How to Encourage Better Mental Health Through Remote Team Building

The topic of mental health at work is becoming more and more visible, with some two-thirds of full-time workers having experienced burnout in their careers. What's more, 43% of Millennials and 44% of Gen Z workers have recently left a job as a direct result of burnout. As employers across all industries strive to combat stress at their companies, we’ll take a closer look at how remote team building can encourage better mental health in the workplace.

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What is Virtual Team Building? 💻

To put it simply, virtual team building is the act of bringing teams together for group activities they can do remotely through video calls. It can be used with a variety of aims in mind, such as improving teamwork and collaboration, ice-breaking for remote teams who aren’t familiar with each other, or simply breaking the working week up with a bit of fun!

Virtual team building can take on a wide range of forms, usually voted on or chosen by the management tied to a specific team. Team games, virtual escape rooms, group meditation sessions, and classes are just a few of the most popular virtual team building options.

When it’s done right, virtual team building can go a long way toward increasing employee engagement at work and building more cohesive and sociable teams.

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Why is Virtual Team Building Important? 🙌

Virtual team building can have a range of great advantages for a given group of employees. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest benefits: 

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• Increasing Morale: Perhaps the best thing about virtual team building is that it produces a more positive, hospitable working environment. It does this by fostering closer relationships between colleagues, designating a space to have casual conversations, and generally letting people have some fun! 🤓

• Boosting Creativity: Even if the chosen activity isn’t to do with problem-solving, virtual team building can be a great way to boost creative thinking. By breaking up the isolation of remote working and talking in a group, employees can expose themselves to new ways of looking at challenges, and trying out new approaches to old problems without the fear of failing. 🎨

• Improve Communication: Good communication is important for any team, but it becomes even more essential for remote workers who lack opportunities for regular in-person conversations. With virtual team building exercises, employees will be thrown into an environment where they’ll have to communicate effectively and go out of their way to understand their colleagues. This can lead to more cohesive relationships and better results on team projects! 💪

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4 Ideas for Encouraging Better Mental Health Through Remote Team Building 😌

Workplace mental health is a complex subject with a lot of varying causes and solutions. Though it may not be a magic bullet, virtual team building can occupy a space somewhere between a long coffee break and a stay in a luxury rehabilitation center, giving workers a great little mood boost and help them through the day.

Here are 4 of our favorite remote team building ideas for encouraging better mental health.

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1. Virtual Mindfulness Classes 🧘

Mindfulness classes are one of the most direct and accessible team building activities that managers can use to improve workplace mental health. Led by a practiced instructor, these classes will run participants through a gentle guided meditation session designed to help them relax and put their stressors in perspective. 

💡 Why does a virtual mindfulness class help with mental health? In these sessions, your team is given actionable tips and tools to assess how to healthily approach a work-life balance.

How to get started 👉 We can help you organize a professional mindfulness class here!

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2. Recognition Sessions ⭐

Recognition sessions are a specified time for everyone to get together in a video call and give any shout-outs for hard work and achievements that happened in the week prior. These are great for ensuring that employees feel seen by their coworkers and feel encouraged to perform at their best.

💡 Why does employee recognition help with mental health? With a reduced level of regular peer-to-peer interaction, many remote workers can do with a little reminder that their effort is being recognized and appreciated.  

How to get started 👉 Spread the love with Workplace Gratitude! 

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3. Tea Tasting ☕

Another great activity for stress relief, virtual tea tastings bring teams together to sample a variety of calming teas, while learning interesting tidbits about their histories and preparation. This activity places a lot of emphasis on relaxation and mindfulness and manages to be memorable and unique without straying into expensive or inconvenient territory.

💡 Why does a tea tasting session help with mental health? Studies have long shown the tea plant’s interaction with our brains leads to a feeling our relaxation without drowsiness!

How to get started 👉 Steep into relaxation in this virtual tea tasting experience!

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4. Virtual Escape Rooms 🧩

This team building activity offers all the fun and intrigue of in-person escape rooms while keeping the logistics nice and convenient for everyone. With a wide variety of themes and backstories, these games require teams to find clues, solve puzzles, and work together to escape a given scenario, usually in a timeframe of around 60 minutes. 

💡 Why does a virtual escape room help with mental health? This activity is a great way to stimulate some easy-going conversation, during and after, and build closer working relationships while unwinding at the same time. 

How to get started 👉  Treat your team to a virtual escape room here!

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Create healthier & happier teams with Confetti! 🥰

If you’re worried about the state of mental health in your employee experience, we hope this article has given you some great ideas to bring your team closer together and help everyone de-stress. For more ideas on building better remote teams, check out these diversity and inclusion activities!

Need help creating a health & wellness event plan for your team? We’re here for you. Give us a shout at [email protected]!