why having fun at work is important

1.2X more likely to say that they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day. By continuing, you agree to Monster's privacy policy, terms of use and use of cookies. I have to work at it. Nearly every... Fun At Work breeds loyalty. In fact, you’ll probably end up pretty miserable. But it should be. Liz Peintner. The airplanes were launched, laughter rang out and people frolicked (funny word, frolicked). In fact, employees who strongly agree with that statement are extremely likely -- a rock-solid 0.61 correlation -- to also reply positively to the statement, “Taking everything into account, I would say this is a great place to work.” Better yet, start an initiative to set aside a small percentage of the profits for employee parties and events. No matter how cool your co-workers are, or how nice your cubicle is, if you don’t have the right job, you’re not going to have fun. Is there a little lump of dread growing in your stomach? The standard “we work hard and play hard” motto isn’t enough. - V: 2020.26.0.27-818 -. Jul 3, 2019 10:00 AM. Do you get a little rush of happiness at the thought of the fun you’re about to have? Austin Web Design. On the fun question, the gap is 29 percent. Organizations that nourish creativity and playfulness in employees have less difficulty … However, this idea can also be applied to your small business employees. An increasing body of research demonstrates that when leaders lighten up and create a fun workplace, there is a significant increase in the level of employee trust, creativity and communication -- leading to lower turnover, higher morale and a stronger bottom line. Not only is this creating a more relaxing environment, but it also encourages interaction between colleagues, which is proven to boost happiness. support@the1thing.com. Having fun at work might be just as important as having fun in your personal life. Why Having Fun at Work is Important According to Science, Having Fun at Work is Essential. The standard … ", Excerpted from The Levity Effect: Why It Pays to Lighten Up, © 2021 Monster Worldwide Fun and work sometimes are at opposite poles in some people’s minds, but they don’t have to be. Each week, they continued to request fun rewards and turned in astounding production numbers. The Case for Levity Workplace stress... Increase in … Why Fun At Work is Important Fun At Work Sells. It would be rare to be one of Fortune’s "100 Best Companies to Work For" and not score well on the fun question. 11. Later that day, at 1:30, the manager checked on things and found that his employees had reached 110 percent of their quota. Why it is important to have fun at work . Reducing stress increases productivity. Reasons why fun in the workplace is essential: Allowing fun in the work place makes (and keeps) employees happy. And while having fun perks like unlimited vacation is not a bad way to stimulate a fun culture, it doesn’t always need to cost you. By the third week, when they had earned a trip offsite for ice cream cones, the manager finally got it. At the “good” companies -- those that apply for inclusion but do not make the top 100 -- only 62 employees out of 100 say they are having fun. Wow. It is a low cost, easy way to build morale. Managers and team leaders win because they have a more engaged and productive workforce. Fun in the workplace is good for the bottom line. The research also shows that managers who have taught themselves to be funnier are more effective communicators and better salespeople, have more engaged employees, earn a lot more than their peers and are much thinner. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. And in the long run, all of this can have a positive impact on your organization’s bottom line — and on your career. Spruce up that drab cubicle with some pictures of family and friends. OK, maybe not the last one. Now, a skeptic will ask, “Are successful companies just more fun to be in, since they are winning and profitable, or does fun create success?” It’s the old, “which came first, the chicken or the egg” question. HR/Benefits Why Workspace is So Critical to Employee's Success An average person spends one-third of their life at work. Job candidates (especially millennials) don’t typically leave a job interview jumping for joy when the organization is filled with uninspired employees who speak to one another in a 6-inch whisper. My suggestion is to determine when you work best (morning, afternoon) and then do the tough work … Having engaging workspaces for … Having fun at work has a very different meaning today than it used to. More Likely To Have Fun At Work. 15 January, 2017 by Georgia Bobley. The Path to ‘Great’ness That, in a waffle cone, is the power of the Levity Effect at work. Fun at Work. But to compare, the leverage increase from the good companies up to the best on the friendliness question is just 11.25 percent. You can have fun before the work gets done, you can have fun after the work gets done or you can have fun while the work is getting done but I don’t care how authentic your leader is, the fun is going to stop pretty darn quick if the work isn’t getting done. Sign up to get job alerts relevant to your skills and experience. At the end of the day it’s all about ONE Thing– the company culture that you want to create, and more importantly, that people want to work in. If people are having fun, they’re going to work harder, stay longer, maintain their composure in a crisis and take better care of the organization. It’s amazing how a little friendly competition lightens the mood. Is the stress already starting to build? Humor offers a … Your whole career will thank you for i… But the remarkable case for levity at work is growing, with the most convincing numbers culled from more than a decade of research by the Great Place to Work Institute. And happy employees are all around better at their jobs. They are meant to help employees collaborate on projects, but they can also provide a fun outlet. There are a lot of equipment and machines in an office but employees are not among them. If the management team has been a stick in the mud about having fun at work it’s time to turn things around. Some managers may look at this as wasting a day of work, but in the end the boost in productivity levels will more than make up for it. Paint over … 3. The kind of joyous, playful, break-the-tension fun they engaged in is taking place all around the world in organizations that care about performance, retention and profitability. Correlations to fun on the 57-question survey are all “very high, very positive,” Lyman added. An increasing body of research demonstrates that when leaders lighten up and create a fun workplace, there is a significant increase in the level of employee trust, creativity and communication -- leading to lower turnover, higher morale and a stronger bottom line. 3 reasons why goofing off at work is a good thing. Sign up for our ONE Thing Community and enter into a support network of people just like you, and transform the areas of your life that matter most! Motivated purely by the opportunity to have a little fun at work, the aviation workers increased their performance dramatically. The manager’s initial ignorance did little to dissuade the workers. Humor is a potent stress buster. At a recent all-team meeting, each of us went around the room and rated the organization on a scale of 1-10 on how we’re doing at incorporating fun as a core value. A fun culture stems from the energy and the vibe of your workplace, and it’s up to the manager to set the tone for their team. Stressed-out employees are distracted employees. That gap in experience is, surprisingly, one of the largest in the survey. That last scenario is unfortunately not the norm at most companies, and it’s probably hurting employee performance. The manager wrinkled his brow and vetoed the idea. Just taking a walk together in the middle of the day, having an impromptu office party, or enjoying a sweet treat together can be enough to bring coworkers together and make the workday more fun. There are a few providers that give you the tools to set up your own internal social networks. As understandable as it is to do that – don’t do it. Create milestones that the whole company can celebrate together. "In other words, when companies make the leap from good to great, they must start addressing sophisticated trust issues. Just Kidding? You pull up to your regular parking space at work. Plan out a whole day of team building games, movies and pet projects. For example, encourage birthday celebrations and minor pranks. This is especially tough for people coming right out of school – you’ve got a mountain of debt, bills to pay, and dreams to chase, so you jump at the first offer that comes your way. Why Fun is Important Simply put, fun sells. You should know what the supervisor’s initial reaction was to his workers’ hitting the 150 percent production goal by 3 p.m. Rather than connecting the dots and seeing the link between the promise of fun and working harder, he instead commented, “Imagine what you guys could have accomplished if you hadn’t taken two hours off to screw around!” Coming up with weekly or monthly challenges that employees can participate in is a fun motivator. Take casual Friday beyond getting to wear jeans to work. In case you didn’t catch that, let us repeat it. A ProduKtive™ Product. Happy employees are healthier and more productive – so don’t overlook the importance of having fun. 4. Not sure what type of celebration appeals to your employees? As we met with Amy Lyman, chair of the board and cofounder of the Institute, she explained that fun and success go hand in hand. Having open discussions about whether or not we are having fun at work is a path towards wholeness at work. Having Fun Is Important At Work Having fun might not be something that most of us associate with the workplace, however, fun can definitely make work much more enjoyable and it’s easier than you think to incorporate it into the working day. Introducing small ways to create fun in the workplace is the ultimate win-win. Reconciling Humor with Respect. That, in a waffle cone, is the power of the Levity Effect at work. Getting the work done. Yammer is one such service that could be used to set up a social network where employees can post funny things they find online. By 3 p.m., they’d surpassed 150 percent. 2. It’s hard to believe that a warm and fuzzy subject such as fun could impact an organization’s success. Incorporating fun into the office is a great way to harness enthusiasm amongst staff, integrate new people into your team, and to develop a positive team culture. As humans, we are social creatures that need a little fun to cope with the daily stressors that we face. If your employees are having the fun sucked out of them at work, then you shouldn’t be surprised if they don’t give you their best. Incorporate an added sweetener like a company provided, in-office lunch break or a beverage hour at 4pm. Workplace fun has been linked to: Enhanced motivation Increased productivity Reduced stress Higher job satisfaction Improved task performance Use your imagination and make play a common and useful occurrence in your workplace. Why It's Important to Have Fun at Work. Hobbies and other fun activities provide a fun way to sharpen skills, express your creativity, or just blow off steam. The concept of having fun at work as opposed to taking everything very seriously is a relatively new one in today’s world. “In fact, it would be very unusual for a company to be among the ‘100 Best’ and not score well on the fun question.” Work-related stress is on the rise, with a 2018 survey by the Korn Ferry Institute citing a 20% increase in overall employee stress levels over three decades. Quite simple, when you work with friends, you have more fun at work. Most of us would be a bit nervous about writing, “I’m great fun” on our CVs, or reporting to our boss how much fun we’re having in the office. Employees will work harder knowing that they’ll be rewarded for their efforts and acknowledged for their contributions. Wagner, V. (2013, December 18). That’s a compelling statistic: Employees at the best companies are also having the best time. In addition, fun makes people more creative because it … “It’s absolutely a question companies should be asking themselves, because it is something that happens in great workplaces,” she said. Fun is an important part of life, and work makes up around half of our waking life. Retaining your starting lineup. It makes people want to perform well at work and be a contributing member of their team. This will provide temporary relief to work related stress for a while and thus allow employees to enjoy themselves. I can’t overstate the importance of this enough. Each year, the Great Place to Work Institute asks tens of thousands of employees to rate their experience of workplace factors, including, “This is a fun place to work.” On Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, produced by the Great Place to Work Institute, employees in companies that are denoted as “great” responded overwhelmingly -- an average of 81 percent -- that they are working in a “fun” environment. Workplace fun has been linked to: Having fun is one way of effectively managing and improving employees’ emotions. Instead of working on Fun at Work Day make it a time for everyone to come in and have fun. Having Fun at Work is Important and Here is How to Start I am sure we have all heard the expression “happy wife, happy life.” We all know that your spouse’s overall happiness is essential for a healthy emotional bond. Lyman explained to us that as a company moves on its journey from being lousy to good to great, they must first address basic issues such as physical safety and even friendliness. Fostering a fun work environment can make your employees less stressed, more productive, more creative, and more engaged. Here’s one example. And it is also true that if you are in business for yourself or work in a small business, fun may not be a priority either. What’s the first thought that crosses your mind as you shut the car door behind you and make your way to the office? What’s better than attracting new talent? Sweeten the pot with an award for the winner(s), and people will really enjoy coming to work. One corollary to developing strong bonds of trust is that people are able to also have a great deal of fun at work," Lyman says. While this tale illustrates the benefits of levity at work, it also underscores the dire need to enlighten management. If it’s your BIG goal to make your office thrive with an engaging culture where people love to come to work, then we’re here to help. Kirt persisted, “Well, then, what if we exceed our quota by 50 percent?” Figuring he had nothing to lose, the manager finally gave in. Take the first job that’s right for you. An excited Kirt Womack of the Thiokol factory in Utah sprinted into his manager’s office on the first day of spring and asked if the folks on the factory floor could do something fun -- say, head outside and fly paper airplanes -- if they met their quota two hours early. It’s also proven to improve teamwork, build trusting relationships and increase employee retention. Three reasons having fun at work could be good for your business. Have lunch catered and keep snacks on hand – well-fed people are happy people. The five ideas below are a good jumping off point for creating a culture that incorporates fun. Decorate the Place. All rights reserved. Tech companies have become pioneers in the “fun at work” field, as they’ve found there are plenty of benefits in having a strong company culture. It’s important to your stress level and your happiness quotient that you have at least one activity that you do regularly just for fun. Now, for those of you like me who believe that fun at work is important here’s something else that’s really important. Having fun at work is proven to have substantial effects on workplace productivity. Nonetheless, fun matters a lot, and not just because it’s nice. You would see a correlation between fun and reduced turnover, better recruiting, greater camaraderie…all those positive things you see happen in great workplaces. I firmly believe that positive and fun team cultures create success! It’s a good thing that researchers don’t automatically prescribe to this notion. And, all companies should be wondering how to have more fun. According to research published in the book “301 Ways to Have Fun at Work,” there is a direct link between the extend to which employees have fun and: Work productively; Deliver good customer service; Exercise their creativity; Provide innovation within their job role; In fact, companies that adopt a fun-orientated culture have: You can also see the exact same thing happen within a work group. Fun company cultures are the best way to keep your employees and attract new ones. This can … Sure, except for the fact that a 50 percent increase isn’t exactly insignificant. Some of the benefits of playing on the job include: – Higher recruitment and retention rates. As Rhett Power points out in his Inc. article “ 10 Reasons Why It Is Important to Create a Happy Workplace,” fun reduces stress. Aside from being, well, fun, it turns out that having more fun at work creates very positive bottom-line business results. And we’re doing a pretty good job at it. Everett (2011) concludes that since we will spend more than 90,000 hours of our lives at work, we might as well have fun there. Yet, here are the Top 7 Benefits I hear about why having fun at work is so crucial these days: 1. Stress can contribute to lower productivity—but it doesn’t just affect your performance at work. This tale is no big deal, right? They’ve come up with all sorts of crazy ideas to make their offices better; slides, pool tables, sports facilities, even nap stations. Too often business owners and managers think that all work and no play is the best way to maximize productivity. Just make sure to set parameters and stress that any offensive material is unacceptable. 2 Shares If your office is the quiet, calm, buttoned-up type of place, then you're not getting the most out of your job-- and your work output isn't the best it could be. Discover how to form your first power habit with the 66-Day Challenge Calendar, The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results By Gary Keller and Jay Papasan (Hard Cover), Copyright © 2002-2021 Rellek Publishing Partners, Ltd.

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