Is it possible to buy your way toward a loved office culture?

Short answer, no. However, we have all seen photos or heard rumors about offices like Google or Facebook. We all have that fri...

Jonathan Fields

CEO/Cofounder at Assembly

July 22, 2018

Press the button to generate random icebreaker questions.

There are 300 more icebreaker questions at the bottom of the article

How would you describe your job to a five year old?

What season would you be?

What is a weird food you have tried? Would you eat it again?

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Would you go in the mother-ship with aliens if they landed on Earth tomorrow?

What is your favorite season?

Do prefer working from home or the office?

What is your earliest memory of this job?

What is the best thing you have bought so far this year?

What is the earliest book you remember?

If you had to move to another country, which one would you choose?

You are the best criminal mastermind in the world. What crime would you commit if you knew you would get away with it?

What is your favorite movie genre to watch?

What was the last thing you ate?

What person from history would you add to Mount Rushmore?

What is a weird fact you know?

What is your favorite part of working from home?

Were the Spice Girls a good team?

Imagine you can instantly learn any language. Which would you choose?

If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?

Which fictional team is the best team of all time?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What do you usually eat for a quick lunch?

What simple food will you never eat?

Show us the weirdest thing you have in the room with you right now.

Would you rather stay at a hotel or an AirBNB?

What is your favorite movie genre to watch?

Are you more productive in the morning or at night?

Who is someone in your community that makes a difference?

Who was your most unique pet?

Choose one famous person from history you want on your team during a zombie apocalypse.

What is a good way to give back to the community?

Which song could you listen to over and over again?

Is Hugh Grant funny?

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

Would you want to have an imaginary friend today? Did you have one as a child?

What actor or actress would you want to play you in the movie about your life?

What is the best super power?

What is your New Years resolution?

You can only eat one food again for the rest of your life. What is it?

What is the best work holiday?

What is the first gift you remember receiving?

Would you rather join Metallica or Backstreet Boys?

What is the best example of a community you have seen?

What is an easy way to do something nice for someone?

Show us your phone background and tell the story behind why you picked this image.

What was your first job?

Pick any band to play at your funeral.

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing for the rest of your life, what would you pick?

Which superpower would you give to your arch enemy?

What is the most obscure superpower you would want?

What emoji best describes how you are feeling right now?

If you could live in any country, which country would you pick?

Would you rather live in a city or a town?

What is your favorite holiday?

What is something you accomplished as part of a team?

What is your standard office lunch?

What is your most used phone app?

What is your favorite season?

Have you ever won something as a team?

Imagine you are a professional baseball player. What is your introduction song?

Beach holiday or ski trip?

Have you ever been to a funny comedy show?

Would you rather live at the North Pole or the South Pole?

What is your favorite song to sing?

If you could live in any state, which state would you pick?

Imagine you could teleport anywhere. Where would you go right now?

What is the most unusual job you have heard of?

What was the last thing you ate?

You can visit any fictional time or place. Which would you pick?

What do your family and friends think you do all day?

What movie do you wish you could watch again for the first time?

Show us your most-used emoji.

What was the most unique style or fashion trend you ever embraced?

What movie defined your generation?

You are stranded on a remote desert island. Are you alone or with your worst enemy?

What is your favorite knock-knock joke?

Have you ever told someone Santa is not real?

Do you know how to speak more than one language?

On a scale of 1 – 10, how much of a team player are you?

What is your #1 recommendation in this city?

What is your favorite holiday?

What bucket list item do you most want to check off in the next six months?

What is your favorite mythical creature?

What was the first way you made money?

If you could be great at any Olympic sport, which would it be?

Which song could you listen to over and over again?

When did you start liking/hating mushrooms?

Where is your favorite vacation spot?

Do you take your PTO all at one time, or another way?

Which show do you remember most from your childhood?

Which beverage goes best with pizza?

Would you want to have a personal assistant follow you around everywhere and do what you asked of them?

Have you ever met your idol?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

Would you rather live 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future?

What is your hobby?

When you are alone in the car, what volume is the music at?

Imagine you no longer have to work. How would you spend a Tuesday?

What is your favorite type of sandwich?

Generate A New Quesiton

Short answer, no. However, we have all seen photos or heard rumors about offices like Google or Facebook. We all have that friend who works for a company that has kombucha on tap, catered brunches and a giant coffee machine that makes sugar free almond milk cappuccinos.

Unfortunately, most offices don’t have the budget or time to invest in an HR department that can provide bean bag chairs or nap pods for their employees. In fact, ninety percent of companies in the U.S. have less than twenty employees, and probably no HR department at all. The reality is that buying your way into company culture can work for some, and it might work for a while, but what happens when the employees need something more than material satisfaction?

The founders or CEO of a company creates a path that the company and its employees follow. The company’s culture is a mentality and a lifestyle that begins at the top of the ranks. Despite modern workplace trends, company culture goes beyond stand up desks and in-house gyms. The boss can do so much more than purchasing toys for your employees in order to mold a company into a space that people enjoy and thrive off of.

There is a strong dichotomy between the office environment of large tech companies, and really, everybody else. A boss can and should make an active decision to bridge this gap by implementing a system to promote a positive and proactive company culture.

There are really only two ways to build a sustainable culture. First, management needs to create an environment where people do not get punished for bold ideas or sharing their opinion, but, once the decision is made, both sides need to commit to the outcome. Second, and the core theme of this post is the fact that positivity from the top trickling down to the bottom is the only way to build a sustainable and proactive company culture.

Source:

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-employment-by-firm-size-has-a-fat-tailed-distribution-2015-6