Why Fun is a Serious Business
Anyone who knows me knows I love to have fun, and I want to have as much of it as I can – both at home and at work!
We spend 1/3rd of our lives working, so enjoying the time we spend doing it should be as much a priority as enjoying our home lives – but sadly it isn’t.
Why?
Because we don’t fully believe that having fun at work and loving our jobs is both realistic and achievable.
But I am here to tell you that it’s time to start believing!
If you’re not having any fun at work and you’re not enjoying your job, you’re probably in the wrong place!
When we’re having fun, our brains release endorphins, which improves our performance – so what do you think happens if we’re not having any?
Doing great work is partly about having the skills to do that job, but equally, it’s about enjoying what we do.
People often think that having fun and being silly at work, and actually doing the work, are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but in reality, we need both to be brilliant!
Watch: The happy secret to better work, Shawn Achor (TED)
People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.
(Dale Carnegie)
When I learned this, it really turned my life around. I used to be the classic beige and boring HR profesh because I thought that was what was expected, but when I started to bring the real Michelle to the table, oh boy did things change – and fast!
Using humour to create silly memes, bin videos, Banter Bingo and Cards Against Human Resources are all ways I like to bring the LOLs. But I also use it in my everyday business language – I mean, when was the last time you saw a boring LinkedIn post from me?
It’s why I named my professional HR course ‘Find Your Awesome’, rather than HR for HR Professionals!!
And it’s why I named my HR network the ‘HR GEEK Squad’ rather than Michelle’s HR Network!
I mean, BOOOORRRRIIIIIINNNGGGG!
While these things may seem small, they’ve all been really powerful ways to inject humour and fun into the work that I do and am so passionate about.
And it works!
The way people have fun at work is a predictor of their success.
Marissa Mayer (former Google executive)
Many of us assume we can’t use humour at work because we don’t feel safe enough to go for it.
But humour helps our messaging stick out and be more memorable. It also helps us make connections with other like-minded folk (fun breeds fun) and it burns calories!!! Yes really! Did you know that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes burns between 10 and 40 calories… it’s good for us!
Not only that, execs who use humour and fun at work are more productive, paid more, less stressed, better at conflict resolution, more creative, have higher levels of engagement and are promoted faster! It also reduces social distance, especially between employees and upper leadership!
What’s not to love?
When we are having fun, our nervous system is in a good place. Fun is also another way of saying that we feel safe in our environment. It means that our system feels like it has the containment to explore, take risks, and make mistakes without judgement, shame, or injury. Fun means that we want to keep doing it – and that what we are doing is sustainable.
(Irene Lyon, MSC)
Now, I’m not saying we all need to become Judi Love (insert your comedian of choice) in the office, but if you think ‘fun’, you’ll also think with inclusive, positive vibes, and that really will bring the magic to all you do!
Why not try things like;
- Lead with lols – use (appropriate) comedy/memes in your everyday comms and be real!
- Celebrate big and small wins – buying lunch for someone costs a lot less than recruiting!
- Go for lunch together as a team – get to know each other.
- Use LEGO for team check-ins or for problem-solving.
- Introduce gamification to training or mundane tasks.
There is a caveat though – fun means different things to different people, so you’ll need to get to know your employees and make sure they’re voluntary (we’re not talking forced fun here)!
The ones who really understand this are the kids. They get it. They laugh more often than us adults and can find the fun in pretty much everything. In fact, children laugh 300 times a day! Imagine that! Especially when you consider that us adults can only must 17.5 giggles a day!
So, let’s embrace our inner toddler and bring our full silly, funny and daft selves to work because life and business are far too important to be taken too seriously.
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Here are some more awesome resources to geek out on;
Articles:
- Marcus Buckingham: Why “Love” Is the Key to Career Success (HBR)
- How Great Companies Create Fun in the Workplace (Great Place To Work)
- Why Work Should Be Fun (HBR)
- The Surprising Science of Having ‘Fun’ at Work (Inc.)
- What do children (and grown-ups) have to say about play? (The LEGO Foundation)
- The Importance of Play for Adults (Psych Central)
- A golden age of play for adults (The British Psychological Society)
- Laughter is the Best Medicine (HelpGuide.Org)
- A Brain Motivated to Play: Insights into the Neurobiology of Playfulness (National Library of Medicine)
- How to Add More Play to Your Grown-Up Life, Even Now (New York Times)
- Is Play the New Work? (People Management)
Book:
Video:
- You Have the RIGHT to Love Your Job (Simon Sinek)
- Play is More than just Fun
- The Playful Wonderland Behind Great Inventions
Pod:
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Contact me for more information on how we can either get your HR mojo back, or introduce you to the world of real HR, well delivered.