Ever work someplace where nobody ever laughed and work was a drudgery? What about a place where laughter could be heard on a regular basis and you enjoyed going to work?

These two environments are worlds apart. Unfortunately, many perceive fun to be a waste of time. I’ve seen it over and over again — managers who say “if they’re having fun they’re obviously not working.”

Not necessarily.

In a workshop at Santa Clara University entitled Fun Isn’t a Four Letter Word, humor is shown to be a major career asset. Accordingly, the promotion for the workshop reads “Let’s be serious about humor.”

It goes on to say that fun at work not only creates a pleasant working atmosphere, it relieves stress and boosts morale. Developing team cohesion and a stronger sense of team effort can be created by making the workplace fun, spontaneous, and creative.

A company called Interactive Events out of Australia suggests that up to 75% of poor productivity is stress related!

And, according to the Successful Manager’s Handbook, on-the-job fun can motivate people to work harder and be more productive. Contrary to the stodgy old belief, fun does not automatically lead to lower productivity.

Information I found in a old publication called Working Communicator revealed some convincing evidence on the value of humor in the workplace. For example, within a year of attending a workshop called “Fun at Work,” 20 middle managers cut their sick time in half and increased their productivity by 15%.

And workers at the Colorado Health Sciences Center showed a 25% decrease in downtime and a 60% increase in job satisfaction after they attended “fun” workshops and watched humorous training films.

I suppose this means that all who equate fun only with frivolity should find someplace else to be a grump!

**Caveat for those who are way too linear: Obviously there are times when fun is not appropriate. Now, please lighten up and go make someone smile.
 

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Filed in Work, Business, Opinion, Training, Motivation, Management, Leadership, Team Building, Workplace