subject: All Work And No Play? You Need A Corporate Team Building Party! [print this page] There are two key decision-makers we encounter on a daily basis: those ready to make things happen and those who prefer to watch things happen. Embracing the value of fun, the power of play and the joy of laughter at work are for those ready to make it happen.
The sheer magic of playing together creates a feeling of community in which employees and employers are truly connected, where they operate more effectively with each other and celebrate their achievements both individually and as a group to positively impact productivity. The plays the thing that unites co-workers; a corporate team building party is just what the doctor ordered, so to speak. Gone are the days when working for a paycheque was enough motivation to keep us going back each day and keep productivity levels up.
Raising Fun Levels
When play is encouraged and integrated within the work community, it is received as permission for a timeout to regenerate and rebuild energy and as motivation to complete the next big task. Play helps us to feel engaged, manage stressors, open lines of communication and foster employee relationships... all created through fun and laughter. Play achieves the goal of bringing people together and allowing them to interact in an extremely unique experience where the atmosphere at work becomes much more appealing and people begin to see, as well as appreciate, qualities in colleagues they had never witnessed before. If you are trying to raise employee motivation and job satisfaction, nothing else compares!
Incorporating Play at Work... What Do I Do?
Many HR departments have recognized strength in the new attitude toward a play at work strategy and have fully integrated it into their best practices model. The outdated incentive programs like a three-week vacation for every 11-and-a-half months of work, or coffee breaks or gym time before or after work hours are being replaced by alternating work tasks with play tasks on a daily or at least weekly basis. This strategy is quite fundamental and will pay huge dividends, whether youre responsible for training and development, staff retreats, employee engagement workshops, team-building sessions or any other organizational and/or employee-wellness programs. It gives employees the sense of reward immediately following the task.
The first step to best address incorporating play at work is to organize a set of standards in your best practices model around the driving belief that we all need to have more fun at work. Make it an annual or biannual commitment to check in as a team, to continue to remain open to play, to break down any social or professional barriers and to remember to remain flexible. As an HR professional, focus on enhancing the value of your departments services by integrating this attitude into your best practices model now and in the future. The work days will be more meaningful and your employees will enjoy the total work experience.
Over the past few years, it has been quite encouraging to see more and more companies want to rediscover the joy of play at work. They believe in the value of play as a solution to problems. While there may be different objectives why, there are several common threads.
We can streamline these common threads to fit nicely into a workplace strategy where, in your planning meetings, you will be better able to capture your true intent, gain clarity and then clearly communicate one or more of the following intentions:
Create a productive workplace environment
Keep valued employees
Opportunities for staff training & development
Employee communication & participation
Meaningful staff recognition & rewards
Rejuvenate teamwork in the workplace
It is extremely important to perform due diligence. Rediscovering the joy of play at work is a whole new attitude and a perfect vehicle for affecting positive change within your work environment. Respect that if youre going to take this message to your staff, ultimately it starts with you. You need to embrace a refreshing, personal philosophy towards play. So look at yourself in the mirror and repeat after me:
I invite playfulness into the routine work day
I empower people to stretch their imaginations through creative play
The capacity exists within me to maintain plays momentum
I play, and feel good about playing
I dont need any special equipment heck, I dont even have to be in shape
Theres been a noticeable increase in adventure activities, extreme sports and creative variations on the deluge of reality shows that we see on television. How complex does this have to be? My general rule of thumb is to involve a broad range of staff and management in the planning process, yet keep the process simple and filled with lightheartedness and imagination. Most significantly, rediscovering the joy of play at work should never compromise others concerns for physical and emotional safety. A safe and playful workshop experience is one that is carried out with a responsibility to the well-being of all. After all, at the end of the day, its all about a smile on everyones face.
Its amazing how people will look past professional differences, communication conflicts, social status and personality style differences when they are enjoying themselves at work. And your company will prosper.
