Mixing business and pleasure
IMAGINE getting up in the morning, calm and relaxed after a good night's sleep and driving to the office for a fun filled workday - one that includes morning walks and Tai Chi sessions, with salsa lessons in conference halls and five star lunches and frisbee games to replenish mind and body. To add icing to the cake, imagine working in a chic fuchsia-coloured office while your bank accounts get fatter by the month.
Utopia? Perhaps. Impossible? Not really. And no, we are not hallucinating either. We are merely stressing the importance of having fun at work. Admittedly, having software developers playing frisbee when they should be developing software is not exactly the best way to boost productivity, but we do need to ease up our staid straight collars a little and allow some margin for the fun in the office.
Why? Because one of the main reasons for low productivity is a dull, non-motivating workplace atmosphere. When duty becomes a delight, it is a marvelous feeling and understandably organisations where work becomes fun, are more productive. But how do you do it? Here are some simple ways to add the fun quotient to the workplace even if your organisation is not exactly all frisbees and fuchsia.
From the top
As with so many things, change must start at the top. The top management should set the pace by adopting a lighter, more positive attitude to work. An encouraging, motivating leadership that is non-critical and believes in generous appreciation for good work serves as a role model for others to follow. The leadership should be genuinely concerned about human needs and emotions, and balance the business side of work at the same time.
Some people have a very good sense of humour and their deliberate induction into work teams could be of great help for employee-morale and resultant work-related benefits. According to one expert, `It is not just a question of having a positive attitude, but a "lighter attitude" (work is fun) that makes the real difference.' Even at the recruitment level, the leadership must ascertain that hired employees are a cultural-fit. They should look for positive energy levels.
Recruiting people-centric employees, who are pleasant to work with and can nurture and motivate teams, considerably enhances the workplace atmosphere. Organising employee clubs and voluntary work groups, holding fetes, celebrations and sponsoring events etc., encourages employees to bond with the organisation, and with each other.
However, all said and done, it is important to have a proper set of guidelines - a list of dos and don'ts to see that things do not get out of hand. This must be incorporated in the philosophy of the organisation and the limits should also be stated with the attached conditions. The benefits of consciously incorporating fun with work are many. Study after study show a positive work environment rates as one of the top reasons that employees give 100 percent at work and why they stay on even during the bad times. A work culture that gives its employees the freedom to think and act nurtures creativity and innovation.
And finally, bear in mind that in making fun an integral part of your workplace culture, the emphasis should not be on freebies but on attitude. A fun attitude may be elusive and hard to define, but when it comes down to wooing the loyalty of your workforce, it is ultimately more effective than all the flamboyant accoutrements you can pile on them.
BINDU SRIDHAR
faqs@cnkonline.com
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