According to research conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, “A vast scientific literature has detailed how negative emotions harm the body. Serious, sustained stress or fear can alter biological systems in a way that, over time, adds up to the ‘wear and tear’ and, eventually, illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Chronic anger and anxiety can disrupt cardiac function by changing the heart’s electrical stability, hastening atherosclerosis and increasing systemic inflammation.” There is a perception that fun is something that happens outside of the workplace and could distract employees from their concentration on their daily task which is not the case. In this article, we discuss what a fun workplace looks like, the benefits it has on work culture and productivity and also tips for developing a fun workplace.
Would you believe me if I said the happier your employees are, the more successful your company becomes? Studies have shown that “companies with happy employees outperform the competition by 20% and a happy salesman closes 37% more sales.” A fun workplace is often termed as a relaxed and supportive environment that helps improve the morale of the organization by reminding the employees of how important they are to their managers, co-workers and the organization as a whole which sometimes is the responsibility of the upper management or Human Resources Managers. Having a fun workplace helps employees to focus on finding positive aspects of any problem and moving forward rather than dwelling on the negative aspects.
A relaxed environment has the tendency to reduce the level of employee stress and anxiety and also reduces absenteeism since
employees are always present to work. A fun workplace ensures employee engagement which helps in building a stronger communication bond at the workplace where employees are comfortable in sharing ideas with each other and enhances
collaboration which is very much important in productivity, project execution, innovation and company performance. Also, there’s respect for boundaries and weaknesses between employees. Having fun with the work you do is a great way for collaboration and communication. It is easier and more enjoyable to collaborate with people you are friendly with as compared to people who you just regard as colleagues or even worse, enemies.
How can you make your workplace fun? In making the workplace more fun, there are activities HR Managers can introduce in the working area to inspire employees. Creating a game area in the workplace is one way to increase productivity. At HR Focus, there is a pool table where employees usually take ten minutes during the day to unwind. This helps employees engage more, helping them have honest and open conversations and also share creative ideas which will increase their sense of belonging and reduce isolation.
Another way to have fun at the workplace is to introduce Happy hours which can either be the last day of every month or the last working day of every week. Happy Hours provide an avenue for employees to have something to forward to each working week. It also
provides an avenue for employees to share whatever is bothering them either at work or at home. When employees feel low, they find it difficult to communicate and this may generally affect their productivity. HR Managers can also introduce virtual games where every branch of the company can come together, once in a while to play games.
Make your workplace fun today to increase productive!
