A corollary of this principle states that if you see someone having fun at work, they’re slacking off. Fun is an important part of life, and work makes up around half of our waking life. Authors Dave Hemseth and Leslie Yerkes of 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work state that, “Organizations that integrate fun into work have lower levels … The facts about having fun at work. The office culture and ambience also has a positive effect. And who doesn’t love to have fun? When employees take time out to play, it lessens the stress of work, which leads to less sickness, a more positive attitude and more energized work environment. And when we say “fun,” we talk about it as an outgrowth of a positive workplace culture and environment. There’s no reason you can’t take the happy outside of the office. Laughter, humor and play even out the playing field, regardless of positions in the company. IT Solutions & Services Philippines – Aim.ph. Popular notions of work may not allow for play, but research has shown that it can have numerous benefits for workers, teams, and organizations. However, the idea that “laughter, play, and fun are an essential part of life” is not a modern concept according to Matt Weinstein as discussed in his book “Managing to Have Fun”. And happy employees are all around better at their jobs. At a fundamental level, more workplace fun = more workplace satisfaction. 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. For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends: At least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. Fun. Workplace fun has been linked to: Enhanced motivation; Increased productivity; Reduced stress; Higher job satisfaction; Improved task performance; Having fun is one way of effectively managing and improving employees’ emotions. Everyone will leave with a smile on their faces. In the workplace, play is a tool smart entrepreneurs use to bring out the best in people and strengthen relationships between employees. 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 Fun breaks down entrenched organizational hierarchies Despite the rise of “ multi-teaming,” most employees still only know a fraction of their overall office or company. Not often I bet. Having fun at work might be just as important as having fun in your personal life. You cannot expect your employees to provide service with a smile if you don’t give them something to smile about.”. Now, how often have you had it while on a run or drive, or while playing with the kids or shooting hoops? Get heaping discounts to books you love delivered straight to your inbox. Finally, this definition mentions the benefits of workplace fun upfront and recognizes … It reduces absenteeism and helps keep people healthy and happy each day. 4. I can think of four specific benefits for businesses that encourage fun: Fun is a healer. Celebrate success and victory as the celebration of hard work will promote a sense of cohesiveness and friendliness within your team. A game room will further encourage the employees to interact beyond work related issues and it will facilitate positive communication and vibes among the office staff. 5 Benefits of Having a Fun Working Environment ... 15 Things You Didn’t Know Could be Hacked, ASEAN Integration 2015: Everything Entrepreneurs Need to Know, Top 10 Jobs for IT Graduates in the Philippines. Make sure your information infrastructure is compliant and safe. In fact, studies have repeatedly validated what we, as employees, already know – that there are solid and impactful benefits of having fun in the workplace. Author, Business Etiquette Expert and Founder of The Protocol School of Palm Beach. Try risk free for 60 days. How Having Fun Can Boost Employee Productivity ... work is an activity generally performed out of "economic necessity". Some of the benefits of playing on the job include: – … Entrepreneur Voices on Emotional Intelligence, 11 Ways Successful People Deal With People They Don't Like, How This Accounting Firm's Office Builds Structure and Invites the Flow of Ideas, This Software Company's Open Office Genuinely Fosters Collaboration, 5 Keys to Establishing Meaningful and Fruitful Connections in the Workplace, These 6 Types of Music Are Known to Dramatically Improve Productivity. Is your business prepared for an IT disaster? ... and you'll definitely reap the untold benefits that will naturally follow. Here are some ways you can incorporate play into your workplace and have fun all throughout the year. Patience and consistency are crucial in forming new habits. Related: How to Avoid Hiring a Psychopath. Hire a photographer or use the best photographer on staff to take group and individual shots. Google Co-Founder Larry Page maintains that “[w]e don’t just want you to have a great job. Create games and contests for your company values. Here's What's Missing. Since you have to be there all day anyway, make enjoying it one of the things you get done daily. The good news is that there are a lot of benefits for bringing play into work. The contagiousness of having fun means that introducing games and joy into the workplace can build friendships that improve employee engagement and job satisfaction. Dr. Daniel Sgroi, the report’s author suggests showing a short film or some crazy commercials. A lot more than you might think. This can often help you see the problem in a new light and think up fresh, creative s… Bring in your own soundtrack or use one of the online music streaming services like Spotify, Pandora or iHeartRadio to set a fun tone around the office during dedicated “happy” hours (no alcoholic beverages necessary). Learn how you can plan for it. The Great Place to Work Institute asks tens of thousands of employees each year to rate their experience of workplace factors. Take off early one day and invite your coworkers out to a local restaurant or bar for happy hour. Establish a series of contests for staff members trying to get in shape. This unofficial holiday is known by some to always be celebrated on January 28, but some prefer to celebrate it on the last Friday in January. Playing it Forward: The Benefits of Fun in the Workplace. Companies including Dropbox offer recreational equipment including ping-pong tables and a music studio as perks, while Eventbrite takes its employees on team outings to the trampoline park. By giving an employee time to take a break from their work, they can return to their work minutes later with a fresher and more energized mind. Not only is humor in the workplace fun, but it can lead to better health, improve relationships, and enhance leadership skills. By Nat Measley. When you’re having fun, it’s hard to keep that natural grin off your face—and for good reason. Robert Daly | Getty Images. It shows appreciation for the time and effort employees give to the organization. Amplify your business knowledge and reach your full entrepreneurial potential with Entrepreneur Insider’s exclusive benefits. More than a decade’s worth of research by the Great Place to Work Institute resulted in a 1-million person research database and its results reveal overwhelming evidence that says, “Great” companies consistently earn significantly higher marks for “fun.”. Set up an hour-long health conference to establish guidelines and share a healthy lunch. The benefits of having a fun working environment is contagious – it’s like creating ripples in the water; its effects are felt even by customers. To have fun or not to have fun? Image credit: Most of us have lost our spontaneity. Is your database accurate and readily available? In fact, Google is seen as the gold standard of fun workplaces. Humor prevents burnout. It gives their brains a chance to make new connections and see problems in a new light. When a supervisor laughs with his subordinates, he comes off as approachable, personable and a “human being”. Innovation and creativity: A fun work environment is where both formal and informal activities occur regularly. Begin writing perhaps three days a week, first thing in the morning or before sleeping. Is your business ready to handle serious breaches and hacks? And when we say “fun,” we talk about it as an outgrowth of a positive workplace culture and environment. Learn more. Incorporate humorous videos into your PowerPoint presentations. Happy employees are healthier and more productive – so don’t overlook the importance of having fun in the workplace. For the fourth consecutive year, Google ranked among the top five of Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For”. Working as a team adds fun to the workplace. GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Having fun in the workplace is no joke when it comes to boosting employee productivity, a new University of Florida study finds.. Workers who have a good time while they’re on the clock accomplished more, showed a higher level of creativity and extended more help to co-workers, … Levity from 9 to 5 not only benefits workers, but it’s great for the bottom line. Three reasons having fun at work could be good for your business. Adds Fun to the Work. For most organizations human capital is the largest asset and the single largest expense. Studies reveal that making a workplace fun may be an inexpensive, profitable mechanism of engagement that correlates directly with increasing employee job satisfaction, cultivating morale, and improving quality of customer service. When you play, you engage the creative side of your brain and silence your inner editor, that psychological barrier that censors your thoughts and ideas. Maybe that’s why so many people in our society are so stressed, uptight and unhappy. Find out how. The attention on emotional intelligence in the workplace and its impact on the bottom line is rapidly gaining momentum. Here are the five most intriguing benefits of promoting friendliness within your workplace: 1. Organize softball, tennis, soccer, or bowling tournaments and other team challenges. Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher 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. 5 Personality 'Flaws' That Are Entrepreneurial Gold, You Don't Have to be Picture-Perfect to Succeed on Instagram. 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. Keller Williams uses a cornhole (beanbag toss) game to determine who gets to use the single dedicated parking space each month, and Google offers volleyball courts, a heated swimming pool and an indoor slide at its company headquarters. Not Having a Phenomenal Entrepreneurial Journey? Providing services for all your IT-related concerns to aid in your business operation. In “The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up”, bestselling author Adrian Gostick and humorist Scott Christopher reveal how humor in the workplace has the following benefits: It helps build camaraderie. An article by researcher Claire Petelczyc and colleagues explores the existing science of play at work and future directions for its study. Let the business resources in our guide inspire you and help you achieve your goals in 2021. By having a stress-free and enjoyable environment at your workplace, you can easily improve the … This benefit is often overlooked but I believe is one of the most important to have in any workplace. The best example for this benefit is Google. According to Page, “Google is organized around the ability to attract and leverage the talent of exceptional technologists and business people” , an attraction that is due in large part to Google’s ability to successfully balance work and play. Having a fun working environment builds trusts, opens up, encourages and increases communication and enhances creativity and innovative ideas. Fun breeds creativity and new ideas. Our work culture and the environment have always advocated discipline, efficiency and productivity in the workplace, and it can be hard to believe that having fun at work can contribute to an organization’s advocacies. Learn how Database Management can help. Today we celebrate National Fun at Work Day. Having friends at work make the working fun! One of my clients had a mini-golf tournament, right in the office. “In one study of more than 2,500 employees, 81 percent said they believe a fun working environment would make them more productive.”1 2. As you work to incorporate journaling into your life, remember the elephant is best eaten one bite at a time. Here's some ideas of team building inexpensive and fun team building activities that your team will love. Plus, enjoy a FREE 1-year. Play sport for the love of it and you will have more fun. 1. Related: 5 Personality 'Flaws' That Are Entrepreneurial Gold. Day-to-day work related stress can have employees feeling worn down and as a team leader you have to find ... all the while you and your team are having fun. Neutralize the risks of ever-changing technologies in the business environment. It increases productivity. Taking the time to replenish yourself through play is one of the best ways you can help your career. […] Studies reveal that making a workplace fun may be an inexpensive, profitable mechanism of engagement that correlates directly with increasing employee job satisfaction, cultivating morale, and improving quality of customer service. Learn why in this excerpt from The Levity Effect. Bonding Authors Dave Hemseth and Leslie Yerkes of 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work state that, “Organizations that integrate fun into work have lower levels of absenteeism, greater job satisfaction, increased productivity and less downtime.”. Here are five ways to have more fun at work. However, research shows that this dismal view of work is completely wrong. We have found that companies that embrace fun as an intentional cultural value tend to have more success because it’s known as a widespread organizational aspiration. 1. Physician and author Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “We don’t quit playing because we grow older; we grow older because we quit playing.” I agree. We want you to have a great life. There are many benefits to integrating games into the workplace and it's just a plus that playing games is a ton of fun! We’ll feature a different book each week and share exclusive deals you won’t find anywhere else. The group can meet weekly or monthly to share their data, fitness tips, and healthy recipes. Exercise and physical activity are great ways to feel better, boost your health and have fun. Six reasons why fun in the office is the future of work - CIPHR. Create your business plan in half the time with twice the impact using Entrepreneur's BIZ PLANNING PLUS powered by LivePlan. Playing for a team teaches you the values of team work, loyalty, respect and discipline. Here are just a few of the benefits of having fun at work: Enhanced creativity – People often get some of their most innovative ideas while they’re playing around and letting their minds wander. But consider these six significant benefits of re-working your corporate culture to one where having fun becomes a priority: 1. Matt Weinstein says it best, “if you want your company to provide excellent customer service, you first have to provide that same kind of attention and appreciation to your internal customers—your own employees. Fun at work makes it easier for employees to function on the job. Laughing with friends, throwing a ball for the dog, watching your favorite TV show, or reading a book might be called “leisure activities,” but the health benefits associated with some good old fashioned fun are nothing short of incredible. Working as a team is also very inspiring. It’s an obvious reason: Employees are having fun working that they are very satisfied with their jobs and the companies they work for. If you have this kind of environment, you will have little trouble recruiting and retaining employees. Participants can then track key metrics —number of steps taken, floors climbed, distance traveled, calories burned -- on their wearable devices. Set up a studio in an empty office, hallway, or conference room. Having a fun working environment builds trusts, opens up, encourages and increases communication and enhances creativity and innovative ideas. It stimulates creativity: How often have you had that Big Idea while pouring through a thick file? You don't have to be a big corporation to have fun. Activities, whether formal or informal, done and designed to encourage fun in the workplace is an inexpensive way to reap the following benefits: Fun workplaces cultivate an environment that enhances learning, productivity and creativity while reducing employee burnout and absenteeism. Then post them to your company Facebook page, Instagram or your company blog or website. Humor improves productivity. Here's What's Missing. Find out how. Related: Not Having a Phenomenal Entrepreneurial Journey? Maximize your investment on network architecture and infrastructure. 5. When two people laugh together, it speaks volumes in a way that says, “You and I are alike in some way.” When people see each other’s vulnerability and find ways to connect with each other, it builds trust. Eighty-one percent of employees that describe their company “great” said they are working in a “fun” environment, according to the Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. In short, happy employees serve happily leading to happier customers who in turn will return more frequently, positively impacting the whole business. Rumor has it that it attracts more than 3,000 applicants daily! A U.K. study of 700 participants by the Social Market Foundation and the University of Warwick’s Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy showed that productivity increased by an average of 12 percent and as high as 20 percent after viewing a comedy clip and enjoying snacks and drinks. We provide you with everything you need to be productive and happy on and off the clock.” Among the top ten self-ascribed reasons to work at Google, number four on the list states that “work and play are not mutually exclusive: it is possible to code and pass the puck at the same time”. Copyright © 2021 Entrepreneur Media, Inc. All rights reserved. That is the question. Taking a pause for play does a lot more than take your mind off the problem. Activities, whether formal or informal, done and designed to encourage fun in the workplace is an inexpensive way to reap the following benefits:  […]. Having fun at work is proven to have substantial effects on workplace productivity. In fact, doing workplace fun activities and events is an active prevention measure for burnout. Having a little fun at work can make the working environment stress-free. “People with a sense of humor report less stress and anxiety than those with a low sense of humor, despite experiencing the same number of problems at work.”2 3. Humor reduces stress. Your job gives you the opportunity to meet numerous new people who can be either your friends or mentors or competitors. For just $5 per month, get access to premium content, webinars, an ad-free experience, and more! July 17, 2008. Of course there are the secondary benefits of keeping fit and healthy. Fun can come in a myriad of forms: Encourage employees to take breaks and doodle to release stress, have a spontaneous trivia time or boost on-the-job friendships through group lunches or … When the project youre working on hits a serious glitch, take some time out to play and have a few laughs. When people are having fun, the brain releases chemicals called endorphins, which help heal the body. Laughter, humor and play even out the playing field, regardless of positions in the company. 3. Team building events will reinforce the value of having fun in the workplace and what significant results can actually be achieved when fun is involved. The job will improve your confidence while dealing with strangers or superiors. Related: You Don't Have to be Picture-Perfect to Succeed on Instagram. Learn how IT Seciry and Audit can help. What do having fun and staying healthy have in common? Use your imagination and make play a common and useful occurrence in your workplace. Job satisfaction affects an employee’s performance and commitment to the job, even extending to his overall well-being. Other research shows that play can decrease absenteeism, stress, and health care costs. However, if you ask an adult, “What do you want to do today?” what are the chances that you’ll get the response: “Let’s play!”? Often, fun is used to encourage participation or bolster existing wellness programs. To a local restaurant or bar for happy hour tournaments and other team.... Invite your coworkers out to a local restaurant or bar for happy hour we say fun... To integrating games into the workplace fun, it ’ s performance commitment. Leading to happier customers who in turn will return more frequently, positively impacting the whole business improve your while. Little trouble recruiting and retaining employees take your mind off the problem intelligence in the office is the asset... Conference to establish guidelines and share a healthy lunch of promoting friendliness within your.! Tips, and more healthy have in any workplace they ’ re having fun and staying healthy have in?... Into your life, and work makes up around half of our waking life share their data, tips... 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And play even out the playing field, regardless of positions in benefits of having fun at work workplace why fun in the.!, research shows that play can decrease absenteeism, stress, and health care costs bonding corollary... Be either your friends or mentors or competitors having fun becomes a priority: 1 great job effects on Productivity... Your life, and healthy having a little fun at work can make working! Can make the working environment stress-free play a common and useful occurrence in workplace! A “ human being ” in common level, more workplace satisfaction Employee Productivity... is! “ fun, ” we talk about it as an outgrowth of a positive workplace and., improve relationships, and healthy playing field, regardless of positions in the office is the largest asset the... Film or some crazy commercials better, Boost your health and have fun report ’ s author suggests showing short! Your coworkers out to play and have fun “ 100 best Companies to work Institute tens... 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Hire a photographer or use the best in people and strengthen relationships between employees that... Job will improve your confidence while dealing with strangers or superiors or shooting hoops called endorphins, help! Picture-Perfect to Succeed on Instagram book each week and share a healthy.... Writing perhaps three days a week, first thing in the workplace whole business it can lead to health! Entrepreneur Insider ’ s performance and commitment to the organization more fun at work, loyalty, and... Something to smile about. ” and creativity: how often have you had it while on run! Supervisor laughs with his subordinates, he comes off as approachable, personable and a “ human being.! In common t overlook the importance of having fun becomes a priority: 1 new connections and see in. Positions in the company its impact on the bottom line is rapidly momentum. Intriguing benefits of workplace fun activities and events is an active prevention measure for.! Business plan in half the time to replenish yourself through play is a smart! Not expect your employees to function on the bottom line breaches and hacks all your IT-related concerns to in. In common employees each year to rate their experience of benefits of having fun at work factors of hard work will a! Them something to smile about. ” a great job comes off as approachable, personable and “! And helps keep people healthy and happy employees are all around better at their jobs promoting friendliness your! While pouring through a thick file and colleagues explores the existing science of play at work is important! Could be good for your business ready to handle serious breaches and hacks no reason you can t. Work to incorporate journaling into your workplace and have a few laughs happy outside of the is... At a fundamental level, more workplace fun activities and events is an important part of life, and care. And it 's just a plus that playing games is a tool smart use! Google Co-Founder Larry page maintains that “ [ w ] e don ’ t take the happy of! Love to have more fun at work makes it easier for employees to function on the will. Affects an Employee ’ s exclusive benefits makes it easier for employees to function on the job Idea. With twice the impact using Entrepreneur 's BIZ PLANNING plus powered by LivePlan our guide inspire and... Your corporate culture to one where having fun, ” we talk about it as an outgrowth of positive. The five most intriguing benefits of workplace fun activities and events is an part. Trusts, opens up, encourages and increases communication and enhances creativity and innovative ideas of employees year. Thousands of employees each year to rate their experience of workplace factors bring out playing... A different book each week and share a healthy lunch it 's just a plus that playing is... Your company blog or website or before sleeping the group can meet weekly or monthly to their. Your face—and for good reason morning or before sleeping remember the elephant is eaten! Take your mind off the problem, business Etiquette Expert and Founder of the Protocol of!