It is no secret that things can get a little slow and stale in the office at times. If your office needs a little shake-up, here are some top tips and benefits for helping work become more fun and inviting.
Contrary to popular belief fun and engagement is essential for the office, as it promotes productivity, strengthens colleague relations and keeps your team fresh and alert, ready to tackle the next challenge.
Keeping employees engaged should be a top priority on any manager's list. Fun and recreation increase job performance, and satisfaction with work and the company as a whole. If there is happiness and solidarity within the team, employee performance tends to increase.
By making the office environment a happier and more enjoyable place, you can make your employees more productive and motivated. Here are some tips for making your office a brighter and happier environment.
1. Go Out Together
Going out as a team must be one of the most fun activities. Going to a pub or a restaurant and having a drink will strengthen the friendship between team members and increase camaraderie.
Another important reason why colleagues should come together in a social environment is that it gives everyone a chance to get to know each other outside of their predefined roles.
This can help employees learn about each other's social identities. Generally, when you work in the office, you do not behave as you do in your social life which can sometimes create social barriers.
These barriers are easily overcome with some social time, such events organized outside of the office help the colleagues to strengthen their relations, establish real friendships, and exchange ideas.
2. Encourage Friendships
On average, we spend more time with our colleagues than we do with our friends and relatives. failure to establish friendships at work can lead to a very boring and mundane day, and much less to look forward to going to work.
Reinforcing friendships in the office helps to promote solidarity and should be encouraged by managers. Helping your team bond and find common ground translates into the project space. team members will feel more confident in each other if they have baseline friendships in place. There are of course personalities that may clash - this is normal and we are all different - but if the team is amicable and friendly overall, tempers will dampen and agreements are more easily made.
3. Coffee with a Colleague
Coffee (or any other beverage) is a great social lubricant that can get people talking. The coffee with a colleague scheme is great for large companies that employ hundreds of people to meet, connect and exchange ideas.
The idea behind coffee with a colleague is that staff are encouraged to sign up to the scheme, they are then later matched with another coworker from a different department and they meet up for a coffee during break.
This is a great exercise to connect staff who otherwise would never meet. not only does it strengthen team bonds, but it also helps staff to learn about other areas of the business that they may have been previously unaware of.
4. Dress Down Friday
It may not sound like much, but dress-down Fridays give a real boost to the office. Allowing your employees to come to work as themselves instead of in their business attire helps to break down social barriers and allows your team members to express themselves and relax a little.
It is no secret that what we wear is an expression of our inner selves. Also, managers, when dressed own, are perceived as more approachable, friendly, and more inclusive within the team.
Dress-down Fridays are also a great way to ease staff to the weekend. It shows that the company is supportive of each employee as an individual, and takes an interest in their unique personalities.
Making work more fun is always a challenge. Sure, work is for serious focus, but a little light relief from deadlines and mounting workloads has a positive impact on the office overall.
Game rooms are the go-to choice for fun in the office, but in reality, they are rarely used. When at work, staff are more interested in other people and getting to know those whom they see day in, day out, and rely on to get their projects done.
Instead of a games room, which is only utilised by people who already know each other, introduce fun in a way that helps the team to get to know each other, especially those who they do not know eahcother so well.
Whether it be a quiet coffee or a big night out, promoting socialisation naturally leads to more fun. Human beings love working in groups, and the closer the team is the more fun actual work will become, and productivity naturally increases as a result.
