It’s no secret that employees who are happy are more productive and more likely to stick with a company long term. Studies show that 39% of employees who are happy are more willing to work harder in their current role. The hiring process for new employees requires a lot of resources for a business, so focusing on keeping current employees happy is a valuable and worthy investment for any company. Finding the perfect way to engage employees can be a challenge for many businesses, especially those that have large teams; but companies can take a page from schools by throwing annual spirit week celebrations.
What is Spirit Week?
A coveted tradition at many high schools and colleges to get students to celebrate and show support for their school. One week every year is dedicated to driving engagement with students and each day during that week has a fun theme that encourages students to break out their creative skills to dress up, attend events, or play games.
This popular ritual can be applied within a business to help engage employees through themed days and team-building games and activities. To help get employees excited and engaged in an organization-wide spirit week, hand out custom branded swag items like custom tote bags,custom backpacks, and custom lanyards that will help support a sense of teamwork and inclusiveness. We’ve put together some great spirit week ideas for work to help you plan a week of fun for your company that will be sure to break the monotony of everyday office life, boost company culture, and bond coworkers.
Benefits of Spirit Week
Celebrate company culture
– Culture is essentially the personality of a company and is formed by how employees interact and work with each other. Employees who fit into the company culture are more productive and generally happier. Having a unique spirit week idea can help connect employees to one another and the company, as well as promote team building.
Expand professional connections
– It can be difficult for employees to break out of their normal daily routines and expand their networks within the office. Setting up planned activities during an annual spirit week is a great way to help people break out of their comfort zones and get to know their coworkers on a deeper level.
Inspire creativity
– Promoting a creative work environment is valuable for companies that are looking to grow. Creative employees are more likely to be innovative and willing to take calculated risks that can drive business growth. Encouraging employees to think outside of the box when it comes to creating costumes for different themes during spirit week will help inspire and grow a creative (not to mention fun) culture.
Support social causes
– People feel good when making charitable donations or supporting causes they care about. Spirit week can be used to help rally employees around a specific cause or encourage them to support causes that mean something to them, helping boost office morale.
Spirit Week Ideas
- Costume contests – Encouraging employees to break out their best costume ideas don’t have to be limited to just Halloween time. Choose different themes and see who is able to create the most unique costumes. Rather than going the traditional route of themes like superheroes, T.V. and movie characters, pick something more obscure or related directly to your company to inspire more creativity and push participants to think out of the box.
- Host game shows – There are a wide variety of classic game shows that would be perfect for recreating in an office setting. Have employees form teams and think up their own questions, business-related or not. Focus on a different ‘show’ each week, and make it a competition to see which team can score the most points.
- Department breakfasts – Have each department in charge of coming up with fun breakfast ideas and make them for others. If you are a larger company, have everyone bring in their favorite breakfast food to share with others.
- Volunteer – Take a day to give back to the community with employees. Partner with a local food bank or animal shelter that could use extra help for a day and give employees a few hours to volunteer their time.
- Pajama day – One of the biggest perks of working from home is getting to spend all day in pajamas. Give office employees the chance to enjoy working in their comfiest clothes by having a pajama day.
- In-office fitness – Bring the gym to the office and give employees a chance to try new workouts, and get their blood pumping to beat midday slumps. Don’t stick to just the classics; bring in dance instructors or self-defense to make the workout sessions more fun and different.
- Office Olympics – The Olympics may only come every few years, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be held in the office to hold fans over. Pick a variety of different games and activities from board games to trivia and even video games and have employees team-up. May the best country win!
- Revamp company logos – Perfect for any companies that may be overdue for a rebrand. Allow employees to use their creativity to create a new brand or slogan for the company.
- Small acts of kindness – Encourage everyone to take a few moments out of every day during spirit week to practice random acts of kindness around the office. Any act that puts a smile on the faces of others is encouraged, see who can come up with the most unique way to make someone smile.
- Speed networking– Often times employees can get sucked into a silo when it comes to doing their work each day. Set aside some time for employees to get to know their coworkers and what they do through office speed networking.
Gift Ideas for Spirit Week
Engaging employees and encouraging participation for any event can be difficult; however, making spirit week ideas for work a competition and offering prizes for winners is a great way to increase the number of participants. Handing out customized wholesale tote bags at the beginning of each spirit week is a great way to get everyone excited. Fill them with additional branded company items such as lanyards,mugs, or company shirts.
For prize winners, up the ante with more high-value items and gift baskets. Fill custom coolers with supplies for a picnic or camping trip, or stuff a branded backpack full of fun customized tech supplies like power banks,headphones, or USB hubs.
Use the ideas in this article to get your next spirit week underway. Bagmasters has everything your company needs to help support a successful office spirit week with gifts and prizes.
