Who said that the office can't be fun? It's no secret that laughter in the workplace not only boosts your team's happiness but in turn, their productivity too. If you didn't already know, we're The Fun Experts - hey, it's great to meet you! And we are BIG believers in having fun in the workplace. Why are we in business? Because we love to make people smile but what's important is that WE remember to smile too. We can't wait to share all our funshine secrets with you as we give you exclusive access to The Fun Towers! Better still, we promise you'll be on your way to a six pack after reading this (we're known for cracking a joke or two!)
Before we go any further, we wanted to emphasise the importance of having fun in the office. A happy workforce is a productive workforce and having fun not only keeps your employees engaged, but it helps them to build relationships with one another too. How does that help you? Relationships lead to loyalty and when a ray of sunshine joins our family, we want to keep them there. Happiness is great for your health too! Smiling boosts your mood and even your immune system (keep your team smiling and you can say goodbye to those sick calls!)
Still not convinced? A study by economists at the University of Warwick found that happiness led to a 12% spike in productivity, while unhappy workers proved 10% less productive. On that note, grab yourself a brew and read on.
1. Release your inner child and create a playroom!
When we say Google what do you think of? Slides. Lots and lots of slides. It's no coincidence that Google has some of the best offices in the world. Home to some of the most creative web tech people (I know, we've nailed their job titles right?) Google offices inspire their employees every single day. And yes, we know that their web designers probably often don't see daylight but Google understand that their workforce needs to be motivated and need to have fun.
So we're not saying to invest in a slide or a fireman's pole (but if our MD is reading this then we certainly wouldn't mind one!) but in all seriousness, there are small adjustments you can make to inject fun along the way. Consider installing a games room area in the lunchroom complete with an Xbox, Nintendo Wii or even send your employees to Italy on their lunch break with Virtual Reality - your employees will appreciate the distraction and return from their break feeling renewed! On a budget? Classic childhood games like Kerplunk and Connect 4 will help build relationships with your team. Better still, consider investing in some Lego. A quirky way to encourage your team to build their ideas - literally!
2. Make room for downtime
I know the last thing you want to do is take a break right now. Your e-mails are reaching triple figures, you are running out of places to stick your reminder sticky notes (take it off your head Doris) and your browser has lost count of its number of tabs (and I even have two screens - there's no excuse!) but every now and then, your brain does need a little downtime. Worried you'll fall behind? Quite the opposite in fact. It's proven that taking breaks helps our brains to retain information, make connections and prevent our brain from wandering (I wonder what to have for dinner tonight...?)
We all know the feeling of suffocating with your workload (take a deep breath and relax) and although there's nothing wrong with some healthy pressure, every now and then our brain does need a little rest. Instead of focusing on managing your energy, learn to balance it instead. Stuck for inspiration? Encourage your employees to take their all-important breaks by creating chill-out areas complete with bean bags and even funky props to encourage creativity. And get yourself some oxygen too! Widely respected research has proven that plants offer much more than aesthetic value.
Want to do something big? Implement morning meditation or even yoga classes. Be warned though, yoga has been known to cause health and happiness!
3. Get yourself an office dog - we know you want to!
A dog isn't just for Christmas, it's for life...and in some cases, the workplace too! The millennials office dog trend is growing and although you may have thought this was a trend that would disappear as quickly as Honey G's music career (who is she again?) this is definitely a trend that's here to stay.
It's no secret that petting a dog is an immediate stress reliever. Maybe they have magic powers, or maybe it's just because they are so darn cute either way, office dogs can help bring teams together and increase productivity in the workplace. And although a Great Dane may not be your first choice - unless you have room for an 86cm four legged friend - we promise you and your employees will reap the rewards! Ok so Doris in HR has her allergies so this may not work for everyone, so why not consider an aquarium? Fishes are known for their calming effects and even help to reduce blood pressure. We'll even help you out with their names - Fish and Chip - you're very welcome.
4. Get the beers in!
Here at Sunshine Events, we like to call our team catch-ups huddles (see what we did there?) You'll already know the importance of communicaton with your team - there's another blog post there - but why not do it in a fun way? We're sure it will keep your employees even more engaged and stop Dave in the corner from nodding off!
Consider implementing Friday beers into your strategy. Did someone just say the word BEER? We're sure we just saw you crack a smile! So this may not work for everyone, there's the intern Vicky to consider, but we think a great way to encourage engagement is communicating with your employees in a light-hearted and FUN way. Why arrange Friday beers? It gives you a chance to catch-up with your team in a relaxed environment. Not only will they listen, but they're sure to work that little bit harder in return too. Want to get your office really in the spirit? Why not consider some traditional pub games?
5. Create your very own Fun Committee
There's deadlines to meet, presentations to fill and you're still not entirely sure what you're going to have for dinner! You know you want to implement fun in the workplace but you're not sure where to begin! Light bulb moment! How about creating your very own Fun Committee? Not only is this a great way to involve your team but you'll also learn what makes THEM happy. The Fun Committee can help decide on weekly or even monthly activities to make sure laughter is key in your office (did someone say Dominoes Fridays?)
We recommend rotating your committee involving employees from different departments to make sure that everyone's needs are understood. So grab Donna from HR and Christy from Reception and get planning the funshine. Back soon, time to slide my way down to a meeting!
