hands to create their very own unique terrarium.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improves work relationship
• Enhances creativity and imagination
• Creates a bond by sharing an experience 

Check it out here

3. Soap Making

It’s nice to take a step back sometimes and enjoy a relaxing activity like soap making. Not only can it help relieve stress, but you will also have a nice bar of homemade soap for yourself. Using homemade soap can help protect your skin since it uses natural ingredients instead of chemicals. In this virtual team bonding event, there will be an instructor to guide your team through every single step. As an added benefit, your team will also gain extra knowledge on different types of soap

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Encourage teamwork and communication
• Enhances creativity, innovation, and imagination
• Develop a unique or new perspective together as a team. 

Check it out here!

4. Batik Painting

Batik is a textile art that is popular in Malaysia and Indonesia, the patterns are usually applied by actual drawing rather than by weaving. Although most batik fabric is now decorated and tailored by machine, there’s always something special about making one with your own hands. During the virtual team building, your team will have a fun time drawing all the shapes and patterns, you can even compete to see who can draw the prettiest flowers. 

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Promotes stress relief
• Encourages creative thinking
• Develops team bonding and better collaboration

Check it out here!

5. Brush lettering

Brush lettering is a beautiful craft that is a tribute to hand lettering and calligraphy. Just sitting quietly and drawing letter forms can bring a sense of peace and serenity to oneself. So if you have noticed that your team has been stressed from work lately, this activity will help to calm their minds. It is a great choice if you’re going for a more calm and peaceful activity. During the event, your team members can bond with each other while they do brush lettering.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Relieves stress
• Enhances focus
• Improves creativity and innovation

 Check it out here!

6. Mandala Art

The word Mandala is from a Sanskrit word that means ‘circle’, and drawing them is said to be able to help you connect with a deeper part of yourself. This connection is no doubt one of the reasons why the mandala has great healing energies. The act of colouring, drawing, and painting can be very soothing and relaxing and helps a person to heal and feel at ease. Mandalas have been shown in clinical studies to boost the immune system, reduce stress and pain, lower blood pressure, promote sleep, and ease depression.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Enhances creativity 
• Improves concentration
• Promotes sleep and eases depression

Check it out here!

7. Simulation Games

Simulation games have been growing in popularity, Animal Crossing New Horizons was a simulation game that blew up in early 2020 as it was released at the perfect time when everyone had to stay at home. If you decide to play a few simulation games as a virtual team building activity, Animal Crossing or The Sims are great places to start. In the game, you’ll get to run around and have fun with each other and you will get to see everyone’s laughter and smiles through the video call. This lighthearted atmosphere will surely boost everyone’s mood.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improves team morale
• Improves communication
• Enhances coordination between departments

8. Drum Playing

Playing drums as a team not only creates a great sense of teamwork, but it is also just a very fun activity overall. The act of playing drums as your virtual team building activity encourages people to pay attention to the rhythm, and become more aware of their role or position in the song. Which will improve teamwork among all team members. During this virtual activity, you will get to see each other through the video call and work together and learn as a team

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improves teamwork
• Increases motivation and morale
• Cultivates the courage to try something new

9. Magic Workshop 

Who doesn’t like a little magic in their lives? Everyone loves watching a magician perform magic tricks and are always surprised at what they will do next. But it isn’t hard to do a bit of magic yourself too. Participate in a magic workshop with your team, and learn a few basic little tricks that you can use to wow your family and friends. During the virtual team building, after learning the tricks, you and your team members can also practice with each other through a video call. This way you can master the magic tricks before showing others. 

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Encourages teamwork
• Improves mental health
• Promotes workplace happiness

10.  Virtual Escape Room

Don’t let the pandemic stop you from enjoying a fun escape room! Even if you can’t go to one physically, there are virtual ones that you can play as well! In an escape room, your team will have to collaborate to find clues, complete tasks, and solve a variety of puzzles. By doing this as a virtual team building activity, it helps to improve communication, collaboration, and decision-making skills among all members. It is a great virtual team building activity if you want something more exciting and fast-paced.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Enhance critical thinking skills
• Improve problem-solving abilities
• Encourages teamwork

11. Virtual Workout

Why work out alone when you can work out with your team members? Working out has many health benefits such as controlling your weight and reducing your risk of heart diseases, so do some online workouts together as a virtual team building activity. Turn on your webcams and do some exercising while you talk and bond with your team. After all, staying fit and healthy is always a good thing, so incorporating it as one of your team building activities is a great idea.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Promotes physical health
• Creates a more positive mindset and attitude
• Improves the ability to cope with new challenges

12. Virtual Yoga

Joining some virtual yoga classes with your team is another good option for a virtual team building activity. Not only does it help stretch out your body but it also brings a sense of calm and tranquillity as you focus on the various yoga poses. It is a great way to wind down after a hectic week of working from home. You could just turn on a yoga video and learn from there, that option is free of charge. But it is recommended to engage an actual instructor to guide you through it live. This way, you will know if you are doing your poses correctly.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Increases work productivity
• Cultivates a positive mindset
• Promotes mental and physical health

13. Digital Scavenger Hunt

Another fun activity for team building is doing a scavenger hunt. Of course, since you can’t hide items for your team to physically find, they’ll have to find things from their own home. For a digital scavenger hunt, you’ll need to create a list of subjective goal-based items, for example, find an item that reminds you of a happy memory or find an item that is connected to a fun experience. Give your team a time limit and they will need to come back and share what item it is, and tell the story behind it. 

 Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Encourages teamwork
• Improves communication
• Strengthens workplace relationships

14. Chopstick Holder Making

At a chopstick holder-making virtual workshop, your team will be taught step-by-step techniques on how to create your very own chopstick holder. The materials that you will need to start on this project are a pack of dry modeling clay, a variety of colours, a glaze liquid to make the clay water resistant, and a super fine brush. Additionally, learning how to model clay requires patience and confidence in shaping the clay to the form that you choose

 Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Cultivates patience
• Improves self-confidence 
• Improves decision-making skills

Check it out here!

15. Murder Mystery

If you have a team that loves solving mysteries, then why not take part in a murder mystery game as your virtual team building activity. Many team building companies offer virtual murder mystery games right now, some even go to great lengths with hosts and actors to help you get immersed in the story. Of course, those are a little more costly. Thankfully, there are many companies to choose from and you can pick whichever suits your team and budget. With a murder mystery, your team will have a fun time as they look for clues and hints to solve the case together.

  Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improves communication
• Encourages critical and analytical thinking
• Builds confidence to face tough challenges

16. Building A Storyline

Everyone loves a good story and if you have a great team of creative thinkers, you’ll have a fun time with this activity. In building a storyline, someone will go first with an opening sentence to start the story, then the next person adds a sentence to continue it, and all team members will continue to take turns adding to the story until a full story is told. You can even make it more challenging by not allowing certain words to be used. 

 Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improves creativity
• Helps with listening skills
• Improves team cooperation and communication

17. The Mafia Game

The Mafia game, also known as the Werewolf game, is a very popular party game based on social deduction. There’s a good chance that most of you have played it before or at least know about it. Your team will regularly have discussions together through the video call to figure out who the mafia is. There are many online platforms that you can join or apps that you can download to play it. The best part is that it’s entirely free. So if you want a fun and entertaining way to do team building with little to no cost, then you can give this idea a go.

 Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Encourages analytical thinking
• Improves communication skills
• Improves workplace relationships

18. Cloth Tiger Making

Have you tried a cloth tiger-making workshop before? If you have not, why not try out this interesting DIY activity where you can create your own square cloth tiger key chain. You will learn how to sew, stuff, and glue cute designs onto your handmade cloth tiger, followed by sewing in your keychain to attach it to the finished product. DIY activities can help your team put their creativity and innovation into practice and express themselves through the beauty of DIY artwork. 

 Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improves creativity
• Improves organizational skills
• Develops better planning and foresight abilities 

Check it out here!

19. Lipstick Making

Lipstick is made from grinding and heating ingredients, where heated waxes are added to the mix for texture and the hot liquid is then poured into a metal mould. A natural lipstick is safer with no preservatives and by joining a lipstick-making virtual teambuilding workshop, your team will be taught the basic knowledge of the ingredients contained in a natural homemade lipstick. There will also be a guide on the lipstick-making technique where your team can learn to make natural lipsticks with therapeutic essential oils.

 Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Relaxes and destresses
• Encourages creativity and innovation
• Promotes self-confidence and decision making

Check it out here!

20. Perfume Making

Perfumes are made by extracting scented oil from natural ingredients and these ingredients can include plants, fruits, woods, and even animal secretions. A DIY perfume is a generally safer option as it tends to be lighter with fewer health-related side effects or reactions. At a perfume-making workshop, the team will be taught basic knowledge of perfume-making ingredients, including the benefits of essential oils.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Enhances communication
• Improves decision-making skills
• Increases environmental awareness

Check it out here!

21. Lip Balm Making

Lip balm is a crucial step in your beauty regime because the skin on your lips is thinner and more prone to dryness compared to other areas of the skin. Its wax-like texture also helps shield your lips from dry air, wind, and cold temperature. It is also a healthier skincare choice due to it being made of natural ingredients. By joining a lip balm-making workshop, your team will not only learn how to make natural lip balm but also pick up a basic knowledge of the ingredients needed to make a lip balm such as essential oils and its many benefits.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Promotes teamwork
• Increases environmental awareness
• Improves work efficacy and productivity

Check it out here!

22. Tie-Dye Your Tee

A shirt made using a tie-dye process is a result of folding, twisting, pleating, or crumpling fabric or a garment, before binding with string or rubber bands, followed by the application of dye or dyes. Tie-dye can be used to create a wide variety of designs on fabric, from standard patterns such as the spiral, peace sign, diamond, and the marble effect. By joining a virtual team building tie-dye workshop, you can learn to create a tie-dye T-shirt that you can wear with pride. 

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improves creativity 
• Encourages teamwork
• Promotes better communication

Check it out here!

23. Tote Bag Painting

Tote bags are commonly used for grocery shopping or a casual day out. Its bigger size and flexible cloth material make it perfect for carrying groceries and it is a more eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags. You can carry a tote bag and be fashionable as well by drawing beautiful designs on the fabric of the tote bag. The types of paints that can be used for fabric painting range from opaque, to translucent, to shimmery paints, and the techniques and tools can be very simple or extremely complex. 

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Promotes creativity 
• Helps to destress and relax
• Encourages to be innovative and think outside the box

Check it out here!

24. Bird Bowl Making

Bird bowl making allows you to unleash your creative juices and let your imagination run freely by creating and painting colourful works of art on tiny bowls. This activity will teach you how to make clay dough into all sorts of shapes and you can make your version of a bird bowl. The materials you need at home would include a pack of dry sculpture clay, some tiny bowls, a set of crafting tools, paint, paintbrushes, and 1 paint glaze which is a thin top coat that allows the colour underneath to show through.

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Promotes creativity 
• Improves patience, focus, and concentration
• Improves workplace productivity and efficacy

Check it out here!

25. Acrylic Painting

Acrylic painting uses chemical-based paint and is capable of giving both the transparent brilliance of watercolour and the density of oil paint. When attending a virtual acrylic painting activity, you will require some materials at home such as a canvas board, a variety of acrylic paint colours, a ruler, a pencil, an eraser, and a set of brushes. This interesting virtual activity teaches you how to paint paintings such as beautiful scenery or even a cute Paddington bear drawing. 

Uniqueness of this activity: 

• Improve self-confidence
• Relaxing and therapeutic
• Encourages creative thinking, innovation, and imagination

Check it out here!

Disclosure: This list was compiled by the team at My Weekend Plan after extensive research and shared opinions to suggest helpful recommendations for the public. The sequence of brands is in no particular order so if you have any other great suggestions too, please email us [email protected]. For more information, kindly refer to our copyright, privacy & disclosure policy