Thank God It’s Friday! Also known to the Monday through Friday workforce as “TGIF.”  Is it time to celebrate the end of a long work week? Or perhaps rejoice in an amazing work accomplishment?  Actually, does anyone really need an excuse to partake in TGIF fun?  What better way can a corporate team leader acknowledge a job well done than with some fun Friday activities involving interactive theater and rewarding team building games? A fun Friday activity is a great way to rejuvenate employees and let loose.  Read below to learn the importance of fun Friday activities, some effective team building games and a memorable fun Friday activity.

While fun Friday work activities definitely help to get a weekend off to a great start, there are other reasons why they are important for employees. 

• Makes work environment more social and fun. Fun Friday activities help coworkers get to know one another in a different capacity, whether they are working in a remote location or in person. When people are motivated and enjoy their work, they are eager to see the business succeed. 
• Fosters employee morale. Completing a rewarding experience with colleagues can help create a positive work environment and encourages people to appreciate one another. Completing a fun Friday activity together can help team members identify their common work goals. 

• Builds trust in each other.  Team building games can encourage coworkers to better depend on each other or more effectively collaborate together. When team members trust each other, they are more comfortable sharing ideas and solving problems creatively. 

• Connect employees together.  Fun Friday activities are an effective strategy to connect employees from different departments who otherwise might not get a chance to interact. This end of the week interaction can be helpful when trying to build repour amongst departments. 

Dress down Friday or team building games such as charades or scavenger hunts were some of the fun Friday activities corporate leaders used to rely on pre-pandemic.  However, since the onset of the pandemic and the gravitation towards remote work, in-person, fun Friday activities have had to be reconsidered.  Likewise, different entertainment venues have also been redefined. Corporate leaders are seeking out virtual choices for team building games, especially virtual theater—a genre apart from cinema theater.

While some companies might have had a Friday afternoon cinema theater experience in the past, the pandemic shifted in-person activities to those remote, especially if the majority of employees work from home. Fortunately, the rise of interactive, virtual theater has helped maintain fun Friday activities that are interactive and safe. Virtual theater productions are also live performances, simply transmitted through a platform such as Zoom.  A wonderful example of virtual theater is Live in Theater’s virtual murder mystery series. Once an individual experiences the depths of an interactive virtual murder mystery, cinema theater might seem a bit humdrum and passive in comparison.

There are some important considerations when considering effective team building strategies. Here are some tips for choosing the right team building games: 

• Shares an experience. Team building games which work towards a common goal helps to increase relationship intensity and bonding. A wonderful fun Friday activity is to participate as a group in a virtual murder mystery. Teams collaborate together to investigate and solve fictional and true-crime murder mysteries performed by Live in Theater. Teams have to use strategies to solve the crimes. They share a common experience of collecting evidence and interrogating suspect, which is a very memorable, unique experience between team members. 

• Offers unique opportunities. A fun Friday activity such as participating in a virtual murder mystery is original and somewhat out of peoples’ comfort zones. Positive energy is increased among team members when they try something new and challenging together. Solving a murder mystery as a cohesive group encourages teams to approach the evidence critically, strategize together and overall helps employees to come out of their shells. 

• Inspires creativity.  Solving a murder mystery in the process of team building games allows for team members to use their creative energies. During an interactive theater performance, participants are required to reply in real time, to be able to respond creatively when put on the spot. The positive energy generated from the experience allows for team members to continue to think creatively and generate exciting ideas, long after the team building game has ended.

Beyond the importance of team building games, what makes Live in Theater’s murder mystery shows worthy of fun Friday activity status?

An important part of employee satisfaction and appreciating a fun Friday activity is for team members to simply have fun and enjoy themselves. What makes sharing in a Live in Theater virtual murder mystery theater entertaining? 

• Playacting with friends and strangers. Interactive theater is a thrilling and fun experience which encourages interacting with friends and strangers. It is exciting to take on the role of a detective and search for clues, or interrogate suspects. 
• Helping the storyline to evolve. The murder-solving journey is filled with bursts of humor and strange twists.  

• Become part of the performance. Immersive theater allows participants to truly feel the emotions. Participants engage with the actors with total freedom and creativity. 

• Experience emotional intensity. The transformation from spectators to actual characters is an experience with a range of intense feeling. Imagine the utter eeriness of being part of a deadly situation such as an unsolved, real-life, historic crime.  

• Relish in fame. Any fun Friday activity which allows participants to experience stardom is rewarding! Participants get to feel what it is like to be in the limelight. 

• Enjoy exceptional acting. Live in Theater’s acclaimed interactive actors are talented performers who create a hilarious and compelling murder mystery show. The cast are wonderful storytellers, able to engage participants fully in an incredibly challenging and fun experience

A murder mystery team building game is a perfect fun Friday activity. Employees will be delighted and amazed by such a compelling virtual experience. TGIF will take on a whole new meaning when a Live in Theater’s murder mystery show is on the fun Friday activity agenda!