Wait a minute—isn’t having fun at work an oxymoron? Isn’t work supposed to be serious just because it’s WORK? Yes, of course—work is serious, unless you’re lucky enough to be a comedy writer or circus clown, but aren’t there ways we can still have some fun at work and still be productive?
Our answer to this question is that not only can you have fun at work, there are good business reasons why you should bring some levity into your organization—none the least of which is that fun at work has a positive impact on your bottom line!
Make sure what you do to lighten the mood at work is not the kind of fun at someone else’s expense—that’s when issues like harassment, bias, and potential bullying pop up but if you know your employees well, I’ll bet you can come up some fun ideas that also might stimulate creativity as well!
Manager’s Tip: In The Manager’s Answer Book and give you some no or low-cost examples of things you can try including:
- Theme days
- Trivia contests
- Game days
- Ice breakers at staff meetings
- Improv sessions
- Celebrations for meeting deadlines
- Potlucks, chili cookoffs, tail gate parties
The list of things you can do is endless but be respectful of boundaries. Be sure that you as the manager participate along with other senior managers so your employees see a different side of you!
For more on having fun at work, see page 165 of The Manager’s Answer Book. Which is available at Amazon.com, https://tinyurl.com/y8umaqpz - Barnes & Noble, or your local independent bookstore.
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