Employee Productivity Equals Making Work Fun

Yes, we know: “Business first, fun last," but if you don't enjoy your job and co-workers are suffering from terminal professionalism, will that create a highly productive, successful environment? Taking our jobs seriously and ourselves lightly is the key to making fun of work.

We all know how to have fun but we need to learn to give ourselves and others permission to have fun. Acting "all grown-up" at work has become analogous to having no fun. Some speculate the Roman Empire crumbled because of too much leisure and fun. In the sixteenth century, Puritan leader John Calvin scorned leisure, declaring it a negative pastime. He preached that hard work was the sole path to salvation. People began working hard and denying themselves pleasures. His ideals evolved into what is known today as the Puritan work ethic. Yet this did not eliminate fun, but surrounded it with a sense of guilt that we continue to feel today. Is it because we are used to "buying" fun instead of living it? A survey revealed that shopping is the most popular "out-of-home-entertainment" on weekday evenings. Four billion square feet of our land has been converted into shopping centers; some 16 square feet for every American. Perhaps if more fun is found in the work place, fewer people will be inclined to “buy” or seek out fun in the vicious work — spend — consume cycle.

But fun work is recommended for companies that realize that the next major boost in productivity will be people, not technology, driven. Why use fun work? Because fun makes difficult situations less stressful and thus, the common ground of fun helps us bond with others. Moreover, research indicates that when we are having fun, we develop new neural cells in areas devoted to learning and memory.

Fun at work is taking the ordinary and making it, well, enjoyable. Do you still feel guilty? Then, remember this: It is your reward for commitment and hard work... keep in mind that your employers ask you to go the extra mile with your clients. So celebrating all birthdays once a month, having holiday parties and company picnics are commonly considered a company's traditional efforts to do the same for the employees. The reverberations of the staffs’ efforts can result in incredibly satisfied customers.