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Halloween can be fun for adults, too! Use these Halloween employee engagement ideas to increase engagement through team-building fun with a spooky twist.
1. Host a themed potluck
Schedule a Halloween-themed potluck and encourage employees to make seasonal foods. There are plenty of simple Halloween-themed appetizer and desert ideas that aren’t too difficult to make, even for the culinary-impaired. Potlucks give people an opportunity to gather in the office for a casual lunch with minimal cost. This is great for building rapport and promoting a sense of belonging to the organization.
2. Host a pumpkin decorating contest
Another low-budget Halloween employee engagement idea is to host a pumpkin decorating contest. Even novice artists can create awesome Jack-o-lanterns using free printable pumpkin stencils. Alternatively, decorate a pumpkin without the mess: use paint or adhesive accessories to avoid pumpkin goop. If you want a clean, permanent Jack-o-lantern, purchase an artificial pumpkin for carving. Limit the pumpkin decorating contest to a company- or industry-specific theme if you’d like to encourage more creative entries.
3. Host a costume contest
Costume contests are another easy way to bring some fun into the workplace. Similar to the pumpkin decorating contest, you can encourage a costume theme relevant to work. Suggest people dress as (light-hearted) caricatures of their bosses or clients, abstract concepts related to your industry, or products employees use to get their work done.
4. Host a scary story competition
There are plenty of corporate horror stories to throw around, and your team members likely have their fair share. Provide a writing prompt for a corporate horror story—e.g., “tell us about a well-meaning HR policy that has supernatural consequences”—and see what people come up with. It gives employees an opportunity to poke fun at some aspect of corporate culture while tying in to the seasonal theme.
5. Throw a party
A company party is an ideal setting for all of the Halloween employee engagement ideas in this list. In fact, if you do all of these ideas on the same day, you’ve basically made an entertaining party on a shoestring budget! Alternatively, consider going all out for a Halloween party. Decorate a few offices as haunted houses, queue up a Halloween-themed playlist, and give employees some time to relax and have fun near the end of the day.