Fun At Work
By: Anne Marie Parish, MA, Health Educator
Fun at work. Is it an oxymoron or the newest business management trend? Fun at work may be the single most important trait of a highly effective and successful organization. There is a direct link between fun at work and employee creativity, productivity, satisfaction and retention, as well as good customer service and numerous factors that determine business success.
Humor consultant and best-selling author C. W. Metcalf wrote in HR Focus, "humor is a vital, critical element of human survival and we often forget about it. We are told that laughter, fun and play are un-adult, unintelligent and non-professional. Nothing could be further from the truth."
Fun and humor help individuals through crisis and change. Fun and humor facilitate the release of tension and increase employees' ability to cope with stress on the job. Humor also helps people to remain flexible, creative, and innovative under pressure. These are central features of a strong, resilient corporate culture.
An Arthur Anderson office put several white boards throughout their facility labeled: "Question of the Month." For example: What good movies have you seen lately? If you had the chance to name a new Crayola Crayon color, what would it be? What is your favorite song from the 70s...80s?
Organizations that integrate fun into work have lower levels of absenteeism, greater job satisfaction, increased productivity and less downtime. Employees from Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver who viewed humorous training films and attended fun workshops showed a 25 percent decrease in downtime and a 60 percent increase in job satisfaction.
Engineers at Sun Microsystems play elaborate April Fool's Day jokes on company executives. Past pranks include turning the CEO's office into a miniature golf course and putting cofounders Ferrari in the middle of a fish pond. Surprisingly the executives encourage the gags. The pranks are videotaped to show employees at other sites and
T-shirts are sold to commemorate, and fund, the event.
At an Arthur Anderson office they have April Fool's Day pranks by mixing up the desktops of colleagues and replacing favorite family photos with new ones, or turning everything in the office upside down. It is all done in the spirit of fun.
Make a list of all the people and things that bring you joy, satisfaction, fulfillment and fun. Then refer to it when you are bored, upset or need a break. Use your file of positive praise whenever you need a quick pick-me-up. It can work wonders for you attitude and spirit.