Fun at Work Can Boost Productivity and Morale

Noel Coward once proclaimed, "Work is more fun than fun." For Coward, a playwright, composer, movie and Broadway star back in the mid 20th century, no doubt his work was extraordinarily creative and exciting -- and certainly a whole lot of fun. However, for most of us with far less glamorous careers, fun is what we have after work, right?

As more than one nose-to-the-grindstone pundit has declared, "Work is not supposed to be fun. That's why it's called work."

However, more employees and managers are rethinking these attitudes. In fact, researchers have found that people who experience fun at work are far more productive than their counterparts who face a bland and boring work environment each day. Fun, it turns out, can be good business.

Fun (at work) facts

Each year, the San Francisco-based Great Place to Work Institute produces Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list by asking tens of thousands of employees to rate their experience of workplace factors, including whether or not "This is a fun place to work." The results show companies that are labeled as "great places to work" are those that receive an overwhelmingly positive vote from employees (an average of 81 percent) who say they work in a "fun" environment.

Simply put, employees at the best companies to work for seem to be having the most fun at work.

In an article posted on the Great Place to Work Institute's web site (www.greatplacetowork.com), Director of Corporate Research Amy Lyman, PhD, writes "in great workplaces, employees experience both a friendly welcoming atmosphere and also a fun enjoyable spirit to the workplace." She also points out that there's a strong correlation between fun and reduced turnover, better recruiting and camaraderie.

More research on how fun, including having a sense of humor, is good for employees and a company's bottom line, too:

• A survey by Hodge-Cronin & Associates found that of 737 CEOs surveyed, 98 percent preferred a job candidate with a sense of humor to those who seemed to lack one.
• David Abramis, PhD, of California State University at Long Beach has studied fun at work for years. He concludes people who have fun on the job are more creative, more productive, better decision-makers, and get along better with co-workers. They are also less likely to be late for work and they take fewer sick days than people who say they don't have fun at work.
• A study in the Harvard Business Review found that executives described by co-workers as having a good sense of humor were promoted more quickly and earned more money than their peers.
• Research by Katherine Karl of Marshall University and Joy Peluchette of the University of Southern Indiana published in the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies showed that employees who experienced fun in the workplace had greater job satisfaction and were more willing to help customers, too.

Defining fun

So what makes a work environment fun? A survey published in the journal Human Resource Planning found the top three most frequently used fun-promoting activities were casual dress days, employee recognition and rewards, and company-provided food and refreshments. The study respondents also said a fun work setting was created through funny, humorous, or playful activities.

Workers at Social Sauce, a user-generated content and communication platform based in New York City, no doubt agree with the latter description. When tensions mount at work, Social Sauce employees chase each other around and have "battles" with foam swords. At Oracle Corp., an international software and hardware systems company, the management keeps toys handy -- including koosh balls, stackable blocks, origami paper, and even hula hoops -- for pressured employees to play with when under stress.

Clearly, these are not appropriate ways to have fun in every work environment or corporate culture. You wouldn't want to see bank officers chasing each other with swords, for instance, even if they are made out of foam. It also could be disconcerting to witness your doctor and his nurse hula hooping into the exam room.

However, while there's not a one-size-fits-all recipe for fun on the job, Bill Kahnweiler, PhD, Associate Professor in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, tells Synergy that having fun at work generally involves one important aspect --- having an environment that allows people to bring more of who they really are to the workplace.

"Having fun at work is not about yucking it up and telling jokes all day but about being able to bring a bit more of your fun, less serious side to your organization. This can certainly foster creativity, too," he explains. "However, it's important to be realistic about an organization's culture. In a marketing firm or IT industry, the environment can be more conducive to a work hard/play hard culture."

"Even in a work environment which is by its nature serious -- such as a hospital's intensive care unit dealing with life and death issues -- people who work there need to find ways to relax and joke with one another in appropriate ways to avoid burn out," Dr. Kahnweiler adds.

"I don't buy the idea that working on ways to have more enjoyment and fun at work is just 'fluff'," he emphasizes. "Managers should recognize that people need to have time to de-stress and that people have a fun side."

Of course, when you work for a large and successful company like SAS, the IT giant that topped Fortune's list of top companies to work for in 2010, working fun into the day can seem like a no-brainer. SAS offers a host of entertaining perks for employees, including on-site recreation centers and company sponsored games and classes.

Dr. Kahnweiler says fun can also be integrated into smaller companies with far fewer resources. Take non-profits struggling with a down economy, for example. "Times are tough for them. Grants and donations are down. By easing up on dress codes, offering flex time, giving people more voice in their workday, non-profits can make the workplace more attractive and more fun -- and that helps retain employees," he says.

What if your workplace could use some lightening up? How can you encourage the powers-that-be to add some fun to the workday?

"The best power leverage of a non-manager is talent and to do a good job that is valued by the corporation," Dr. Kahnweiler tells Synergy. "When you are praised for a job well done say thanks and then use that as an opening to talk about things you'd like to see changed at the office, such as loosening up a dress code, to make the workplace a more fun place."

Sherry Baker is a writer from Atlanta, Georgia. She last wrote Planes, Veins, and Pains for Synergy. Sherry can be reached at featuredstories@adamcorp.com