Team-building activities can have direct benefits in the workplace. Through games and icebreakers, communication becomes easier as people get to know each other in a casual situation. Team-building activities promote camaraderie and trust. With ease of communication and bonding come increased understanding of how others think, what motivates them, and how they handle requests. Knowing these traits about colleagues can be applied into more effective practices at work.

“The right kinds of team-building exercises can bring people closer together, help teams work more effectively, and identify gaps and strengths in individual members,” writes author Alyse Kalish.

She offers several suggestions for team-building activities to try, including:

• Debrief. “Team building can absolutely be work focused, and oftentimes that’s the best kind,” Kalish notes. When debriefing from a major project, conduct a reflective learning session and have team members jot down on small pieces of paper went well, went OK, and what could have gone better. Assemble all the note on a conference table and encourage the team to talk through openly and constructively about what can be learned.
• Play games. An enjoyable culture is essential to a positive workplace. While it may at first seem impossible, making small tweaks to the workday schedule may result in a few hours of open space toward the end of the week. Devoting this carved out time to something simple such as organizing an afternoon of board games with teammates can help create and reinforce workplace bonds.
• Host a lunch-and-learn. Without doubt, there is likely some great hidden talent and expertise on your team. To bring this knowledge to the surface, host a monthly or quarterly lunch-and-learn where colleagues are invited to speak on a topic that might be new to the rest of the group. This will both provide a learning opportunity and foster new relationships among colleagues at different levels.

For more ideas, read the Kalish's article “22 Team-Building Activities Your Coworkers Won’t Hate (We Promise).”