43 Team-Building Questions for Work

Working with a disconnected team that doesn’t really know each other sucks. We know how bad it is to sit through a 60-minute zoom meeting that’s full of silence and forced attempts at conversation and dialogue. That’s why team building is now more important than ever.

Team building is a process that involves individuals coming together to find common ground, establish trust, and strengthen relationships. One way to build trust, respect, and a sense of community is to proactively ask team-building questions. Team-building questions can help you connect with people easily, determine whether your team members have similar interests or goals, and learn about essential moments in their lives that caused them to take the career path they did.

Here are 43 great team-building questions you can use at work to get to know your team members better.

What Are Team-Building Questions?

Team-building questions are designed to help people learn more about each other and their team as a whole. They’re typically asked in a group setting because they encourage interaction and get people thinking about their answers. They can be used as team icebreakers before meetings, during indoor team building activities or virtual team building activities, or when meeting someone for the first time.

Questions that you might ask in a team-building setting can range from simple to complex. The goal, however, is always the same: to connect with the people you’re working with. When asking a variety of questions and listening to what others have to say, people feel more comfortable around each other and start building relationships.

How to Use Team Building Questions

Taking the time to get your team involved with icebreaker questions at the start of meetings can be a great way to start building the foundation of trust. You can naturally incorporate team-building questions into your meeting agenda, or you can write a question on the whiteboard in the meeting room so everyone sees it as they enter and find a seat. 

If you are a remote team, send out a question in your company chat or via email before the meeting starts so your team has a few minutes to think about their answer. Whatever creative idea you choose, be sure to build a few extra minutes into your meeting agenda for conversations that come out of your team-building question.

43 Examples of Team-Building Questions 

There are a variety of different kinds of questions you can ask that will aid in creating strong and cohesive teams.

Background Questions

Background questions ask about a person’s history, such as where they are from, what their upbringing was like, or their favorite memory or toy from childhood. Who knows —maybe several members of your team can bond over being into Monopoly as children. Other types of background questions could include:

1. What is your favorite childhood memory?

2. What did you want to be when you grew up?

3. What is something most people wouldn’t know about you?

4. Where did you grow up, and how did you end up here?

5. Do you speak any other languages? Is there a reason you learned it?

6. What was your first job?

7. Who was your best friend growing up?

Funny or Random Questions

Funny or random questions are great because they’ll make your teammates laugh and keep them engaged. They’re more fun to answer, and they can help lighten the mood if things start to get tense or serious. This type of question could be something like:

8. What is the best prank you’ve ever pulled?

9. What is your phone wallpaper?

10. What is your favorite joke?

11. Tell us an embarrassing story of something that happened to you.

12. What is one word you can’t stand to hear?

13. What cartoon character would you choose to be for one day?

14. What is the silliest thing you believed as a child?

Would You Rather Questions

“Would you rather” questions force you to determine which choice is better. This is a good tool for team building because it encourages critical thinking and gets people talking. Some lighthearted “would you rather” questions include: 

15. Would you rather travel to space or travel to the past?

16. Would you rather be on a game show or a reality show?

17. Would you rather travel by plane or by car?

18. Would you rather always have a full phone battery or a full tank of gas?

19. Would you rather vacation at the beach or in the mountains?

20. Would you rather have everyone you know be able to read your thoughts or see your internet history?

21. Would you rather have unlimited respect or unlimited power?

22. Would you rather give up air conditioning or internet for 1 year?

23. Would you rather have a personal maid or a personal chef?

Hobby Questions

Hobby questions help people relate to each other more by learning how team members spend their time outside of work. You can ask people whether they have hobbies that are similar to yours, which will help bond you with the person asking the question and create a deeper connection. Examples include:

24. What talent do you wish you had?

25. What would you do if money and time were not an issue?

26. What is your favorite video game?

27. Do you have any hidden talents?

28. What is your favorite sport to watch or play?

29. Do you play any instruments?

30. What is a passion you have that you haven’t tried yet?

Food-Related Questions

If there’s one universal language, it’s food. There are few topics that will get your team more animated than talking about the amazing new restaurant they tried last night or the dish only their grandma can make to perfection. Some great food-related questions to get the conversation going include:

31. What is your favorite meal to make?

32. If you had to eat one food for the rest of our life, what would it be?

33. What is the best meal you’ve ever had and why?

34. What is your least favorite kind of food?

35. What toppings do you like on pizza?

36. What is your go-to happy hour drink?

“If You Could” or Hypothetical Questions

Questions that begin with “if you could” challenge your team members to imagine a particular hypothetical scenario. These kinds of questions uncover the values your team members have and help you learn what’s most important to them.

37. If you could solve one social issue, which would it be?

38. If you could live anywhere, where would you live?

39. If you could turn one day into an additional weekend day, which day would you choose?

40. If you could get free items from any one store, which store would you choose?

41. If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

42. If you could live in any decade, which would it be?

43. If you could control the weather, what would every day be like?

Importance of Team-Building Questions

We know, sometimes those icebreakers can be awkward, but trust us when we say they have a purpose. Asking questions is important because they’re a great tool for creating connections. They also serve as a great way to get to know people better.

If you have a remote or hybrid team, asking questions may be one of the most effective ways to get to know each other. Asking thoughtful questions will help you learn more about your team members and help them feel more comfortable around you. You  might even be relieved to hear that after starting a few meetings with those icebreaker questions, things will start to get less awkward.

Above all, the most important takeaway is that the questions you ask must be open-ended. If the answers are “yes” or “no”, you walk away with next to no new knowledge about your team members. Before your next meeting or team-building event, have a few of these questions on hand so you can start having engaging and informative conversations with your coworkers.

You spend a lot of time at work — make things more enjoyable by building stronger relationships with your team. A team that feels comfortable with one another will be happier, healthier, and productive in the long run. When your teams enjoy working together, you’re on the right track to a thriving organizational culture that attracts and retains the best talent available.

Team-building questions are only the beginning of creating strong teams. Are you ready to take your company culture further? Talk to a Wellbeing Specialist today and give your most valuable assets the support they need to remain healthy, happy, and engaged in improving themselves as they improve your business.

References

• Herrity, Jannifer. (October 28, 2022). 75 Creative Team-Building Questions To Build Trust at Work. Indeed. Retrieved November 8, 2022 from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/team-building-questions. 
• Robinson, Angela. (September 21, 2022). Team Building Questions for Work: #1 List in 2022. Teambuilding.com. Retrieved November 8, 2022 from https://teambuilding.com/blog/team-building-questions. 
• The 400 Best Team Building Icebreaker Questions for Work. (September 7, 2022). Outback Team Building & Training. Retrieved November 8, 2022 from https://www.outbackteambuilding.com/blog/team-building-questions-icebreakers/.