Joy is Good Business
Weekly Insights to Help You Reach Your Business Objectives
Play is a Good 4-Letter Word
Does “play” have a place at work?
Some leaders support play—Richard Branson. Some leaders don’t—Jeff Bezos.
Yet, play or fun is a must-have in any work environment. In fact, it can be an antidote to a high-pressure workplace. Encouraging play can create benefits for both the individual AND the business.
Play:
- Increases productivity: A Brigham Young University study says when a team does something fun together, their productivity increased by as much as 20%.
- Fosters innovation: Humor is the result of surprise. Surprise creates novelty in the brain, which prompts sparks for new ideas to emerge.
- Unifies team members: Organized play can enable team members to share common objectives and work together to accomplish a goal.
- Enables team members to build bonds: Fun activities create opportunities for colleagues to see more sides of each other than just work.
- Releases stress: Fun releases dopamine (pleasure and reward) and serotonin (natural mood stabilizer), which both combat cortisol (stress hormone).
Here are a few ways to incorporate more play at work:
- Celebrate events (birthdays, new babies, milestones, holidays)
- Revel in small wins or accomplishments
- Host a food contest, e.g. a chili cook-off
- Create or host games, e.g. mini-golf in the office or a Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament
- Hire a comedian for a team meeting
- Share favorite (work appropriate) Tik Tok videos
Now go have fun!
Past Journals
How would you answer these 3 questions?
A self-reflection moment
I scream…You scream
Let it rip!
Try this productivity hack…
And you get a reward
Burnout Bias
The stigma has an impact
Do more than treat the symptoms
Fix the root cause
Stop making it about “Where”
Focus on giving more autonomy
Wash, Rinse, Repeat
The joy-sucking nature of monotony.
