By Heather Nezich, courtesy of SBAM Approved Partner ASE
Having fun at work is proven to increase engagement and results in healthier and happier employees. It’s where most of us spend a majority of our day, so why not make it fun!
Ciphr.com, a UK people focused business, recently posted a list of six reasons why fun is the future of work and should be part of your HR strategy:
- Happy Employees Are Healthier
The health effects that happiness has on your workforce will help reduce absentee costs and reduce presenteeism. Employees who have fun at work are more likely to avoid the negative effects of stress and anxiety and have even been shown to have a lower heart rate variability (the time interval between beats) with is associated with a risk of disease.
- Having Fun Improves Collaboration and Communication
Enjoying time with colleagues in a relaxed and fun environment encourages honest and open discussion and trust in one another. Having fun with people is a great way to learn about each other’s traits, likes, dislikes and develop unspoken habits and rules that aid mutual understanding. This will help coworkers to understand each other’s boundaries, strengths, and weaknesses in a fun way.
- Fun Breeds Creativity
How do young children learn? By play! Adults can learn that way too and are often more creative when in a relaxed, playful environment. Play stimulates imagination, which helps people adapt and problem solve. Challenges and problem-solving exercises, whether through day-to-day activity or in the form of competitions or initiatives, are an effective way to increase innovation within the workforce.
- Promoting Fun Attracts an Audience
Sharing fun stories about your workplace can be a crucial part of a compelling employer branding story and can help to garner attention on social media. Employees and even customers are attracted to a company that has fun at work. Encourage your employees to share their fun work activities on their social channels.
- Having Fun Results in Increased Productivity
A 2015 study by the University of Warwick’s Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy found that happier employees are more productive by an average of 12% and, in some cases, up to 20% more than a control group. When employees are surround by happiness, support, and friendship they will bounce back quicker when having a bad day or working on an exceptionally challenging project.
- Having Fun Encourages Advocacy
Employees who have fun at work are more engaged and are more likely to share their work stories, advocating your brand. If every employee shares their work stories to their own social groups, then your audience will increase exponentially – and for free!
So go ahead…have fun at work! Fun doesn’t mean work isn’t getting done, in fact, in the end more work will likely get done. Motivation and creativity increases. Fun is the future of work.