"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play."
Arnold Toynbee.
For many years, therapists have encouraged adults to get in touch with their inner child. With the growing popularity of extreme sports, exciting trips into the wilderness and obsessions with kiddies-toy collectables, it seems that adults are taking their advice and are ready to have fun. This urge to play, whether through a game of tennis or miniature train collecting, is a vital and healthy one – and not limited to children, say the experts.
Play is pure pleasure! It is intense, absorbing and invigorating and can drive out anger, anxiety and fear. Taking time to play gives us the distraction from worries about expanding waistlines and rising bills, enabling us to focus on pleasure rather than duty. Furthermore, it has been found that adults who have a sense of fun and playfulness are better able to handle life’s challenges, think creatively, manage stress, have healthy relationships and strong families, grow spiritually and increase their personal confidence.
So how can we experience more fun into our workplace? It seems that often the reward of a good salary and generous bonuses isn’t enough to get you to enjoy your work and be the best you can be in your job. The work itself must be interesting and engaging. When you have the kind of job that you can get completely engrossed in, then you can say with certainty, that your work is fun!
Your work environment is another important reason for finding your job fun. When you work with colleagues you like and who like you, when you recognize each other’s capabilities, and when there is a sense of true consideration and respect for the other person, then work is really fun.
When your workplace community has light-hearted staff members who celebrate events like birthdays, new contracts, births, weddings etc, it has a positive effect on the level of fun at work. (We all know at least one playful person at work who is fun to be around!)
This sense of fun seems to have a positive impact on each staff member’s sense of his or her own abilities. The team’s competency increases and there is a drive to meet even greater challenges. There is greater personal involvement and an increase in staff commitment. Even Richard Branson, when asked the secret of his success, replied “Have fun working”
So don’t forget to play, it is the source of great inspiration and growth!
For many years, therapists have encouraged adults to get in touch with their inner child. With the growing popularity of extreme sports, exciting trips into the wilderness and obsessions with kiddies-toy collectables, it seems that adults are taking their advice and are ready to have fun. This urge to play, whether through a game of tennis or miniature train collecting, is a vital and healthy one – and not limited to children, say the experts.
Play is pure pleasure! It is intense, absorbing and invigorating and can drive out anger, anxiety and fear. Taking time to play gives us the distraction from worries about expanding waistlines and rising bills, enabling us to focus on pleasure rather than duty. Furthermore, it has been found that adults who have a sense of fun and playfulness are better able to handle life’s challenges, think creatively, manage stress, have healthy relationships and strong families, grow spiritually and increase their personal confidence.
So how can we experience more fun into our workplace? It seems that often the reward of a good salary and generous bonuses isn’t enough to get you to enjoy your work and be the best you can be in your job. The work itself must be interesting and engaging. When you have the kind of job that you can get completely engrossed in, then you can say with certainty, that your work is fun!
Your work environment is another important reason for finding your job fun. When you work with colleagues you like and who like you, when you recognize each other’s capabilities, and when there is a sense of true consideration and respect for the other person, then work is really fun.
When your workplace community has light-hearted staff members who celebrate events like birthdays, new contracts, births, weddings etc, it has a positive effect on the level of fun at work. (We all know at least one playful person at work who is fun to be around!)
This sense of fun seems to have a positive impact on each staff member’s sense of his or her own abilities. The team’s competency increases and there is a drive to meet even greater challenges. There is greater personal involvement and an increase in staff commitment. Even Richard Branson, when asked the secret of his success, replied “Have fun working”
So don’t forget to play, it is the source of great inspiration and growth!
Some ideas on how to inject a little fun into the workplace:
Ask all employees to bring in baby photos or Matric dance photographs to post on the bulletin board. Then guess who's who.
Ask all employees to bring in baby photos or Matric dance photographs to post on the bulletin board. Then guess who's who.
The Travelling Bouquet: bring in a bouquet of flowers and present it to one of your co-workers. Tell him/her to keep this on his/her desk for the next half-hour, then pass it on to someone else and tell him/her to do the same!
Hold a Company Limousine Lottery where the winner gets driven to and from work in the company limo. (If you don't have a company limo, rent one for the day!)
Take some Joy Breaks during the day and teach all your employees the art of tennis ball juggling or play marbles together or any other fun activity.
Hire an On-site Masseuse for the day.
Take a group photo portrait of your office mates dressed up for Clash Dressing Day ... or Polka Dots Day ... or Suspender Day ... or Pyjama Day ... or Bad Hair Day!
- From SAMO Newsletter - May 2008
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