What is a spirit week?

A spirit week is a series of events that employers can host to help make work more fun and festive. Each day can have a different, unique theme or activity and the organization encourages all employees to participate.

Some employers plan spirit weeks to coincide with the anniversary of the company’s founding, but you can host one at any time of year. This could be a work theme day, where employers choose a day of the week, month or year to hold a special activity. For example, you could have informal dress Fridays, or a yearly charity fun-run event in the summer when the weather is good.

Why consider having a spirit week?

Work theme days and spirit weeks can have several benefits. They can boost employee morale, relieve stress and strengthen the bonds between team members. By providing opportunities to have fun at work, you can send the message that you believe in a work-life balance and value your employees’ happiness and mental health.

Implementing spirit week ideas for work can be a meaningful way to show your appreciation and say thanks to your employees. Some can also provide marketing opportunities. For example, you could share the results of a charity drive via social media and send press releases announcing the results to local media.

Fun spirit week ideas for work

Spirit week ideas can include special events, small activities, changes in dress code and more. Use the following ideas as a starting point and feel free to get creative and come up with some of your own.

1. Contribute to a charity

Encourage employees to make a difference in the lives of others in honor of spirit week. You might hold a pledge drive with different departments or office locations to see who can raise the most money for a charitable organization you or the team selects. Teams can provide daily updates and you can share the current leaderboard via email throughout the week.

Volunteering is another way employees might give back to the community during the week. You could close the office for a day and have employees volunteer at various locations throughout your town or city.

2. Set attire-related work theme days

You could give each day of spirit week a different dress code theme. Here are a few fun themes to consider:

• Sports day: Wear their jerseys, hats, sweatshirts and other apparel that features their favorite team’s logo or dress in the team’s colors.
• Pajama day: Come to the office in clothes they usually wear to go to sleep in..
• Superhero day: Dress as a superhero or wear superhero-themed apparel.
• Twins day: Choose a partner and dress in a matching style.
• Holidays: Come to work dressed in apparel that represents their favorite holiday.
• Eras: Dress in fashions from their favorite time period or era to inspire their outfits.

When choosing work theme days, consider inclusive and accessible themes to ensure safety and encourage participation.

3. Recognize employees

Spirit week can be the perfect time to recognize the achievements of your employees. A member of your C-suite or the business owner could make a speech or write an open letter to the organization. You might choose superstar employees from different departments to honor during the week or shine a spotlight on a specific department each day.

4. Celebrate your heritage

You might include a celebration of the history of your company in your spirit week ideas. This can also be a great opportunity for new employees to learn more about your business. Potential ways to do this are:

• Having a company apparel day: Dress in logo apparel or wear the company’s colors for the day.
• Holding a trivia contest: Quiz employees about the history of your company and see who gets the top score.
• Dressing like the founders: Have your employees come to work dressed in the style popular at the time of your company’s founding.
• Encouraging creativity: Host a poster and/or video contest, encouraging employees to represent your company’s history and arrange the artwork in a gallery for employees to tour or show the top videos at an afternoon event.

5. Incorporate food and meals

There are many ways you can incorporate food and dining out options into your spirit week. Remember to keep food options inclusive of different dietary needs and preferences, as well as within budget for all of your employees. Consider the following ideas:

• International Food Day: Ask employees to prepare foods that represent their culture for a potluck.
• Food truck day: Hire a few food trucks to park outside during lunch hour.
• Company barbecue: Grill outside and host a lunchtime picnic.
• Breakfast for lunch: Consider hiring a caterer or local restaurant to serve breakfast fare during lunch hour.
• Taco Tuesday: Create a taco bar with options for different dietary requirements.

5. Include family and pets

You can choose ways to include your employees’ families and pets. Here are some spirit week ideas you might try:

• Host an event: Hold an after-hours event and invite families or loved ones to attend. You could choose a hotel conference room or restaurant for the event or rent out a movie theater, museum, golf course, bowling alley or other venue.
• Organize pet picture day: Ask employees to bring in framed photos of their pets and create a gallery for everyone to tour.
• Emotional support animal day: Consider allowing your employees to bring pets into the workplace or have an outside animal specialist bring in a support animal for your employees to interact with.
• Bring someone to work day: Have employees bring their child or pet to the office for a day.
• Throw an open house: Open your business up after hours so employees can bring family and friends for tours of the office, refreshments and a meet and greet with your executive team.

6. Maximize kindness

This can involve encouraging your employees to help and support one another and to look for opportunities to be kind to people they encounter outside of work. Some other ideas include:

• Making signed cards for colleagues
• Asking each employee to explain what they were grateful for on that day
• Encouraging employees to show appreciation for each other by swapping small gifts or exchanging compliments
• Starting a channel on your messenger app for people to share words of encouragement

7. Hold international meetups or a virtual party

If you have international office locations, holding international meetups could be a great opportunity for your teams to meet up and get to know each other. Consider basing this spirit week event around a theme, workshop or presentation so that everyone has a shared purpose that they can bond over. Here are a few examples:

• An international spirit week festival or party
• A global summit or conference held during spirit week
• Knowledge exchanges
• Virtual office international meetups

Alternatives to spirit week

There are several reasons why businesses might want an alternative to spirit week. They might see it as a missed opportunity for genuine connection and growth, particularly if they focus on costumes or themes. For more options that invite cohesion and group celebration in a way that encourages inclusion, here are a few examples:

• Heritage week: While some businesses might see it fit to avoid celebrations associated with a culture or religion, a heritage week could be a good way to foster inclusion since it provides an opportunity for employees to learn about each other’s cultural backgrounds. This could look like sharing stories, recipes, knowledge and encouraging thoughtful, sensitive questions.
• Community service day: Not only does this help teams to bond with each other over a shared goal, it also helps your business to connect more with your surrounding community. Also known as Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV), you could encourage employees to take paid time off to help at a local charity or organization for the day.
• Giving seasonal bonuses: Your employees might prefer a financial reward for their hard work, rather than a party or similar activity. While team bonding is a priority, consider all of your employees’ needs, including financial perks.

Spirit week provides an opportunity for employees to get together and celebrate, without attaching it to any particular theme or tradition. With themes like dressing up, events or games, this variety of options helps bring your employees closer together. If spirit week isn’t quite what you are looking for, then other options like community service days, seasonal bonuses and heritage weeks could be good alternatives.