Growing up, did you ever look at your parents when they came home from work and think, "Wow, looks like they had a super fun day?" Did they wake up in the morning eager to get you to school, so they could head off to work?
People went to work not because it was fun or their dream job. They went because they had bills to pay and children to feed. Holding out for a dream job was a luxury most people could not afford.
But things have changed in the last decade. Employers see the importance of employees' well-being, a comfortable work environment, and laughter as the best medicine.
Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "We don't quit playing because we grow older; we grow older because we quit playing
Don't Worry – Be Happy
Happy – it's a funny little word that can change a person's entire life, and it's something we all strive to be. No one wants to look back on their life and think, "wow, my life was pitiful."
You live a considerable part of your life at work, and that is a lot of time to spend feeling unhappy. Employers have finally realized that a higher level of employee well-being and overall satisfaction at work bring better mental health, less time off, creative solutions, better collaboration, and produces an atmosphere of positivity.
Happiness is also contagious. A happy productive employee is like a magnet. Their positive attitude inspires people around them and leads to higher job satisfaction all around. Group collaboration is much likelier to be goal-oriented and successful when people are engaged and invested in finding a solution.
Fun Fun Fun – def. "That which provides amusement or enjoyment"
Most companies have learned that encouraging and fostering a fun work environment causes most employees to take more joy in their work, even if the work is difficult or mundane. People looking for their dream job often search by job duties. They forget that you can love the actual work but that the working environment can be so toxic that the job quickly becomes a nightmare.
Curious to know how people defined a “dream job”, the Non-profit agency, 80,000 hours, completed a review of job satisfaction research to determine what makes a job a dream job. They found the highest job satisfaction was among workers who had a fun and engaging work environment.
This type of work atmosphere promotes playful, creative thinking and reduces stress, ultimately increasing productivity. Workers who look forward to going to work each day have workplace environments centered around boosting morale by offering fun, team orienteered activities.
Benefits of a fun work environment include:
• Stress reduction
• Energized workers
• Increase in productivity
• Decrease in sick time usage
• Will strengthen and build relationships
• Increase in employee retention
• Increased motivation
A workplace that centers on employee satisfaction means you have a workplace full of happy, loyal employees and loyal employees can do amazing things.
In contrast, some companies require "by the book" regulations because it's the only way they get funded or they are very old school and have an entirely different view of the workplace. However, running the office as an orderly, rigid machine tends to backfire and can cause long-standing damage to the machine, otherwise known as your workforce.
"Where people aren't having any fun, they seldom produce good work" – David Ogilvy
So while creating a workplace environment that people love has a ton of benefits, it won’t work if the employees don’t buy into the “fun.” It is important to understand that "fun" cannot be forced, and you can't tell a person to have fun and expect them to do so. Their attitudes will be based on their feelings, age, sex, upbringing and personal experience.
Get an idea of the types of incentives and activities that your employees would enjoy. Office polls are great for gathering this type of information.
Go Ahead and Have Fun – Making it Work
The list of possible “happy-making” activities is almost endless. Casual Fridays are popular among many offices as is the opposite—Dress-up Day, where you can dress in fancy formal wear or dress down into your favorite character. How you dress influences your attitude, so by permitting employees to be fun or casually dressed, you also permit them to be relaxed and be themselves.
Other options include things like nacho day, where everyone brings a Mexican-inspired side dish, or you could host an ice cream social or create your own pizza.
Not all activities have to take place within the office either. Team leaders should plan office get-aways and set up events outside of work hours (this could even be done virtually, so employees can be in their own environment but yet together for fun activities.) It encourages people to socialize and bond and provides great conversation at the water cooler the next workday.
62% of employees who had no sick days in the last three months reported working in a fun work culture
It's a good idea to make outside the office events optional. That way everyone is included, but they don’t feel forced to participate on their own time.
Next, celebrate the "wins" regardless of the size of the win. These can even be made-up wins like Best Homemade Sandwich or Coolest Shoes, or Funniest Comment. Other things to celebrate are perfect attendance, best home office, promotions or other office events that everyone has equal access to.
Other fun, morale-building ideas include:
• Create Team Building Activities
• Team Game Creation – each team, creates a game for another team to play
• Play a communication building activity
• Friendly Contests
• Celebration of birthdays and anniversaries
HOW ABOUT TRY CONTACTING YOUR ORGANIZATION'S EAP?
DON'T HAVE AN EAP? WE CAN HELP WITH THAT!
Gauge your employees to see which activity they like best and prefer to participate in, then do more of that.
There is a unique harmony between work and fun. Together they create an inclusive and joyful environment that leads to more creative solutions and higher productivity.
When you create a space people want to be part of you get employees that never want to leave, and when they do, you have the greatest talent lined up at your door waiting to get in.
Hundreds of organizations support their employees through The Ulliance Life Advisor Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Investing in the right EAP to support your employees before, during and after they face adverse events will help them and help you. Visit www.ulliance.com, or call 866-648-8326.
When you partner with Ulliance, our Life Advisor Consultants are always just a phone call away to teach ways to enhance your work/life balance and increase your happiness. The Ulliance Life Advisor Employee Assistance Program can help employees and employers come closer to a state of total well-being.
Investing in the right EAP or Wellness Program to support your employees will help them and help you. Visit www.ulliance.com, or call 866-648-8326.
The Ulliance Employee Assistance Program can address the
following issues:
• Stress about work or job performance
• Crisis in the workplace
• Conflict resolution at work or in one’s personal life
• Marital or relationship problems
• Child or elder care concerns
• Financial worries
• Mental health problems
• Alcohol/substance abuse
• Grief
• Interpersonal conflicts
• AND MORE!
References
Medhi, B. (2o21, May 19). 6 Ways Managers Can Build A Fun At Work Culture. Retrieved from Vantage Circle: https://blog.vantagecircle.com/fun-at-work/
Pendall, R. (2022, January 1). 7 Gallup Workplace Insights: What We Learned in 2021. Retrieved from Gallup: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/358346/gallup-workplace-insights-learned-2021.aspx
Waldoch, C. (2020, July 07). The Importance of Having Fun at Work + 3 Key Tips. Retrieved from Bonusly: https://blog.bonus.ly/importance-of-having-fun-at-work
Whitmore, J. (2017, January 31). The Surprising Benefits of Having Fun at Work. Retrieved from Entrepreneur: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288223
Wooll, M. (2021, June 23). Looking to improve company culture? Try these 23 fun activities. Retrieved from BetterUp: https://www.betterup.com/blog/fun-activities-at-work