Boosting Morale At Work: An Olympics Game

 I love working with my team at the hospital, but sometimes work can be stressful.  The last few years, we have had some obstacles to overcome, and many of the staff as individuals have had difficult life events. 

We have tried morale boosting activities before, but somehow they have seemed to fall short.  People don't seem to enjoy a fun activity if they feel "on the spot" (e.g., if they have to act out charades, answer trivia questions they might get wrong) or if the game or activity feels like too much work (e.g., fantasy football).  

I was thinking I would like to do something around the winter Olympics this year (Opening Ceremony is February 7).  

I wanted to think of an activity that wouldn't put people on the spot and wouldn't be too much work for anyone.  So, I went through the calendar of daily events on the Sochi Olympics site and wrote down what medal events occur each day. I am going to write down those events (there seem to be about 6-8 per day).  For example, one paper might say Biathlon Men's Sprint.  Each morning, I will put papers with the events for the day in a hat, and people can pick from them (you may have multiple copies of the same event if you have a large office).  

Everyone will have their "event for the day" and will be encouraged to watch the olympics for their event.  The next day, whoever had an event in which the USA received a medal will receive points (e.g., 1 pt bronze, 2 pts silver, 3 pts gold).  By the end of the Olympics, whoever has the most points wins a platter full of my homemade double chocolate deluxe brownies.  Yum... Hope I win!