Can Fun In Office Boost Productivity? Yes! It Can
“Even though you’re growing up, you should never stop having fun.” — Nina Dobrev
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Most of us have probably heard or read this age-old proverb as many times as we have brushed our teeth! Well, this saying is not just restricted to Jack who studies for several hours in a day only to lose out an opportunity to play with friends and have much needed “break”.
In the current scenario, this proverb holds true for millions of “Jacks” who are working for 8 to 10 hours in offices; working tirelessly to meet deadlines and achieve project goals. These Jacks are putting in all they’ve got in their work, but if they are doing without a daily dose of “fun” in the office then I’m afraid they might start to curse their jobs sooner or later.
Surprisingly, employees having fun around the office is still deemed as “unprofessional” conduct in many businesses. Our work culture and the environment have always been centered around discipline, efficiency, and productivity. Fun is something best had when you step out of your office. I strongly disagree with this traditional approach.
Who said fun in the workplace is counterproductive?
According to a 2015 study by the University of Warwick’s Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy, happier employees are more productive by an average of 12% and, in some cases, up to 20% more than a control group.
As the Chief Executing Officer and Founder of ProofHub, I have always believed in making my team feel at their best while they work in the office. This is the only way they can perform at their best.
After all, “Jacks” carrying out their work with a smile on their face are a lot better than a disengaged, demotivated, and disgruntled workforce. I don’t mind if they have a bit of chat with each other a few times a day or play some games during the lunch or tea break. We also conduct fun events once a month to lighten the work environment.
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How Fun In The Office Can Benefit “Jacks” (and the organization)
Having Fun Keeps Jack Happy & Healthy
Unhealthy employees tend to remain absent from work often. This is a significant problem for most businesses. For example, businesses in the UK lose 6.9 days a year per employee because of absenteeism, at an estimated cost of £554 per employee.
There are many reasons why employees are absent from work, but legitimately sick employees are less regular (and productive). On the other hand, a happy Jack is likely to enjoy good health (both physical and mental), which will keep him in high spirits when doing work and make him more productive.
It has been seen that employees who have fun at work successfully keep work stress and anxiety at bay have even been shown to have lower heart rate variability (the time interval between beats. So, it won’t be wrong to say that happy and healthy Jacks register a high present rate in offices and work with greater vigor to achieve organizational goals.
Having Fun Makes Jack Communicate & Collaborate Better
Since working in offices is mostly about workers collaborating multiple times a day, encouraging an effective way to polish up cohesion within your work environment should be your foremost priority.
When Jack enjoys lighthearted conversations with colleagues in a relaxed and fun environment, it leads to developing mutual trust and confidence in each other. When your employees are friends with people they work, rather than just being colleagues, they’ll work better together.
Laughter, fun, and play even out the playing field, regardless of positions in the company. At ProofHub, I play cards with my team members during lunch break, and employees who earlier were reluctant in sharing ideas or concerns with me, now have opened up in conversations with me.
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Having Fun Can Foster Creativity In Jack
A fun atmosphere fosters a better learning environment. Employees in fun work environments do not take mistakes made by them to heart. They don’t fret and frown on them for long. Rather, they quickly regroup themselves, leave the failures and setbacks behind, and are more willing to try new things.
It’s not necessarily fun activities that make employees learn new employees; it’s a fun atmosphere that can help to create a better learning environment. Individuals’ ability to learn improves when they enjoy tasks at hand and they’re in a relaxed frame of mind.
Play and humor are known to stimulate the thinking capabilities of individuals; helping people adapt and problem solve. At ProofHub, many clients and potential candidates who visit us have told me how they feel “buzz” in the air; high energy and enthusiasm of employees can be experienced.
We have worked hard to create such an environment at ProofHub. We have injected fun initiatives into employees’ daily lives to increase innovation within the workforce. And, I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved so far.
Having Fun Can Help Attract More Jacks (and potential customers too)
Google, the tech giant, is seen as the gold standard of fun workplaces. It is rumored that more than 3,000 individuals apply for jobs daily at Google! This alone says how high today’s job seekers rank successful work and play balance high in their priorities.
We can’t match Google’s standards, but we can try to ensure our employees have the best environment to work in. Recruiting and retaining the best talents becomes easier this way. On the other hand, when you give potential customers a chance to peek at daily life at your organization, it increases familiarity.
Whether a potential customer or passive talent, if that individual can relate to your company by watching its “human” fun side, they are more likely to prefer you over other organizations.
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Having Fun Can Increase Job Satisfaction In Jack
Millions of people are doing jobs to earn a decent living, but how many of them experience job satisfaction from their work? Sadly, only less than 50% of U.S. workers feel that they are in good jobs. Job monotony can affect employees’ performance and commitment to the job.
When Jack has fun doing his job, it means he’s satisfied with his job and the company he works for. When your employees have to do the same job over and over again, without any fun and play at work, they may lose interest and drive to perform better. For such people, a job is just another way of earning money to provide necessities to their loved ones.
Don’t let such a mindset set in the mind of Jack. Prioritize work, but give him some time that away from work, so that he can rejuvenate himself.
The Final Thought
The days are long gone by when fun and play at work was deemed counterproductive and unprofessional. These days, things are different. The benefits of having a work environment are too useful to ignore.
When you promote fun activities and humor in the workplace, you’ll be astonished to see a world of difference in their behavior and performance. It is not only good for your workforce but speaks highly of your business too. When you employees will speak highly of your brand, the word will spread very fast and your audience will increase exponentially.
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