Welcome to your employed era, where your student adventures end and the next forty or more years of the daily grind begin. This new life chapter is bittersweet and riddled with uncertainties, but you’re ready. You’re excited for the roller coaster rides your career will walk you through. Even on your first day on the job, you can already envision the fully realized versions of yourself that you’ll grow into amid a flurry of deadlines, deliverables, meetings, and… team-building?
Hold on, did you sign up for this?
I’ll cut to the chase: you did. I know, life is already throwing you a career-oriented curveball. Socializing? Meeting new people? Teamwork? Attaching workspace names to faces? It’s like the first day of school all over again. The nerves kick in and it’s a bit much for a new hire to take in. But believe me, you’ll be totally fine. Team-building wouldn’t be such a fundamental asset of work culture if it never promised a fulfilling, worthwhile time away from your responsibilities. Work can still be your top priority, but like your own pastimes and interests, occasional breaks with your colleagues are equally vital to achieving work-life balance and furthering team efforts to communicate properly throughout the daily workflow.
These hands-on collaborative plans won’t always match the adrenaline rush of Jake Peralta’s Halloween heists on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” but that’s the unsung charm of team-building activities: they don’t have to. Much like individual hobbies, there’s a fun-filled endeavor for every energy level that guarantees shared smiles and laughter all around.
Weekly book clubs (Low energy)
Photo: Alexis Brown/Unsplash
Whether it’s hopping on a call or reserving an onsite huddle room, you and your officemates can always make time for a show-and-tell of your current reads. Consistency and accountability are your best friends for making your book club last long-term. If you schedule dates and times to block off, post photos for documentation, and agree on specific titles to discuss every week (with the occasional hear-me-out characters and thought-provoking subplots), then your workplace book club won’t go anywhere. It’s a team-building activity you can keep revisiting even years into your career.
Board game nights (Low energy)
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Who doesn’t love putting your phones aside to gather around for a board game? Maybe it’s a childhood favorite you’ve always wanted to introduce your work friends to. Or a new board game you’ve never played or heard of before—perhaps, one that caught your eye at the All aBOARD Expo 2025 at the Quezon City Meeting, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (M.I.C.E.) Center (officially the biggest board game convention in Southeast Asia, by the way). You’ll all start at page one and learn the rules as you go. There’s nothing like unveiling the quirks and specializations of a board game with a shared end goal of winning.
PowerPoint parties (Moderate energy)
Photo: Diva Plavalaguna/Pexels
This activity takes a little more time to prepare and execute, but effort is the backbone and soul of a PowerPoint party. The whole team gets together for one night and takes turns yapping their hearts out about their current hyperfixations, with informative decks and scripts to boot. The 600-page book you just finished? Your favorite K-pop group’s latest comeback? The K-drama you stayed up all night crying buckets over? Everything’s welcome at a PowerPoint party as long as you present from the heart. No one knows and understands your chosen subjects better than you.
Video game nights (Moderate energy)
Photo: Mart Production/Pexels
It’s time to awaken the dormant gamer and nerd in you for a jam-packed night of video games. You and your colleagues can agree on a roster of video games to play and take turns battling it out in a night-long tournament. There are countless options to choose from, whether it’s console-based games like Mario Kart and Just Dance, or online common-space games like Gartic Phone and skribbl.io. If you’re up for a test of brain power and stock knowledge, trivia nights and company-wide quiz bees are welcome alternatives. Just make sure your prizes are worth all those exhausted brain cells!
Karaoke nights (Moderate energy)
Photo: Singa Karaoke/Unsplash
I don’t want to pick favorites like a kid, but I can never say no to a classic karaoke night. There’s always time for hogging microphones and blasting our favorite tunes over drinks and finger food. Your work friends better prepare their eardrums, because this is the one night where “inside voices” don’t exist—the louder, the better. We’re Filipinos, of course we’ll channel our inner konteseras and treat team karaoke gimmicks like we’re on “The Voice” and “Tawag ng Tanghalan” (save for the spinning chairs, massive gong, and judges’ panel, of course). And if you’re still shy? No pressure! Moral support at makeshift concerts is always a must.
Tournaments and sports fests (High energy)
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Much to my pleasant surprise, the healthily competitive air of sports fests and intramurals doesn’t just stay in high school forever. In college, I cheered for my batchmates as they battled it out in friendly campus-wide matches with their org officers and departments. Now, as a young working adult, I’ve gotten to witness the chaos and high stakes of company tournaments live and in action, with various combinations of parlor games and full-blown sports. This activity, usually stretching through a few days, is most ideal for employees who crave outdoor excitement and thrive most in open environments. From obstacle courses, to tug-of-war, to basketball, volleyball, or even pickleball exhibition games, it’s time to maximize the features and facilities of the common spaces you booked. You’ll probably go to bed sore and in dire need of an energy reset, but it’s well worth the replenished team spirit and prizes you and your officemates won. Wear them like badges of honor. You earned them!
Marathons (High energy)
Photo: Tong Su/Unsplash
If you and your work peers are up for a true test of physical strength and fitness, go all out, wake up at the crack of dawn, and join a marathon together. Channel your inner track-and-field Olympians, add your own competition rules and prizes, share your stats on Strava, and flex your well-deserved medals on social media—the possibilities are endless. You can even chase the sunrise and explore your surroundings by foot! If you’re more active indoors and in closed areas, sign your teammates up for a day of wall-climbing or badminton. You’ll still have a new sport under your belt without as many distractions or hazards.
An afternoon of virtual golf (High energy)
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On June 5, the When In Manila team was in for an afternoon of teeing off at the Alpha Sports Elite golf simulation center at the Green Sun Hotel in Makati. For a first-timer at the sport who has never touched a golf club and golf ball before, it was initially overwhelming and challenging to execute my best swing. But the beginner-friendly pointers, tips, and guidance from the center’s coaches helped me own my stance and channel my inner Bianca Pagdanganan for my first time on a virtual golf course. It was an afternoon full of bonding, core memories, joint first-time experiences, and a newfound respect for golf that we capped off with a hearty and mouth-watering showcase of South Korean cuisine next door at Woori Korean BBQ House. If you and your workmates are feeling sporty and craving premium meats and comfort food that transport you to your favorite K-dramas, this two-part team-building day is right up your alley.
ALSO READ: 10 Venue Suggestions For Team Buildings or Strategic Planning Sessions
Which team-building activities do you and your colleagues want to try? Tell us in the comments below!
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