What's Fun Got To Do With It?

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What's Fun Got To Do With It?

by Terri A. Deems, PhD

Not long ago, we worked with a troubled organization. In spite of fantastic physical facilities and competitive wages, morale was weak, market share was falling, they had a tough time recruiting the people they needed, and they were experiencing extremely high turnover. During interviews with staff, several people presented a disheartening experience of work: "It just isn't fun anymore." On hearing this, one manager responded, "Well, work isn't supposed to be fun. That's why we call it work!"

In contrast, another company never has recruiting problems, has a turnover rate of less than 2%, and is recognized globally as an industry leader. The people who work there overwhelmingly describe work as "fun." To them, this meant a place where people can be themselves, develop friendships, work hard and play hard, and create something meaningful. "If work isn't fun," described one manager, "why even bother?"

Too often we approach work with a grave earnestness that drains us of our energy, our attention, our meaning, and our passion. We dread Monday mornings. Get careless in the performance of tasks. Clock-watch. Burn out. Develop a mindless satisfaction with the status quo. Create excuses for going in late, or not going in at all. Work is simply not fun anymore.

Is work supposed to be fun? Or can it be? Research — and common sense — say yes! A sense of fun at work is vital if you want a workplace that attracts and retains the best people — people who work with pride and commitment, skill, creativity, and purpose! You can spot this kind of organization as soon as you walk through the door: people greet you, smile, make eye contact. You hear voices arguing heatedly in the hallways, belly-laughs during staff meetings. You are likely to be approached by several people, including the janitor, to see if they can help you. People are fully engaged in their worklife and work — as one person described — with a sense of being "fully alive!"

Having fun is a critical dimension of our creative energy. It involves living and working with spirit, with humor, with joy and delight. We are expressive beings, unless we have learned to suppress that quality within the confines of work or school. When this expressive nature is segmented from the workplace, our work becomes draining, deadening, meaningless. Who wants to commit to that?

Does this mean we should spend our work days playing games and carrying out practical jokes and to heck with the work at hand? Experiencing work as fun is much more than that. It involves a deep sense of enjoyment and pleasure, a vitality of heart, mind, and soul. The organization that is "fun" conducts work in a way that cultivates and values high-spiritedness, where people can live loudly and without fear.

Part of this involves a person's inner qualities, of course — their characteristic state of mind, attitudes and worldview. But there is a critical link between the subjective conditions of the person, and the objective conditions of the workplace. The most optimistic person may turn negative at work if their days are filled with monotony. The cheerful volunteer may become fearful or bitter if their ideas are ridiculed or ignored time after time.

Cultivating fun doesn't require an edict from management nor a large training budget. Here are just a few ideas to help stimulate an environment with more fun to it:

Recognize and celebrate! This needn't mean balloons or a big company dinner, though those can be fun at times. At its essence, it means noticing what people do. Paying attention. Has your work group just finished a tough job, hard project, or intensive training session? Celebrate what's been accomplished, even the little milestones! Did you notice someone going out of their way for a customer, or staying late to help a colleague? Let them know! Say thanks. Send them an email, and copy it to the others in the work group so they know, too. Big week? Hard day? Bring munchies, tell people to knock off early, turn up the music, or simply offer a sincere compliment and word of thanks. Be spontaneous. Make recognition and celebration an integral part of your work culture.

Engage people. Work is a social activity, and terrific ideas and innovations do not occur in a vacuum. Look for ways to engage people, to bring them together, to get them talking, questioning what they're doing, debating a plan, trying alternatives, sharing what's been learned. Dialogue. Argue. Laugh. Examine your work spaces: do they encourage people to remain isolated and apart? Make the investment and change it! Physically encourage people to gather and interact, because this is how we grow, create, and improve. It's not a waste of time but a way to challenge, share ideas, refresh, and re-energize ourselves. A casual attempt to encourage participation is not enough; you want people fully engaged with each other and with the organization. A workplace that fully engages people pulls them irresistibly toward your collective goal or vision.

Value playfulness. This doesn't have to be outrageous (though sometimes that helps!). Just stay open to silly or irreverent things. Value the eccentric. Wear a clown nose sometimes (it's hard to take yourself too seriously when wearing one!). Hold the next staff meeting at the zoo. Pay for lunch out -- with the caveat that no one can discuss work, nor watch the time. Build a company play room. Have the managers bring popsicles to everyone on a hot day, or cocoa on a cold one. Add new computer games, or have a theme dress day. Remember: novelty is a stimulus that triggers new associations, new perspectives, new thinking.

Laugh, right out loud. Most adults don't do this nearly enough. Yet science is learning more and more about the value of laughter and its relationship with physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Make it a central aspect of your organization's wellness, too. Lighten up! Be ready to laugh at yourself. There's lots of good material out there if we would just recognize the folly of much of what we do, or even the rhetoric and jargon that passes today for workplace enlightenment. Re-learn curiosity and delight and the art of foolishness. Jump up and down, wave your arms a bit, make some noise!

Work as if people mattered. We hear the words repeatedly, "Our people are our greatest assets." Yet in many companies those words are at odds with actions. Don't be satisfied with having the words in the mission statement. Look more critically: ask yourself, is the way we conduct work consistent with our belief that the people here matter? Take time each and every week to closely observe how work is organized and conducted: do your work processes, systems, and procedures back up your espoused values? Do a walk-your-talk audit. Give yourself and others the room and resources necessary to do and be something great! Now that's fun!

Stop worrying about what others will think. There's no greater killer of spirit than to dwell on what others might think of us. Create and break your own rules. Stop looking around to see how you compare. Someone will always be better than, and someone will always be less than, you or your company; taking this too seriously can lead to feelings of hopelessness and defeat or of self-righteousness and false pride. Personally, as a work group or as an organization, make your own decisions of what you want to be, how you want to look, the values you'll embrace and act upon, the benefits you'll offer, the schedule you'll establish, the potentials you have. Forget what others might think and do what is right within your organization or work unit.

Mel Brooks described, "…if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs, you got to jump around a lot, you got to make a lot of noise, because life is the very opposite of death. …You've got to be noisy, or at least your thoughts should be noisy and colorful and lively." Just for today, find at least one way to break into the solemnity that has crept into our worklives. Having fun at work means living and working with passion, purpose, and intention — right outloud!

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