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.
 

Share This

Filed in Work, Business, Opinion, Training, Motivation, Management, Leadership, Teambuilding, Workplace