# This or That Questions for Work, Meetings and Team Building Source: https://thisorthatquestion.com/this-or-that-questions-for-work Updated: 2026-11-11 Work-appropriate pairs for a daily Slack or Teams post or a meeting warm-up. No politics, money, health or dating. ## Quick facts - A this or that question of the day takes under a minute to answer, so it fits a chat channel or the first two minutes of a stand-up. - Work appropriate this or that questions skip politics, religion, salary, health, dating and drinking. If a new hire could not answer it in front of their manager, cut it. - Plan 3 to 5 pairs for a meeting warm-up. A team of 8 gets through 5 pairs in about 5 minutes when each person gives a one-line reason. - Emoji reactions turn any chat message into a poll. Ask people to react with one emoji for the first option and a different emoji for the second. - A question of the week suits teams that check their main channel only a few times a week. Daily questions suit busy channels. ## Office life: this or that work edition These office this or that questions cover desks, coffee and the small habits every workplace argues about. Use them for a this or that office edition of your team newsletter. 1. Standing desk or Sitting desk? 2. Window desk or Desk near the kitchen? 3. Open office or Private office? 4. Coffee from home or Office coffee? 5. Desk plant or Desk photo? 6. Corner desk or Middle of the room? 7. No-meeting Monday or No-meeting Friday? 8. Label maker or Sticky notes? 9. Headphones on or Office chatter? 10. Clean desk or Organized chaos? 11. Cold office or Warm office? 12. Three long weekends or One full week off? 13. Casual Friday or Casual every day? 14. Office dog or Office cat? 15. Desk by the printer or Desk by the fridge? ## This or that work questions about habits and productivity Habit pairs tell you how coworkers like to work, which helps when you plan a project together. 1. Early start or Late finish? 2. To-do list or Calendar blocks? 3. Inbox zero or Thousands unread? 4. Paper notebook or Notes app? 5. One big monitor or Two monitors? 6. Mouse or Trackpad? 7. Deadline rush or Done a week early? 8. Multitask or One thing at a time? 9. Work in silence or Work with music? 10. One big project or Many small tasks? 11. Plan the week on Monday or Plan it on Friday? 12. Ask for help or Figure it out alone? 13. Gel pen or Ballpoint pen? 14. Spreadsheets or Slide decks? 15. Keyboard shortcuts or Right-click menus? ## Meetings, email and chat 1. Email or Quick call? 2. Chat message or Walk over to their desk? 3. Cameras on or Cameras off? 4. Strict agenda or Open discussion? 5. 15-minute meeting or Email instead? 6. Emoji reactions or Typed replies? 7. GIF replies or Plain text? 8. Voice memo or Long message? 9. Present to the team or Take the notes? 10. Thumbs up or Checkmark emoji? 11. Reply all or Reply to sender? 12. Whiteboard or Shared doc? ## Food, coffee and breaks Keep your question of the day for work fun. This or that pairs about snacks get replies from people who never post in the team channel. 1. Office donuts or Office bagels? 2. Lunch at your desk or Lunch out? 3. Team pizza or Team tacos? 4. Free snacks or Free coffee? 5. Afternoon coffee or Afternoon walk? 6. Leftovers or Sandwich? 7. Birthday cake or Birthday cookies? 8. Potluck or Catered lunch? 9. Sparkling water or Still water? 10. Energy drink or Espresso? 11. Long lunch or Leave early? 12. Break room chat or Quiet break? ## Remote and hybrid work 1. Work from home or Work from the office? 2. Couch or Kitchen table? 3. Slippers or Socks? 4. Pet on your lap or Pet in another room? 5. Virtual background or Real background? 6. Hybrid week or Fully remote? 7. Coffee shop or Home desk? 8. Commute podcast or Commute music? 9. Mute by default or Unmute by default? 10. Lunch walk or Lunch nap? ## This or that icebreaker questions for work These this or that questions for coworkers stay away from work tasks. New team members learn who likes hiking, who cooks and who plans every trip. Use them as this or that questions for team building in a first meeting with a new hire. They also work as this or that team building questions at an offsite. 1. Beach vacation or City vacation? 2. Morning person or Night person? 3. Books or Podcasts? 4. Cook dinner or Order in? 5. Watch the game or Play the game? 6. Busy weekend or Weekend with no plans? 7. Escape room or Bowling night? 8. Museum or Theme park? 9. Gym before work or Gym after work? 10. Hiking or Biking? 11. True crime or Sitcom reruns? 12. Host the party or Be a guest? 13. Plan the trip or Wing it? 14. Sweet breakfast or Savory breakfast? 15. Karaoke or Trivia night? ## Funny this or that questions for work Pick one as your work question of the day. Funny this or that pairs land best when they poke fun at office life, not at a person. Funny work this or that questions never single anyone out. These this or that funny questions for work make everyone pick between two small disasters. 1. Reply-all mistake or Message in the wrong chat? 2. Snore in a meeting or Laugh at the wrong moment? 3. Share a screen with 40 tabs or Share a screen with your shopping cart? 4. Printer jam every day or Wi-Fi drop every day? 5. Coworker who hums or Coworker who taps pens? 6. Meeting runs long or Meeting gets moved 5 times? 7. Squeaky chair or Wobbly desk? 8. Forget your charger or Forget your lunch? 9. Call your manager Mom or Wave goodbye on a voice call? 10. Type in all caps for a day or Only emojis for a day? 11. Selfie in the team chat or Meme sent to your boss? 12. Camera stuck on or Mic stuck on? 13. Unlimited coffee or Unlimited snacks? 14. Autocorrect on every email or No spellcheck ever? 15. Elevator small talk or Silent elevator ride? ## Silly this or that questions for work Question of the day for work: funny this or that pairs like these work best on a Friday. Nobody has to give a serious answer. 1. Office slide or Office ball pit? 2. Nap pod or Massage chair? 3. Robot assistant or Personal chef? 4. Teleport to work or Work from anywhere? 5. Office llama or Office parrot? 6. Theme song when you walk in or Applause when you log off? 7. Meetings as musicals or Meetings in rhyme? 8. Pirate Day or Pajama Day? 9. Office talent show or Office bake-off? 10. Desk in a treehouse or Desk on a boat? 11. Laptop never dies or Wi-Fi never drops? 12. Pause button or Rewind button? ## Question of the week for work: this or that pairs with more to say Run a question of the week for work. Funny this or that pairs get quick votes, but these career pairs give people a week to share a story. 1. Big company or Startup? 2. Lead a team or Be the expert? 3. Learn a new skill or Master one skill? 4. Have a mentor or Be a mentor? 5. Same job for 10 years or New job every 3 years? 6. Extra week off or Four-day week? 7. Public praise or Private thank-you? 8. Work abroad for a year or Work anywhere at home? 9. Redo your first job or Try a dream job for a week? 10. Team project or Solo project? ## How to run a this or that question of the day for work 1. Pick one channel for it, such as #random or #watercooler, and post at the same time each day. 2. Post one this or that question for work each morning. Write it as "Desk plant or Desk photo?" with nothing else. 3. Pin your office questions of the day. This or that results from last week give people something to scroll back to. 4. Add your own answer first. A manager who answers first tells the team it is safe to join in. 5. Rotate topics through the week: food on Monday, habits on Tuesday, silly pairs on Friday. 6. Keep a list of 30 pairs so a busy week never breaks the streak. The random picker at /this-or-that-generator fills gaps. ## How to run this or that poll questions for work in Slack or Teams 1. Write the pair as one line: "Office donuts or Office bagels?" 2. In Slack, ask people to react with one emoji for each side, for example a donut and a bagel. Poll apps from the Slack app directory also work. 3. In Microsoft Teams, use the Polls app (built on Microsoft Forms) to create a two-option poll in the chat. 4. Leave the poll open for one workday, then post the result with a one-line comment. 5. Ask one person from the losing side to defend their pick. That reply usually starts the thread. ## This or that team building activity: pick a side of the room This version gets people moving, which helps at offsites and all-hands meetings with 10 to 40 people. 1. Clear a space and mark two sides of the room, left and right. 2. Read a pair aloud. Left means the first option, right means the second. 3. Give everyone five seconds to walk to a side. 4. Ask one person on each side for a one-sentence reason. 5. Play 10 to 15 rounds. Start with easy pairs and save the question of the week pairs for the end. 6. For remote teams, swap walking for a hand raise or a chat reply of "1" or "2". ## Rules for work appropriate this or that questions - Skip politics, religion, salary, health, dating and alcohol. People should never feel they have to explain a personal choice. - Avoid pairs where one side reads as a bad worker, such as "Work hard or Hardly work?". Someone will feel judged. - Every pair here passes three tests for this or that questions: funny, work-appropriate and quick to answer. - Keep each side to 1 to 4 words. Fun this or that questions for work get answered from a phone between meetings. - Let people pass. A quiet coworker can still enjoy reading the replies. - Keep this or that questions for workplace channels in one thread so the main channel stays clear for work. ## Frequently asked questions ### What are good this or that questions for work? This or that questions for work are quick two-choice prompts that coworkers answer in a few seconds. Good this or that questions for work use two everyday options with no wrong answer, such as Standing desk or Sitting desk, Email or Quick call, and Office donuts or Office bagels. The best this or that questions for work take seconds to answer and never make someone reveal money, health or politics. ### What is a funny question of the day for work this or that style? A funny question of the day for work is something like "Snore in a meeting or Laugh at the wrong moment?". It pokes fun at office life without targeting anyone. Post it in the morning and add your own answer so others feel free to join. ### How do I make a question of the day for work this or that funny without offending anyone? Aim the joke at shared office problems, such as printer jams, reply-all mistakes and long meetings. Never aim it at a person, a body, a culture or a job role. If a pair would embarrass the least confident person on the team, swap it. ### Where can I find this or that questions for work funny enough for a team meeting? Use the funny and silly sections above. Pairs like "Office slide or Office ball pit?" and "Camera stuck on or Mic stuck on?" get a laugh in a meeting. Read two or three at the start and ask for one-word answers. ### How do I keep this or that questions funny for work without anyone feeling targeted? Keep both options about the situation, not about people. "Coworker who hums or Coworker who taps pens?" works when no one on the team hums. If it points at one person, cut it. This or that questions for adults at work should feel like a joke everyone is in on. ### What makes this or that office questions funny instead of awkward? Two small disasters that everyone has lived through make this or that office questions funny. Awkward pairs single out one group or one person. Test a pair by asking whether your newest coworker could answer it out loud without explaining anything. ### How many fun questions of the day for work this or that style should I plan? Plan about 20 fun questions of the day for a month of workdays. Write them all at once and schedule them. Mix topics so the work question of the day this or that thread does not feel repetitive. ### Is a question of the day this or that for work better than an open question? Yes, for busy teams. A this or that question needs a one-word reply, so more people answer. Open questions like "What did you do this weekend?" get longer answers from fewer people. Use this or that daily and an open question weekly. ### What makes a fun question of the day for work this or that pair? A fun pair offers two options that both tempt people, like Pirate Day or Pajama Day. Each side needs to be short and easy to picture. Use this structure for the office question of the day. This or that format keeps replies quick. ### How do you play a this or that game for work? Read a pair aloud and have everyone pick a side by moving, raising a hand or typing 1 or 2. Ask one person per side for a reason, then move on. Ten to fifteen rounds take about 10 minutes for a team of 12. ### Do this or that ice breaker questions for work suit new hires? Yes. They give a new hire an easy way to talk on day one. Use the icebreaker pairs above, which stay off work tasks, and keep this or that questions for work team building light. Save career pairs for later. ### How long should this or that questions for work icebreaker rounds take? Five minutes is enough for most teams. Run 3 to 5 pairs at the start of a meeting and move on. For an offsite or this or that questions for office parties, run 10 to 15 pairs. ### What makes this or that work appropriate questions different from regular ones? They leave out personal topics. This or that questions work appropriate for an office avoid politics, religion, dating, money, health and alcohol. They also avoid pairs that mock a job role. Use the rules section above as a checklist for this or that questions for the office. ### Can I make this or that questions work-related? Yes. The habits, meetings and remote work sections above all use work-related pairs, such as To-do list or Calendar blocks. Mix them with personal ones so the questions do not feel like a survey.