What Do You Mean By "Fun At Work?"
Fun at work can take many shapes, and talking about "fun" in any sense can be difficult to generalize. However, when it comes to fostering fun environments or activities that support strong employee engagement, I believe there are two primary types to recognize: organized and organic.
Organized fun includes events and programs that are initiated by a company's leadership, HR team, or others who are responsible for owning that type of activity. Organized fun usually involves communication that is sent on behalf of the company in some way and is typically open to all employees.
Organic fun includes interactions and activities that are initiated by team members who have no formal responsibility for fostering a positive work environment. Organic fun is usually shared or communicated informally and among groups of people who typically interact with each other on a regular basis - in other words, people who are in each other's daily or weekly orbits.
Here are a few tips for maximizing your efforts with both types of fun at work.
Keep Organized Fun from Being Eye-Roll-Worthy
Make it Optional
If you're a leader or an HR professional looking to do something fun at your company, here is my NUMBER ONE TIP: it has to be optional! The very notion of something being mandatory will keep it from feeling fun.
It doesn't matter how many colorful flyers, memes, or prizes you use to try to make an event fun for everyone ... some people just won't be into it. And that's a-okay! Focus on the people who are looking for the types of events you're organizing, and target your efforts on people like them. Or, ask people what kind of events they'd like to attend and work with that!
Check out this episode of my favorite podcast, "The Hidden Brain," which expands much more on the concept of fun at work and gamifying the work experience.
https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/work-2-0-game-on/
Keep It Strategic and Business-Related
When you plan your fun events, seize every opportunity to tie the event in with your company's products/services, mission, or goals. The more relevant the event is to the business strategy, the more likely team members will be to value the event or program, regardless of whether they personally find it to be fun.
By directly relating your events to business or team objectives, you can also avoid creating feelings that the company is totally wasting money. Some people get bitter that their would-be bonus is being spent on stuff they find unrelated, unprofessional, or outright stupid.
This blog post of mine from December 2021 has some more concrete tips on how to integrate your company's brand, theme, or mission into a company party or event.
Organic Fun is Easier Than You Think
Laugh!
Laugh at your own mistakes, laugh WITH others as they make mistakes ... laugh at anything you can to help lighten the mood. Laughter and smiling cultivates more trust between teams and leaders and an openness to new concepts. It also produces "a cocktail of hormones" that, according to behavioral scientist Jennifer Aaker and corporate strategist Naomi Bagdonas, fuel a handful of physical, social, and professional benefits.
Check out this TED Talk by Jennifer and Naomi on Why Leaders Take Humor Seriously:
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_aaker_and_naomi_bagdonas_why_great_leaders_take_humor_seriously
Let it Stay Organic
If employees are doing something on their own that they find fun, I strongly recommend letting it stay organic. The moment the company or the HR team tries to formalize the activity, the more it will feel like a policy, and the less people will want to keep doing it.
Walk the Walk
If you want to create organic fun at your company, start with yourself and the people around you! Sometimes people just have to see that it's okay to have a little fun before they're comfortable doing it themselves. Here are a bunch of ideas for sparking organic fun at your office or shop:
- Bring in a treat and let people know!
- Ask a few people who brag about recipes to bring those in for a potluck.
- Create some friendly competition between you and a colleague or between teams. Loser owes the winner a happy hour or some baked goods!
- Pick a day of the week to start wearing weird hats, Hawaiian shirts, or some other silly garb.
- Play a table-top game or a yard game during breaks.
- Leave little notes of encouragement, riddles, or jokes around for people to brighten their day and create ripples of smiles across your company!
#rippletime
https://rippletime.com/ - Pick an after-hours event to attend, and invite some co-workers. Concerts, comedy shows, sporting events ... whatever you and your teammates would enjoy. Whenever possible, make sure people feel comfortable forwarding the invitation on to whoever else may be interested. Keep it inclusive!
Looking for more ideas and best practices on how to integrate fun into your workplace? Drop a question in the comments or contact Gordeaux today for a consultation or for support organizing your next company event!