Virtual Team Building Activities: 12 Ideas That Are Not Awkward

Virtual team building activities work when they are short, optional, held inside working hours and built so nobody has to perform or share something personal. The ones people dread are long, compulsory and after hours.

This list, for leads of remote or hybrid teams, groups 12 remote team building activities by time, from 5-minute icebreakers to in-person meetups, and says why each avoids awkwardness. They were chosen against the five rules below, using the cited research and GitLab's public handbook; DoneThat has not tested them.

The 12 activities at a glance

Five rules that keep team building from getting awkward

Remote team building gets awkward when it is compulsory, eats into personal time or asks for too much disclosure. The need behind it is real: Gallup reported in June 2024 that 25% of fully remote employees felt lonely a lot of the previous day, compared with 21% of hybrid and 16% of on-site employees (Gallup, 2024). In Buffer's 2023 survey of 3,000 remote workers, those who did not feel connected most often said they had no chance to socialize (56%) or did not know colleagues as people (51%) (Buffer, 2023; vendor research).

Choice matters most. In a Wharton field experiment at a tech start-up, salespeople who accepted a workplace game felt more positive at work and those who did not felt worse (Knowledge at Wharton, 2014). University of Sydney researchers found people resented team building that felt "implicitly compulsory" and concluded that "it must be voluntary" (University of Sydney, 2021).

That research backs the first rule directly, and the last rests on an argued case; the other three are practical defaults:

• Opt-in, with no penalty. Nobody tracks attendance.
• Inside working hours. A 6pm social call costs caregivers and people with second jobs the most.
• Low disclosure by default. Preferences and opinions, not family, health or childhood.
• "Pass" is always allowed. Say it out loud at the start.
• Camera optional. Stanford's Jeremy Bailenson argues that constant self-view and close-up eye contact make video calls tiring, and suggests hiding self-view and making some calls audio only (Bailenson, 2021; he presents these as arguments, not tested findings).

5-minute virtual icebreakers for meetings

Virtual icebreakers work best as a short opening to a meeting you already hold.

1. One-word check-in

Each person says one word, or drops one emoji in the chat, for how their week is going. The host goes first; one round, no follow-up questions. Why it is not awkward: one word asks for almost no disclosure, and the chat version lets quiet people join without unmuting. It fits at the start of a standup meeting or weekly call.

2. This or that

The host reads a pair and people answer in the chat. Pairs that work: early bird or night owl, mountains or beach, call or message, paper notebook or app, sweet or savory. Why it is not awkward: there is no wrong answer and nothing personal, and the answers start small conversations later.

3. Show one thing

Anyone who wants to can hold up one object within reach, such as a mug, a plant or a book, and say a sentence about it. Cap it at three or four people per meeting so it stays short. Why it is not awkward: people choose what to show, so nobody reveals more of their home than they want to.

Virtual icebreaker questions that are easy to answer

Pick one per meeting, answer it yourself first, and say "pass is fine" before anyone else speaks:

• What is one small thing that went well this week?
• What is the best thing you ate recently?
• Which app could you not do your job without?
• What is a skill you would like to learn this year?
• What is a book, show or podcast you would recommend?
• What would your ideal working hours be?
• What are you looking forward to this month?
• What is the last thing you fixed or built yourself?
• Coffee, tea or neither?
• Which season do you like most?

Deeper questions belong in a one-on-one, not a group call; the one-on-one meeting questions guide covers those.

Longer live sessions (20 to 90 minutes)

Give longer sessions a clear format and a firm end time.

4. Random coffee pairs

Two people who rarely work together meet for 20 to 30 minutes with no agenda. At GitLab, people who join a Slack channel are paired by a bot every other Monday, and every new hire schedules at least five coffee chats during onboarding (GitLab Handbook, retrieved 4 November 2026). Why it is not awkward: joining the channel is the opt-in, and talking with one person is easier than performing for a group.

5. Show and tell

Volunteers sign up for a five-minute slot to show something they made or care about outside work, such as a craft or a recipe. GitLab's marketing team runs a Show and Tell call where people share something they have crafted (GitLab Handbook). Why it is not awkward: only volunteers present, and everyone else can listen with the camera off.

6. Co-working call

A standing video link where people work on their own tasks together and chat briefly at the start and end. GitLab's handbook describes these calls, and a shared music room that gathers people "without everyone feeling compelled to speak" (GitLab Handbook). Why it is not awkward: there is nothing to do except work, so it suits introverts and busy weeks.

7. Team trivia in small groups

Run a general-knowledge quiz, not one about colleagues, in breakout rooms of three or four. A rotating host writes three rounds of 10 questions, or uses a free quiz tool, and the breakout rooms are assigned at random. Why it is not awkward: the questions give people something to talk about, and small groups mean everyone gets a word in.

Async activities for teams across time zones

Async activities let people join when it suits their day. They follow the habits of async communication: a clear prompt, a shared channel and no pressure to reply.

8. Photo prompt thread

Once a week, post a prompt in a dedicated channel: "the view from your window", "your lunch", "something blue". Let a different volunteer pick the prompt each month. Why it is not awkward: a window view says little about anyone's private life, and nobody notices who skipped a week.

9. Postcard swap

People who want to take part share an address and send a postcard from their town to a colleague; GitLab team members run a channel for this (GitLab Handbook). Why it is not awkward: it is fully opt-in, and a postcard gives you something to talk about in the next coffee chat. Keep the address list private to participants.

10. Shared playlist

Start a collaborative playlist in a music app such as Spotify or Apple Music, invite everyone to add a song or two, and play it during the co-working call. Why it is not awkward: contributing takes a minute, and listening is optional.

11. Weekly wins thread

Every Friday, post a thread where anyone can share one thing they finished or learned that week. Why it is not awkward: people choose what to share, and it shows colleagues what others are working on. Gallup notes that work itself decreases loneliness (Gallup, 2024); a wins thread puts that work in view, though Gallup did not test wins threads.

When something has to be live across time zones, rotate the time so the same people do not always get the late slot. The meeting planner shows which hours overlap for your team's cities.

Occasional in-person time

12. Team gathering about three times a year

Bring the team together for a few days of mixed work and social time. Atlassian surveyed employees before and after more than 1,600 team gatherings: connection rose by an average of 27%, then returned to its earlier level about four months later, so it recommends meeting roughly three times a year (Atlassian, 2024; vendor research, not peer reviewed). Why it is not awkward: shared work gives the days a purpose, and evenings stay optional. For hybrid teams, aligned office days do part of this every week; see the hybrid work schedule guide and hybrid vs remote work.

On hybrid teams, mixed calls need one extra rule: everyone joins from their own laptop, even in the office, so the room does not dominate. Chat-first icebreakers help, and socials should not land only on office days.

Whichever you pick, run it for a month, then ask the team whether to keep it or replace it with one they propose. Harvard's Michael Norton, whose team found that group rituals make work feel more meaningful over time, advises managers to encourage employees to create their own (HBS Working Knowledge, 2022).

Where DoneThat fits

DoneThat is not a team building tool. It helps with a quieter part of remote connection: knowing what colleagues are working on. DoneThat reconstructs each person's workday from screen and app activity (screenshots are processed and immediately deleted) and writes a daily summary. Each person decides whether a summary stays private or is shared with the team, including to Slack or Discord, which can feed a wins thread without anyone writing from memory. Screen-based capture is a bigger ask than a chat thread, so it only works when each person opts in.

Frequently asked questions

Are there free virtual team building activities?

Yes. Most need only your existing video and chat tools or a free app. Postcards cost postage, and gatherings need a travel budget.

Should virtual team building be mandatory?

No. In a Wharton experiment, employees who did not accept a workplace game felt worse at work, and University of Sydney interviewees resented team building that felt implicitly compulsory. Keep every activity optional and inside working hours.

How often should remote teams do team building?

A practical rhythm: a small weekly ritual, such as an icebreaker or a Friday wins thread, and a longer session once a month. Meet in person about three times a year. Atlassian recommends that frequency because its measured boost in connection faded after about four months.

Start with one small ritual

Start with small, optional habits before planning a big event. Pick one icebreaker or one async activity this week, and check after a month whether the team wants to keep it.

Sources

• Atlassian, Sands, M. (12 February 2024). Office attendance doesn't drive team connection. So what does? Vendor research; surveys before and after more than 1,600 team gatherings.
• Bailenson, J. N. (2021). Nonverbal Overload: A Theoretical Argument for the Causes of Zoom Fatigue. Technology, Mind, and Behavior. Theoretical article; the author notes the arguments are not yet tested.
• Buffer (2023). State of Remote Work 2023. Vendor survey of 3,000 remote workers.
• GitLab. Informal Communication in an all-remote environment. GitLab Handbook, last modified 30 October 2026; retrieved 4 November 2026.
• Knowledge at Wharton (11 February 2014). Gamification: Powering Up or Game Over? On the field experiment by Ethan Mollick and Nancy Rothbard.
• Pendell, R., Gallup (11 June 2024). 1 in 5 Employees Worldwide Feel Lonely. The article's methods note describes a Gallup Panel survey of 19,846 US workers (6 to 16 February 2024); it does not say whether the work-location split also draws on Gallup's global data.
• Senz, K., HBS Working Knowledge (24 March 2022). Rituals at Work: Teams That Play Together Stay Together. On Kim, Sezer, Schroeder, Risen, Gino and Norton, "Work Group Rituals Enhance the Meaning of Work", Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes (2021).
• University of Sydney (25 February 2021). Benefits of team building exercises jeopardised if not truly voluntary. On a qualitative study by Petr Matous and Julien Pollack.

Written by Don, DoneThat's AI coach (LinkedIn) - so this article is AI-written. Every statistic is cited next to the claim and linked in the Sources list, and vendor research is labeled as such. Published by DoneThat (Letss B.V., Amsterdam). More about DoneThat; corrections and questions go to support.