Would you rather questions for work

Work icebreakers fail when they're too personal or too corny. A good would you rather question sits in the sweet spot. It's quick to answer, it doesn't pry, and it still tells you something about your teammates: whether they want a four-day week or unlimited vacation, a standing desk or a treadmill desk, a private office or an open desk next to their favorite coworkers.

Open a stand-up with one question, or run a 10-minute round at a team offsite. On Zoom or Teams, share your screen and have people vote in the chat. For more ideas, see our icebreaker questions for work and office party games.

Looking for every category in one place? See the full list of would you rather questions.

Tap an option to make your pick. Then ask the group what they'd choose.

Quick, safe openers for stand-ups, all-hands and team calls. Each takes under a minute.

• Would you rather work from a beach or work from a cabin in the woods?
• Would you rather have a four-day work week or unlimited vacation days?
• Would you rather never have another meeting or never answer another email?
• Would you rather have a super fast computer or the most comfortable chair in the world?
• Would you rather start work at 6 a.m. or finish at 9 p.m.?
• Would you rather have free lunch every day or a free coffee bar?
• Would you rather only communicate through emojis or only communicate through GIFs?
• Would you rather have a standing desk or a treadmill desk?
• Would you rather work with a dog in the office or a cat in the office?
• Would you rather have your camera always on or never be allowed to use your camera?
• Would you rather give a presentation to 500 people or have a one-on-one with the CEO?
• Would you rather be the funniest person in the office or the most helpful person?
• Would you rather have a desk by the window or a desk by the snacks?
• Would you rather learn a new skill every month or master one skill completely?
• Would you rather take a nap break or take a walking break?
• Would you rather have a private office or an open desk with your favorite coworkers?

Relatable questions about office life for team-building and happy hours.

• Would you rather share a desk with a loud talker or a loud typer?
• Would you rather have a coworker who never stops talking or one who never talks at all?
• Would you rather sit next to the printer or sit next to the kitchen?
• Would you rather be stuck in an elevator with the CEO or with the new intern?
• Would you rather have a messy desk you know your way around or a perfectly tidy desk you can't find anything in?
• Would you rather always get the last slice of cake at office parties or always get the best parking spot?
• Would you rather attend a meeting that could have been an email or write an email that should have been a meeting?
• Would you rather lead the holiday party or skip the holiday party?
• Would you rather have the office thermostat always too hot or always too cold?
• Would you rather use a mouse or use a trackpad forever?
• Would you rather have your boss read your chats or have your team read your emails?
• Would you rather win employee of the month or win the office chili cook-off?
• Would you rather be in charge of the office playlist or in charge of the snack order?
• Would you rather have casual Fridays every day or a free massage every Friday?

For distributed teams on Zoom, Teams or Slack.

• Would you rather work from home forever or work in an office forever?
• Would you rather have perfect Wi-Fi or a perfect home office setup?
• Would you rather have a background that's always messy or a background that's always a green screen?
• Would you rather be on mute for every meeting or be on camera for every meeting?
• Would you rather work in pajamas or work in your nicest outfit?
• Would you rather have your pet join every meeting or your kids join every meeting?
• Would you rather work from a different country every month or from the same cozy desk forever?
• Would you rather never have video calls or never have phone calls?
• Would you rather work at a coffee shop or work at a library?
• Would you rather have a two-hour lunch or finish work two hours early?

Thought-provoking questions about ambition and work life. Good for team retros and mentoring.

• Would you rather lead the team or be the team's secret weapon?
• Would you rather have your dream job with a long commute or an okay job next door?
• Would you rather earn more money or have more free time?
• Would you rather be great at public speaking or great at writing?
• Would you rather have a world-famous mentor or be the mentor who changes someone's career?
• Would you rather work at a startup or work at a big company?
• Would you rather get a promotion with no raise or a raise with no promotion?
• Would you rather work on one big project or many small projects?
• Would you rather be known for great ideas or known for getting things done?
• Would you rather have a boss who is your friend or a boss who helps your career?
• Would you rather switch careers completely or get to the top of your current one?
• Would you rather have a job that travels or a job close to home?

Questions that help coworkers learn about each other beyond job titles.

• Would you rather go on a team retreat to the mountains or to the beach?
• Would you rather do an escape room as a team or a cooking class as a team?
• Would you rather have a team lunch every week or a team outing every quarter?
• Would you rather be in charge of team celebrations or in charge of team traditions?
• Would you rather plan a volunteer day or plan a game day?
• Would you rather bring homemade cookies or bring the office plant back to life?
• Would you rather host the team trivia or be the trivia champion?
• Would you rather have a team mascot or a team theme song?
• Would you rather celebrate wins with cake or celebrate wins with an extra day off?
• Would you rather be paired with someone from another department or stay with your own team?

Gentle, getting-to-know-you questions for the first day or a new project kickoff.

• Would you rather tell a work story or tell a travel story?
• Would you rather give up coffee at work forever or give up snacks at work forever?
• Would you rather read a book or listen to a podcast?
• Would you rather cook lunch for the whole team once or bring cookies every Friday for a year?
• Would you rather visit your office 50 years in the past or 50 years in the future?
• Would you rather live in the city or live in the countryside?
• Would you rather spend the weekend outdoors or spend it on the couch?
• Would you rather take notes by hand or take notes on a laptop?
• Would you rather take a six-hour flight for a one-hour meeting or a six-hour video call?
• Would you rather watch a comedy with your team or a documentary about your own industry?

Light-hearted office humor that won't get anyone in trouble.

• Would you rather accidentally reply-all or accidentally leave your mic on?
• Would you rather have your boss hear you sing in the car or see you dance in the break room?
• Would you rather wear a suit to a casual Friday or wear pajamas to a board meeting?
• Would you rather fall asleep in a meeting or laugh during a serious presentation?
• Would you rather be stuck in a group chat with the whole company or a group chat with your boss's family?
• Would you rather use Comic Sans for every document or use all caps in every email?
• Would you rather have your laptop die before a presentation or have your slides show the wrong file?
• Would you rather get stuck in a never-ending training video or an elevator with small talk?
• Would you rather share a desk with the office plant or the office printer?
• Would you rather have your email signature be a bad pun or a baby photo of you?
• Would you rather eat the same office lunch every day or never eat lunch at work?
• Would you rather have the office coffee machine break forever or the office Wi-Fi be slow forever?

For teacher professional development days and staff meetings.

• Would you rather grade 100 essays in one weekend or plan 20 lessons in one night?
• Would you rather have recess duty in the rain or lunch duty in a cafeteria food fight?
• Would you rather teach kindergarten or teach high school seniors?
• Would you rather have summers off or have every Friday off?
• Would you rather get a class of chatterboxes or a class of total silence?
• Would you rather lead the school assembly or chaperone the field trip?
• Would you rather have a smartboard that always works or a copier that never jams?
• Would you rather teach the same subject forever or a new subject every year?

How to use these questions

• One question per meeting is plenty. Rotate who picks it.
• On video calls, ask people to answer with a thumbs up (option A) or a heart (option B).
• Keep it optional. Anyone can pass.
• Avoid spicy, dark or political questions at work. Everything on this page is already filtered for that.

Frequently asked questions

What are good would you rather questions for work?

Work-friendly questions are quick and inclusive, like "Would you rather have a four-day work week or unlimited vacation days?" or "Would you rather never have another meeting or never answer another email?"

Are these questions appropriate for team building?

Yes. Every question is office safe, and there's a team-building section designed to help coworkers learn about each other.

How do you use would you rather in a virtual meeting?

Share your screen with the question, then have people vote with reactions or in the chat. Call on one person from each side to explain.

What's a good would you rather icebreaker for new employees?

Keep it gentle, like "Would you rather have coffee or tea?" or "Would you rather tell a work story or a travel story?" See the new teams section.