Devan Moonsamy 

The month of September usually has a hub of activity around culture. It is during this time of the year, that the spotlight is on aspects of cultural engagement. There is hype in the workplace with everyone preparing to dress in their cultural attire to participate in the Heritage Day activities.

However, as much as it is something to look forward to and it can be deemed as a fruitful team building activity, there might be those team members who don’t necessarily enjoy the participation. The lack of enthusiasm and the forced participation might not leave everyone feeling optimistic about joining in on the celebration.

The need for additional involvement for team members in activities outside their work scope might not receive the support you hoped. This is due to the fact that most people in the office find participation in workplace activities forced. They have a lack of enthusiasm and it can infiltrate to others on the team. The lack of enthusiasm and the lack of participation can create negativity around the idea of building a successful team spirit in the workplace. 

Before we look at how to overcome it, we should look at why are team members feeling this way?

There are many reasons as to why a team member might not feel as enthusiastic about participation in team activities. Some team members are driven by their work and might view this as a distraction. Others might have a lot happening on the personal front and as a result they might not feel like they want to participate in tedious activities. 

We should understand that a person’s choice to participate or not to participate should be respected. The same must be communicated to those who are trying to snuff out the light of those who want to participate. The choice of participation is key in restoring the team spirit around team building tasks.

Here are 5 creative ways to get your team to celebrate Heritage Day in the office: 

  •  Start by getting team members who usually drag their feet to participate in these activities to share ideas on how to celebrate culture. Engage not just with these team members but all team members to identify the best possible way to commemorate all cultures. Opening the floor to your team towards a solution for the celebration can get the team members excited about celebrating their culture. If your team is all out of ideas have a group engagement. If the entire team actively participates, the event will be more successful. 
  • Incentivise the celebration. The best way to get people to participate is if they can see value for them in the end. Ensure there is a best dressed, best team, most creative outfit etc. If you are worried it might put people under pressure to have to spend and out shine the others, then engage with the team around the guidelines for this. It doesn’t have to be something like a pageant, but rather just a day to have fun getting to know each other’s culture by dressing in traditional attire. 
  • Try initiating the culture swop. For the sake of knowledge sharing, get your team to swop their cultures. Put down the different cultural groups on paper, shuffle them around and assign them to the team members by allowing them to randomly pick one out of a hat. This is spontaneous and will definitely have them thinking out of the box. The culture swop can be used for dressing and for information sharing. 
  • Ditch the usual drinks and a braai. Instead, take a trip with your team to a historical site in the city. This way they can share more about South African culture. Take a trip to a national site or even visit a few religious institutes to gain clarity on religious beliefs. This will do wonders in knowledge building and also be a field trip for the office-based staff members. If the work load isn’t permitting a road trip, try getting team members to present information from their culture. Have a fun quiz on South African culture thereafter. 
  • Get your team members to learn a new phrase or sentence from a culture group. This can be useful even when assisting customers on the phone. Don’t stop there. Put up some posters with bits of information on different cultures that come from team members around the office. This can be done weekly or even every month. It will help keep the discussion around culture active.

Devan Moonsamy is the CEO of ICHAF Training Institute, a South African Corporate Training Provider & National Learning Institute. He is the author of Racism, Classism, Sexism, And The Other ISMs That Divide Us, AND My Leadership Legacy Journal available from the ICHAF Training Institute. 

The ICHAF Training Institute offers SETA-approved training in business skills, computer use, and soft skills. Devan specialises in conflict and diversity management, and regularly conducts seminars on these issues for corporates. To book a seminar with Devan or for other training courses, please use the contact details below.

Tel: 011 262 2461 | 083 303 9159 |

Email: admin@ichaftraining.co.za devan@ichaftraining.co.za |  Website: www.ichaftraining.co.za |  www.devan-moonsamy.com