Having Fun at Work is Crucial

     My place of employment does allow much fun and it creates an unfulfilling atmosphere. My co-workers and I try to have fun by going to lunch together and by playing jokes on one another. In particular, one of my co-workers and I always wrestle around at work, which creates a sense of happiness and fun. At DLT, we have not been allowed to dress up for Halloween for approximately five years. My fellow co-workers and I decided to ask our bosses to let us be able to dress up this year for Halloween. We got turned down on dressing up so we decided to come up with a different proposal.  We proposed to have “Spirit Week,” which is where each day of the week would have a certain theme. We also wanted to raise money for our sister facilities that were affected by Hurricane Irene. So our idea consisted of having “Spirit Week” and for anyone who participated had to donate one dollar to the DLT Hurricane Irene Fund. We were finally advised by our Human Resources person that the managers approved this idea. I was ecstatic because day after day, hour after hour becomes extremely boring at work without some type of fun. Our “Spirit Week” will be from October 31^st through November 4^th and I hope we raise a considerable amount of money to help our fellow facilities. Fun is crucial at a person’s place of employment because it increases productivity, boosts morale, and increases creativity for the employees within the company.

     First, fun at work definitely increases productivity because it allows employees to enjoy work and release steam at the same time.  People who have fun at work and like the work they are doing promotes productivity because then, work is not as boring. I believe in the “nose to the grindstone” ethic but at some point in time fun must be a requirement. Otherwise, one will become “burnt out” at work and will not want to continue to come to work. Employees may also feel that there is no reason to give their all if there is no reward or some fun activity.

     Next, fun at work increases happiness and reduces stress levels for employees. Humor is a key factor in having a good relationship with other employees. It creates a fun and positive atmosphere at work. Fun to promote happiness does not have to be expensive or extraordinary. One can simply play a game with other co-workers at break time. Some employers seem to not want their employees to have fun, but the fact of the matter is that fun must be allowed to relieve tension, stress, and increase happiness.

     Finally, fun increases creativity with a work environment. By employees having more fun at work, it enables the employees to “think outside the box” to discover new ideas. When employees take their minds off of the thought “no play, business,” I feel employees will be able to come up with more intuitive ideas. When a person is not under pressure, it is easier to think creatively.  

     Although, many companies are not as fun fulfilled as Google and Facebook, most companies still have some sort of program or policy to implement fun in the workplace, which allows employees to have fun. Fun is the only way to increase productivity, relieve stress, promote happiness, and increases creativity. If your place of employment seems to be boring and drab, I encourage you to speak with a boss about implementing some type of fun. I feel that our “Spirit Week” at work next week will be a great amount of fun and an enjoyable time. I know I will definitely want to work harder when I am dressed in my pajamas for Pajama Day!