Practical Ideas for Having More Fun at Work
In this week’s Asking For a Friend, I interview Dr. Bob Nelson. author of Work Made Fun Gets Done, and discuss how to have more fun at work!
Do’s and Dont’s For Fun at Work
Do…
- Be playful; choose to have fun.
- Be open & flexible.
- Experiment; try new things.
- Learn, refine & reapply.
- Be patient.
Don’t…
- Force fun on others.
- Be rigid and predictable. Don’t dictate what is fun.
- Keep doing the same things.
- Overlook learning from fun things you’ve tried.
- Give up/: Don’t give up.
Highlights from the Conversation with Dr. Bob Nelson
- :55 the importance of doing this right – do’s and don’ts
- 1:25 Don’t wait around for someone else to do the fun thing. Give yourself permission to have fun at work.
- 2:21 Don’t put someone on the spot or have fun at someone else’s expense.
- 2:41 Forced fun doesn’t tend to work.
- 4:00 What if Your Boss is Anti-Fun?
- 4:00 What if your boss is anti-fun? Sometimes just do it. “Best places to work” designations usually include a high percentage of employees thinking it’s a fun place to work.
- 7:00 Specific ways you can make your own fun at work include music, chatting with someone else, etc.
- 12:05 Getting a team who feels their job is so stressful to get into an attitude of fun i.e. praise barrage – name people and have others call out positive things they like about that person
- 15:25 Avoid the boring, typical, repetitive stuff (i.e. just the birthday cake in the break room)
- 15:55 Bringing “Eeyores” into the fun; showing concern and attention to mental health.
- 18:20 Ideas to mix things up to have fun at work in the virtual environment – house tour, pet introductions, send happy hour kits, sharing what is going well
- 22:10 Favorite fun at work moments
- 26:03 Make it a process
- 28:55 It is contagious and it does not need to cost a lot of money.
- 30:28 More about Dr. Nelson’s book.
Your turn. What would you add? How do you create a more fun workplace culture?
0 Comments