Our brains need passion, play, and release at work. They’re essential to keeping us emotionally connected and engaged, to feel part of the tribe, to blow off steam, to create shared experiences.
Here are 5 ways to have more fun at work according to Christine Comaford
1: Create games/contests for your company values. Take your team out for an outing and conduct games that every team member can participate. Christine gives examples of how companies conduct golf games, Obstacle races, Volleyball games etc… on a quarterly basis to involve all team members and create a spirit of participation and oneness.
2: Share community service experiences. Christine suggests most of the memories are powerful because they are emotional—whether inspiring and uplifting or challenging with some struggle/trauma. She indicates that giving money to charities is cool, but spending time is far more emotional. And that too together as a team! She suggests that it is very cool to learn what causes move our team members and how their budget makes a difference!
3: Embrace celebration and appreciation. Another great suggestion that Christine gives is celebrating successes on a regular basis through visible appreciation! A few examples she gives are: high five emails to the team, leader boards showing employees who are achieving their targets, weekly round-up emails listing individual employee’s wins. Also we can create some wacky and unique awards that our team can strive for as well.
4: Incorporate mindfulness practices on a regular basis. Christine opines that every highly accomplished leader she know learns to stop the world and to stop their thoughts, on command. This is one of the best ways to make key decisions. They use mindfulness practices on a daily basis, and she suggests that we make this a part of our office culture! She suggests that we try having a monthly event where our team can learn a new mindfulness practice, such as meditation or yoga.
5: Celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries. Finally Christine suggests celebrating birthdays and work anniversaries on a regular basis. A card with a handwritten note has a huge positive impact and reminds team members that they are valued. Having cake or another special treat for the team is a great way to bring the team together and for them to have a chance to bond. If you are in a position to give a small gift, find out what the person really enjoys. Generic gift cards or standard gifts are great but a personalized gift is far more meaningful.
Overall Christine concludes that all work and no play makes us crabby and dull! Where there is laughter, joy, and fun, high-performance teams thrive. There are countless ways to have more fun at work and even attach empowering meaning to it at the same time, the above ideas will get you started!
Are you ready to have more fun at work? What ideas are you going to implement?
