More Than Just Casual Friday
Motivated and engaged workers do wonders for productivity and morale, but the organization must do its part to facilitate that engagement. Here are some ways to make work more fun:
Gamification of Training and Projects
Making learning fun just makes good sense. Why did we ever stop doing it? That’s the way we learned just about everything: the alphabet, the founding pieces of our language, we learned through song and dance. Gamification expert, Jeanne Meister, says that interactive learning games could increase long-term retention rates by up to 10 times.
Creating or finding training programs that implement games can make for a significantly more efficient training process. Additionally, when a project or task is made into a game, it encourages healthy competition and higher engagement.
Encourage Vacation Time
Forget taking the time, 39 percent of workers have reservations about even asking to take the time. We live in a workaholic culture, and you pretty much have to pry our fingers from our iPhones.
“The impact that taking a vacation has on one’s mental health is profound,” said Francine Lederer, a clinical psychologist, “Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation, even if it is a 24-hour time-out.”
Now those sounds like the kind of people who you want working in your office. Attitudes are contagious. Encouraging employees to take their vacation time ultimately benefits everyone around them. Happy workers produce, so make them happy!
Inter-Office Competition
Michael Scott of the The Office shows us how it’s done when it comes to bringing competition and fun into the workplace. He didn’t always hit his mark, but he sure did try.
Employee wellness competitions are often well received. Making it fun to lose weight and get active while facilitating social interaction in the workplace is a win-win. There are also charity events like races, mud runs and golf tournaments. Be sure that you choose something that everyone can enjoy or at least socialize in.
Social Events
Company picnics, ball games, charity races, and organized bike rides…the list goes on and on. The best way to organize a social event is to first put feelers out on what type of event would be most successful. A quick Google survey, a request for an emailed response or even a Twitter hashtag will help to narrow down what your employees would enjoy.
Fill-In-The-Blank Days
Don’t get too crazy with these, or you’ll be the only one attending your “decorate your cubicle” party. And that’s sad. Potluck days are always a crowd pleaser. Nothing tends to get people together like food. You can also allow employees to pick their favorite Pandora station for a designated amount of time, allowing their favorite music to take center-stage in the office. Bring your dog to work day, Workout Wednesdays or Happy Hour Fridays will all get the ball rolling. Anything that will get people talking, moving and interacting is good.