Interesting question, eh? It was one that was posed to me recently, and it really got me thinking. How about you?
In some ways, I make having fun a certainty at our company. Every 90 days we have a team outing to celebrate our progress over the past quarter. Teams are put together at the beginning of the year, along with a budget, and they get to come up with whatever they want for our entire team.
We also implemented the Awesomeness Jar. This is cheap and simple, but throughout the month every teammate is encouraged to recognize a co-worker who’s gone above and beyond…or was “awesome”. They then drop a nomination in the jar and at the end of the month the most awesome person wins a fun little gift.
We also host Partner Appreciation Events every other month, with fun themes like Rejuvenation, Mad Men, Old West, and 80’s Rock. The office gets decorated, props are set out for guests, and we tend to have 30-50 business partners come each time to enjoy food, drinks, and a bit of networking. We even introduced an office corn hole set this year!
Those are just a few of the things that came to mind that we already do when I was asked this question. But what else could I do? What can YOU do to have MORE fun at work?
- Add some new decorations to your office or cubicle?
- List some new habits you want to create this year and track your progress?
- Let go of some of the activities that annoy you the most at work (assuming you’re allowed to)?
- Take a more active role in something?
- Start a charitable event?
- Bring a golf putter and putting machine to work for break-time putt-offs?
- Corn hole, darts, foosball, pool table? With an ongoing tournament?
- Book club, to encourage learning and growth amongst your teammates?
Give it some thought. I know I will continue to. When you think about it, we tend to spend more time with our co-workers than anyone else. It can seem sad to put it that way…OR…we can make it fun and something far more than a J-O-B.