6 Ways to Make Work More Fun
Did you know that happier employees are more productive, more innovative, and collaborate better than their moody counterparts?
Richard Branson says “If you take care of your employees they will take care of the clients.”
Therefore, in this article, we came up with the best ways to liven up the office and boost team morale.
These tips work great for our own staff and are super simple to incorporate into any office setting.
Let’s take a look!
1. Office Pet
We recently mentioned the benefits of bringing your dog to work, and are huge fans of having an office pet.
Pets are excellent stress-relievers. Whether you just got off the phone with a difficult vendor, or the office is out of coffee, petting a furry friend helps ease tensions and lift spirits.
We do understand a dog may not be suitable for every company. The office pet does not have to be a dog. It could be a cat, hamster, even a fish.
Fish make excellent, inexpensive office pets for people with allergies. They’re peaceful and pretty to watch. Assign different employees different days of the week to feed the fish, and they will look forward to it. We bet they will have a good laugh brainstorming names for the little fishy too.
Whichever animal you decide on, there are multiple benefits to be gained from a designated office pet. Make the new employee your office mascot for an extra pinch of camaraderie.
2. Food Included
The key to a happy employee’s heart (or maybe it’s stomach?) is free food!
But, let’s step it up a notch from the classic pizza party. Try new menus with scheduled free food days. Breaking from the same old, same old is more exciting (though we want to make it clear that we do love pizza and it’s delicious).
Free Food Day can be a monthly or quarterly event. Do breakfast, lunch, or office brunch. Have employees write down their favorite local eats and put them in a jar. When it’s time for Free Food Day, blindly pick a restaurant from the jar and order up. This creates a sense of anticipation. Schedule these days at the end of a pay period, when workers may be tighter on cash. They’ll appreciate the gesture even more.
If this seems a little steep for the company’s budget, satisfy employees and their love of free food by stocking up on office snacks.
A superb snack stash leads to more blissful workdays. Load it up with power bars for energy, chocolate for stress relief, and whatever else your crew loves to munch. It’s convenient for your staff. Employees will be happier knowing they don’t have to get into their car and drive to 7-11 for edible pick-me-ups.
Hangry co-workers make offices unpleasant, so keep your team happy and their bellies full.
3. Exercising
Exercise has been scientifically proven to boost energy levels, increase productivity, and make people happier.
Set aside 5 minutes for a daily, mid-morning group stretch. Stretching before lunch is an excellent way to perk up the hours before chow time.
Too much sitting makes people groggy. Get your staff moving with a weekly stroll. Head everyone outside for a 10-minute walk around the block. The fresh air will bring the zombies back to life and encourage cheerful conversation.
Can’t make it outside? Do office chair squats without even having to leave the cubicle.
For competitive employees, hold a jumping jack contest once a month. If you manage a reward for the winner, more employees will participate, getting more hearts pumping and more bodies feeling good.
4. Feng Shui
The feel-good aura of any workspace is in the decorating. If empty white walls are boring your employees to death, it’s time for an office makeover. Go from drab to fab by adding bright colors, proven to stimulate the senses and energize the mind.
Wall graphics and signs bring character into a room. Add a bean bag sofa for brain breaks and green plants to freshen up the air.
Make revamping a team-building exercise. Rearrange the furniture, clean out the trash, laugh, bond, and decorate!
Encourage staff to decorate their own spaces too. Employees spend the majority of the day glued to their desk. Why not make them sparkle?
No, don’t go throwing glitter around. Instead, let workers bring in photos and desk trinkets. Items of personal importance are perfect to see when managing to peel your eyes off the soul-draining computer screen. Cubicles are really simple to dress up with pictures and inspirational quotes.
Buy bizarre shaped post-its and superhero paper clips. The tiny touches make all the difference in a workspace.
5. Whistle while you work
The seven dwarfs had the right idea. Music can make work more enjoyable.
Singing a few lines throughout the day, or whistling a happy tune, can transform a person’s mood. Workloads become less strenuous with an upbeat song. Repetitive tasks are less tiresome with something to hum.
If your crew mirrors lifeless droids pedaling on in silence, it’s time to crank up the tunes. Light music in the backdrop is all it takes. Schedule a music hour if it’s too distracting for the entire workday. A designated hour to jam will motivate workers to get more done beforehand.
Just keep in mind that one person’s Jay-Z isn’t another’s Barry Manilow. Remember to keep the playlist tasteful and be mindful of other employees in the room.
In case no one will tolerate your taste, a pair of headphones is a sound way to escape into your own lyrical bliss. Make it fair for everyone. Our team loves working to Pandora and takes turns picking stations each day.
6. Laughter is the best medicine
It’s no joke that laughter decreases stress and releases endorphins.
Endorphins are the body’s natural happy chemicals and have the power to relieve pain. Therefore, it’s time to start chuckling.
Set up a bulletin board (when you’re feng shui-ing) to post weekly or even daily jokes. The DIY humor board is excellent for the break room or by the front door.
How awesome will it be to start the day laughing?
Other great ways to make the office laugh include:
- Have an Urban Dictionary “word of the day” (but try to keep it clean)
- Email everyone in the office hump day cat videos
- Find the celebrity blunders of the week and hold a contest to see who found the most shameful each Friday
- Figure out everyone’s Pirate name and call them by it when you need help
- Schedule a day for staff to wear silly ties, hats, and accessories
- Make an office calendar consisting of monthly funny faces of your employees
Conclusion
It’s important to laugh at work, but just like music, keep it tasteful and considerate. Appropriate laughter increases teamwork, employee retention, and job satisfaction.
Just because you have to work, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. Jobs should have a healthy balance of seriousness and fun. We hope these ideas inspire you and your crew and please share with us how your office incorporates good vibes.
And if you are interested in joining the Infinite Media Corp. staff, (a team that truly knows how to mix in workday fun) check out our job opportunities.
