They say there’s nothing like a little friendly competition to bring people together. After over two decades in the team building trenches, we can confirm that it’s not just a saying; it’s a much-needed workplace revolution.
According to Gallup, employee engagement in the U.S. hit an 11-year low in 2024. This is a challenge that calls for innovative solutions.
Today, we’re exploring why and how to boost workplace productivity using team competition games and activities. We’ll also highlight some of our favorite options to get you started.
Welcome to the Era of Purposeful Play
Let’s be real—the days of trust falls and awkward icebreakers are long gone. Today’s teams crave meaningful, engaging experiences that unite people with evidence-based methods like workplace competitions.
A 2019 study found that newly formed teams experienced a 20% increase in productivity after playing video games together for just 45 minutes. That’s a giant leap for the amount of time invested!
It’s no surprise, though. Research has shown that adults who engage in even small amounts of play can offer significant benefits. For example, it can:
- Relieve workplace stress
- Improve brain function
- Boost creativity and mental engagement
- Enhance relationships and connection with others
- Keep you feeling young and energetic
- Improve people skills
- Teach better cooperation skills
This list could go on for a while, but you get the idea. It’s hard to argue against all of this, plus the 20% boost to creativity we mentioned earlier.
How Does Friendly Competition Drive Us to Do Better?
Friendly competition is a motivator because it pushes us to exceed. In work competitions, we’re driven to exceed our own capabilities and those of our teammates and coworkers.
Competitive team building games like a scavenger hunt or a card game help your team relax and unwind. In doing so, your employees are encouraged to collaborate, cooperate, and spend time together, building social bonds that boost teamwork.
The Roosevelt Principle: Beyond Worker Competition
“Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
It’s easy to imagine the dark side of too much competition, especially in the workplace. Sore losers can quickly spoil the fun, while overzealous winners can just as easily ruin a good thing.
How do you keep team building competition games friendly while still encouraging people to compete with each other?
Well, that’s one of the secrets we’ve perfected with over 20 years of experience. Almost all of our programs feature some type of team building competition games because we’ve seen the powerful impact of these elements firsthand.
Friendly Team Competition Ideas: Our Top 3
When we’re aiming for friendly competition, we turn to our game show programs. These are structured around the knowledge that friendly competition brings out the best in teams. They’re not just about winning—they’re about creating moments where your team can celebrate their collective and individual brilliance.
We take pride in these programs for a reason. They’ve proven to be effective at engaging teams, improving collaboration, and boosting productivity time and time again.
Our ever-expanding list of game show programs is a hit with repeat clients who love the edge that friendly competition adds to the workplace. Here are three of our most impactful (and popular) games, each designed to address different team building needs:
Foodbank Showdown: This one’s a charitable twist on Price is Right-style game shows where teams compete to win “showdown coupons” to purchase actual groceries for local families in need. It lets you combine charitable impact with engaging, friendly competition.
In It To Win It: This game is an action-packed teamwork competition featuring a series of 60-second challenges inspired by Minute to Win It. It’s designed to encourage camaraderie and laughter as teams battle through hilarious activities like “Cone Head” and “Full of Hot Air.”
Survey Says: This one’s a hilarious adaptation of Family Feud that gets teams guessing top survey answers and engaging in friendly competition at a game show podium. It’ll test how well they know each other and their company culture while adding a healthy dose of improvisational fun.
These game show programs offer excellent ways to encourage friendly competition among your team. Most of these friendly team competition ideas are based on TV shows or games everyone is familiar with.
With that familiarity comes the feeling of experiencing something special with each teamwork competition. Talk about a break from the daily grind!
The Competitive Spectrum
Not all friendly competition is created equal. Competition without empathy and fun is just noise. It takes careful planning to maintain an environment where every team member feels valued and connected with their colleagues.
Over the years, we’ve found that the sweet spot is a carefully calibrated environment where:
- Individual victories and contributions are celebrated
- Learning and growth matter more than the final scores
- Collaborative success brings people together
- Everyone feels psychologically safe
With this in mind, we work to create moments of friendly competition that build genuine connections through memorable experiences as a team. This can forge new bonds between team members, reveal hidden team dynamics, and, as a result, transform the energy in your workplace.
Our facilitators are specially trained to keep the games friendly and exciting. They’ll make sure bragging winners or sore losers won’t spoil the event for anyone.
Pump Up Your Team With Workplace Competitions
Are you ready to revolutionize your team’s dynamics? At TeamBonding, we’ve mastered the art of turning competitive energy into collaborative superpowers so you can enjoy a happier, more productive team.
Our research-backed programs are meticulously designed to create lasting impact in the workplace. Every team member becomes a catalyst for change when you balance challenge with inclusivity and ensure every participant feels like a winner.
The future of team building isn’t about trust falls or tired motivational speeches. It’s about intentional moments where friendly competition leads to connection, and purposeful play improves performance.
Let our facilitators guide you through experiences that don’t just build teams—they transform them. Ready to energize your team with purposeful, friendly competition? Contact us today, and we’ll make it happen!
