21 Online Spirit Week Ideas for Work in 2023

Here is the list of our best online spirit week ideas.

Online spirit week ideas are activities or events that foster company culture and boost team morale. Examples include online tea parties, virtual tie-dye parties, and virtual office Olympics. These activities promote team bonding and employee engagement and boost employee satisfaction.

These events are examples of remote employee engagement initiatives and virtual team building ideas. These activities are similar to online fun Fridays.

This list includes:

• online spirit week activities
• games to play online during spirit week
• virtual spirit week event ideas

Let’s get started!

List of online spirit week ideas

From Virtual Tie Dye Parties to Virtual Costume Contests to Virtual Paint Parties, here is a list of online spirit week ideas.

1. Reverse Roles Wednesday

On Reverse Roles Wednesday, the whole team gets to try something new! Instead of folks doing their usual jobs, they switch roles with their colleagues for the day. This exercise means colleagues get to see what it is like to do different tasks and learn more about each other’s jobs. Plus, this activity is a fun way for the team to understand the different parts of their group and work together in new ways. Members may even learn they are interested in a new part of the business they did not know about before!

2. Tropical Thursday

Tropical Thursday is all about bringing a bit of sunshine and island vibes to the virtual workplace! On this day, the team dresses up in Hawaiian shirts, beach clothes, or any outfit that makes them feel like they are on a tropical vacation. Participants might also change their virtual backgrounds to show a beach or a sunny island. This simple activity is a cheerful and relaxed way to add some fun to the workday.

3. Global Cuisine Day

Global Cuisine Day is a day to celebrate delicious foods from around the world! Each team member picks a country or a dish they love and shares it with the team. Colleagues can show pictures of the food, talk about its flavors, and even share simple recipes. Optionally, teams can have this discussion in advance and then choose a dish to cook and eat together! This activity is like having a virtual potluck where the team gets to enjoy a variety of tasty dishes and learn about different cultures.

4. Deskercise Day

Deskercise Day is about staying active and healthy, even when working at desks. Throughout the day, teams take short breaks to do simple exercises right at their desks. Exercises could be stretching, standing up and moving around, or even doing quick exercises in their chairs. Deskercise is a great way for the team to keep their energy up and make sure they are taking care of their bodies, even when working remotely.

Here is a list of quick desk exercises to get you started.

5. Pajama Power Hour

Pajama Power Hour is one of the top online spirit week activities that keeps work comfy and relaxed! Instead of dressing up in usual work clothes, teams wear their favorite pajamas during virtual meetings. This exercise is a fun way to add a touch of comfort to the workday and create a laid-back atmosphere. Employees still get their work done, but they do it in the coziest way possible!

6. Virtual Tie-Dye Party

Virtual Tie-Dye Parties are a brilliant way to promote creativity among teammates. In this activity, teammates will meet over video call and have an interactive tie-dye session. Employees can use T-shirts, scrunches, head ties, or dresses. To personalize this activity, you can send plain white shirts customized with the company logo to teammates before the meeting.

If the teammates have no experience or knowledge of tie-dye. You can hire an expert to train employees virtually. Then, teammates can wear their colorful company shirts on a designated day during the work week. You can make this event even more engaging and fun by awarding prizes to employees with the best patterns and tie-dye outfits.

Here are some fun team building kits you can mail to employees.

7. Virtual Costume Contest

Virtual Costume Contests during spirit week are fantastic online activities. Team members get to dress up as their favorite characters or public figures.

Here is how to organize this activity:

1. Select a theme, like Disney or Hollywood.
2. Participants must dress according to the chosen theme.
3. Distribute virtual meeting links to all employees.
4. Set up a virtual background matching the chosen theme.
5. Each teammate gets a turn to showcase their costume.
6. Encourage live voting for the best costume using the platform’s live polls feature.

To enhance the fun, consider offering prizes for categories like the most creative, funniest, or cutest costume. You can also reward the best character imitation. Besides live video judging, create a shared photo album or social media page for staff to vote by engaging with posts.

8. Remote Game Shows

Remote Game Shows are fun and exciting activities that help employees engage and feel comfortable with each other. Employees can play games such as Online Jeopardy, The Chase, and Chain Letters.

To organize this activity:

1. Select fun games like Jackbox, virtual Jeopardy, scavenger hunt, and online puzzles.
2. Email meeting invites to employees.
3. Split teammates into smaller groups to promote healthy competition.
4. The winning team gets a reward.

You can spice up these activities by having snacks or drinks delivered to employees before the start of the event. This activity is one of the best online spirit week games because it helps build strong relationships among teammates and increases employee interaction.

Here is a list of remote game show ideas.

9. Zoom Office Olympics

Zoom Office Olympics is one of the best games to play online during spirit week, boosting team collaboration and cooperation. This activity also helps promote problem-solving skills and communication among employees.

To organize this activity:

1. Split teammates into groups of four to six members.
2. Organize virtual games like virtual amazing races, typing speed races, Pictionary, virtual marathons, and online Battleship.
3. Keep track of each team’s points.
4. Reward the winning team with prizes or virtual medals.

This activity is one of the best online spirit week contests because it builds team morale, promotes team bonding, and helps employees build good work relationships.

Check out this guide to online office Olympics.

10. Online Tea Party

Online Tea Parties are excellent activities that create a relaxing and fun environment for teammates. This activity brings employees together in a pleasant and elegant setting.

To organize this activity:

1. Send tea packages and fancy tea sets to employees’ homes.
2. Meet via video call.
3. Choose a fancy and pleasant virtual background image.
4. Chat and share ideas as teammates enjoy their tea.

To enliven this event, you may encourage employees to dress their best for it and send snacks and food to teammates before the event. This activity helps to deepen existing relationships and help develop new friendships among teammates.

11. Virtual Dance Challenge

Virtual Dance Challenges are an exciting activity that creates a fun and relaxing team environment. This activity helps improve employees’ moods and boost cognitive performance.

To organize this activity:

1. Create a playlist of trendy songs on any music platform.
2. Play music.
3. Teammates show off their best dance moves.
4. At the end of the dance challenge, teammates must vote for the best dance performance using the in-app live poll feature.
5. Reward the winner and runners-up.

You can spice this activity up by sending drinks and food to teammates before the start of the event. The teammates need to eat to build up their energy after the event. In addition, this activity allows teammates to show off their talent, helps ease stress, and improves employees’ mental health.

12. Online Paint Party

Online Paint Parties are brilliant ways to promote employees’ creativity. Participants do not have to be great artists to have a blast. All employees need to do is create unique artwork and make good memories.

To organize this activity:

1. Have painting kits delivered to employees before the event.
2. Choose a perfect picture that employees are going to paint. It is best to stick to a simple color scheme.
3. Encourage employees to have fun and paint.
4. Teammates can also take photos with their paintings when they finish.

This activity is an excellent way for teammates to create lovely memories, socialize, and collaborate. Online Paint Parties may also allow teammates to discover their creative talents and help ease stress. This activity allows teammates to relax and bond with each other.

13. Virtual Spirit Award Ceremony

Virtual Spirit Award Ceremonies are an excellent way to honor employees with exceptional achievements and contributions to the company. This activity helps promote company culture and team collaboration.

To organize this activity:

1. Set a budget for the award ceremony.
2. Send food and drinks to employees before the event or provide a stipend for ordering takeout.
3. Make a list of the company’s core values.
4. Have employees vote for the employee they think best fits each value.
5. Create certificates of appreciation or recognition using graphic design tools like Canva.
6. Present awards to nominees.

Allowing employees to vote for their colleagues instead of the company’s management shows that you value their opinions. Involving employees in this process also eliminates favoritism. This activity motivates employees to perform better at work and helps build team morale.

Here are more online award show ideas.

14. Online Iconic Duos

Online Iconic Duos is a fun activity that helps employees to bond with each other. In this activity, employees put up and dress up like their favorite duos. Examples include Sonny and Cher, The Everly Brothers, and Bert and Ernie.

To organize this activity:

1. Pair employees up before the event, preferably with the same gender.
2. Encourage employees to dress up to work as their favorite duos. For example, Bonnie and Clyde, Rick and Morty, Marlin and Dory, Timon and Pumbaa, and Woody and Buzz.
3. Reward the best duo costume.

This activity is a great way to encourage team building and team cooperation. Teammates will also learn to engage and communicate better with each other. Online Iconic Duo also helps foster camaraderie and strengthen employee relationships.

15. Virtual Time Travel

Virtual Time Travel is one of the best online spirit week event ideas because it allows employees to recreate looks from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and even the Dark Ages. This activity helps boost employee interaction and improve employee engagement.

To organize this activity:

1. Choose any period in the past, such as the ’50s or ’70s.
2. Encourage employees to dress according to the chosen theme.
3. Encourage each employee to guess which period each teammate’s costume is from.
4. The teammate with the highest correct guesses wins.
5. You can also play history trivia, and then conclude the event with a costume contest.
6. Have teammates vote for the best costume, and reward the winner.

This activity promotes learning and also boosts interaction between colleagues. In this activity, teammates will learn about important dates, figures, and notable occurrences in history.

16. Remote Coffee Break

Remote Coffee Breaks are a calm spirit week activity that improves employees’ mental well-being and helps to ease stress. This activity also helps to boost employees’ moods and increase productivity. For this event, teammates will meet on any video conferencing platform to chat, share ideas, and keep each other company.

This activity is perfect for the mornings when teammates are just about to begin activities for the day. Each employee will brew a steaming cup of coffee as they chat, share ideas, and keep each other company. A coffee break during the day can also be a great time to chat and even play games. This activity effectively boosts employees’ morale, encourages socializing, and gives employees a sense of belonging.

Here is a guide to remote coffee breaks.

17. Zoom Group Breakfast

Zoom Group Breakfasts are ideal virtual spirit week event ideas to start the work day with team members. This activity promotes a comfortable and relaxing work environment for teammates. In addition, having breakfast together builds strong employee relationships and encourages team bonding. This activity also helps to improve communication and employees’ productivity.

There are a few ways to carry out this activity. You can order breakfast for employees and have it delivered or give employees gift cards to have breakfast in a local restaurant. The teammates will then meet via video call as they enjoy their meal. You can also encourage employees to prepare any breakfast for this activity. A group breakfast is an excellent way to unite employees and promote camaraderie among teammates.

Here are some more morning meeting ideas.

18. Virtual Tacky Fashion

Virtual Tacky Fashion is a fun, engaging activity promoting humor and interaction. In this activity, teammates will meet via video call, and each employee must create the most hilarious fashion blunder possible. For example, suits and crocs, clothes with food stains, or oddly shaped clothing. You can also create a photo gallery where participants can upload their awful outfits if your team is brave enough to leave proof of their fashion faux pas!

This activity is an entertaining and creative activity that employees will enjoy because it builds camaraderie between teammates. You can make this event even more fun by offering prizes to employees with the most hilarious fashion. Teammates will vote for a winner using the live polls feature available on video conferencing platforms like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom.

19. Online Patriot Day

Online Patriot Day is when teammates come to work dressed in their national colors. This activity is an excellent way for teammates to learn about the various cultures within the company. For this event, teammates will meet on any video conferencing platform dressed in their national colors.

Teammates can also take turns showing off local dishes from their country, singing their national anthem, or sharing facts about their country with colleagues. Remote employees can also add their culture’s flag emoji to their Slack profile.

This spirit week theme is a chance for employees to express their heritage at work proudly. This activity also promotes the company culture and inclusivity within the workplace.

20. Social Media Post Challenge

Social Media Post Challenges are great ways to encourage teammates to express themselves. In this activity, teammates post content related to a chosen theme on their social media platforms and tag the company’s accounts. You may also create a simple and catchy hashtag for all participants.

Example of prompts for the challenge:

• best workspace pictures
• picture of your first day at work
• best remote work caption
• best employee swag
• Flip the switch challenge
• best work selfie

This activity helps promote open communication among teammates and builds a collaborative workforce. This challenge also advertises the company’s work culture to a larger audience. You can also turn this into a fun contest by awarding a prize to the best post or caption.

21. Virtual Sports Fan Day

Virtual Sports Fan Day allows sports enthusiasts to support their favorite teams. Team members will dedicate a day to wearing team colors or jerseys and watching live games together on a video conferencing platform. Participants can use platforms like Twitter Live, YouTube Gaming, or TikTok Live for the live stream. Breakout rooms can feature different sports for teammates with varied game preferences. It may be a good idea to mute microphones to avoid noise, and teammates can share comments via the chat box or meet afterward to discuss. This activity fosters team bonding and allows colleagues to enjoy their favorite team performances together.

Check out this list of outdoor team building activities.

Conclusion

Online spirit week ideas are activities that boost productivity and promote collaboration among teammates. These activities also allow teammates to learn new things and build creativity. Online spirit week ideas are easy to organize, and employees can attend from around the world. These ideas are best suited for remote or hybrid teams seeking to boost morale and improve engagement.

Next, check out online retreat ideas and online games to play with coworkers.