You’ve Got to Have Fun!
By: Stacy Spahle
Date: 23 / 07 / 2020
“I view my life as a journey to be enjoyed and appreciated and I create an atmosphere of fun and happiness so all around me enjoy it as well.”
The tenth “Point of Culture” at ActionCOACH is fun. As a global organization, fun is part of every event, every meeting and our daily work lives because we don’t just put posters on the wall, we live the words.
Whether it’s celebrating a birthday or milestone anniversary, dressing up for Halloween or decorating our office spaces for the holidays, fun is something that is always present. It keeps morale high and it reminds us to not take thing so seriously. Loving what you do and having a good time is the ideal. If you have work with a purpose, and it gives you joy what more can you ask for.
As the largest and most successful Business Coaching Franchise in the world, ActionCOACH spreads this culture point to all the thousands of companies we work with. Instilling a sense of fun in any organization can go a long way to developing a strong team. You have to establish a good balance. Although you are likely increasing retention by adding fun to the mix, be careful you don’t lose productivity.
BusinessNewsDaily.com recently published an article on this very topic;
- Studies have determined that permitting employees to have fun at work makes them likely to perform better at their jobs.
- Work learning is more likely to happen alongside co-workers instead of in a regimented classroom setting.
- Create fun at work by encouraging socialization. Arrange for happy hours, corporate fun days and pizza nights.
The serious nature of the COVID crisis has increase the tension and stress your employees are feeling. Restrictions on congregating and having to wear protective gear all serve to isolate employees. Even more challenging is having a work force who is actually distant do to work from home and shelter in place guidelines.
Justworks.com offers some strategies to help you keep the team bonded even when they are separated.
https://justworks.com/blog/virtual-team-bonding-during-covid-19
“As more and more teams are getting acclimated to working remotely, it’s more important than ever to maintain that sense of connection and camaraderie for employees. Social distancing can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness, so team bonding activities can be incredibly helpful for making people feel like they’re not alone.”
They suggest some really interesting ways to not only have fun but to spark engagement. We have select of few of JustWorks.com suggestions as a reference.
Show and Tell
Lots of people love to share things about themselves. Bring back the spirit of grade-school with these activities and let employees share a part of their world with the rest of their team.
Get Creative
It’s true that not everyone is an artist. But not everyone has to be an artist to enjoy crafty or artsy activities. Get your team to use a different part of their brain.
- Paint Party
- Terrible Crafts. See which teammate can make the ugliest craft project for uncommon holidays.
- Quarantine Karaoke.
Quarantine, But Make It Fashion
Sweatpants are making a big comeback, but try giving your employees a reason to get dressed in the morning. Having a reason to don their best outfits can help boost employee moods and productivity in addition to making your video calls fashion-forward.
- Full-on fashion show with a theme.
- Dressed-up Pets.
- Holiday Dress-up Party or celebrate a random National Day of Observance.
Rely on Food
If there’s anything that’s guaranteed to bring people together, it’s food. Take advantage of this fact and use food to drive virtual events and activities that are sure to engage your team.
- Pizza Party.
- New Week, New Food. Using the lesser known national holidays, choose a new theme weekly or monthly and integrate that food into operations wherever possible. Insert related emojis into internal subject lines where appropriate, or request photos from employees who enjoy any related meals.
Accept the Challenge
As quarantine boredom increases, people are looking for different ways to pass the time. What better time than now to pose some fun challenges to your employees?
- Conference Call Backgrounds.
- GIF Wars
Have a (Virtual) Day or Night on the Town
- Take a virtual tour as a group to a museum, zoo or aquarium.
Play a Game
- Whiteboard Pictionary
- Museum Bingo
Ultimately the goal is to smile and share some levity with your co-workers whether socially distancing or while they work remotely. You have to keep the spirits light and create a hopeful and positive environment amidst all the uncertainty.
Richard Branson, noted entrepreneur said “Fun is one of the most important – and underrated – ingredients in any successful venture. If you’re not having fun, then it’s probably time to call it quits and try something else.”