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Last updated on May 3rd, 2025 at 08:12 pm
As the school year is nearing its end, it’s a great time to start thinking ahead to what you may envision for next year. One thing that comes to mind is the type of working environment you have at school. Is it supportive and positive or negative and toxic? If the latter, dependent upon the degree of negativity and toxicity, you may want to look for a new position at a new school. If considering this option check out my post What to Do When You’re Questioning Your Career Choice. If you feel there is hope for your school, and that it could become great, this post is for you! It’s all about how to build relationships in the workplace to create a positive and supportive environment.
Just as building relationships with your students is important (more on that in my post Building a Caring Classroom Community), building relationships with your colleagues is important, too! It’s part of what makes going to work joyful and something you look forward to doing each day. It, also, contributes to the success of students. When all school staff work together for students, they can accomplish so much more! But how do you create a workplace environment like that?
One way is by creating opportunities for the staff to get together and get to know each other on a more personal level outside of school hours, or during, if admin approved. Sometimes this is the job of a committee such as the sunshine committee or social committee. Sometimes it is up to the staff to engage with each other and create those oppportunities. Here are some suggestions to get you started!
Relationship Building Activities
1. Start a Book Club- Many teachers are readers! Start a school book club. The book club would read one selected book a month and, then, get together to discuss it. In next week’s post, I’ll go more into detail on how to start a book club at your school!
2. Meet at a Low-Key Restaurant or Bar- Choose a nearby location (maybe one with a teacher discount 😉) that can accommodate a larger amount of people where arrival and departure time can vary. That type of location works best so staff isn’t worried about getting there late, or feel uncomfortable leaving before others. Pick a date and time (Usually right after school is best!) Then, send out a flyer with the info for staff. Note: Don’t wear shirts with your school logo to the location.
3. Play a Sport/Exercise Together- Find out what the staff is into. Is it pickleball, bowling, yoga, zumba, walking. etc.? Organize a time for interested staff to get together to do that sport/exercise. An activity such as yoga could even be done at school, if there is space available.
4. Trivia Night- Find a local trivia night to join and interested staff can sign up as a team or multiple teams. Have fun together AND earn cool prizes!
5. Beautify the School Together- Think of ways to beautify the school and do it as a staff! You could plant flowers, paint a mural, or pick up trash. Time spent together will build relationships and improve the look of your working environment! Click this link for an infographic with the benefits of campus beautification from FMX.
6. Volunteer Together- Find a project where everyone can pitch in! An animal shelter, Habitat for Humanity, and soup kitchens are a good place to start. You may, also, be able to support a program that is local to where you are!
How to Fund Relationship Building Activities
Right about now, you may be saying, “Wow, these sound fun, but how am I going to fund this?” The answer to that is, you are not going to pay for this alone!
If your school has a fund intended for this purpose, use it! Make sure what you choose qualifies for the fund use as appropriate to the school. If not, everyone pays there own way.
Money can be collected before the activity if something needs to be reserved or purchased, or staff can pay at the completion of the activity. It’s easier than ever before to collect money with Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, or cash.
End Notes
The above are just suggestions to get you started on staff activities to build relationships in the workplace. The sky is the limit!
What got me thinking of the idea for this post was a colleague who sent a Google form to gather ideas for activities to do as a staff next year. You could do the same at your workplace, too!
Keep in mind the amount of staff that attend an activity will vary for a myriad of reasons. The most important thing to do is include everyone in the invite. Along with teachers, include admin, office staff, assistants, custodians, and cafeteria staff. You may be surprised by who shows up and who you make a connection with!
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