6 Fun Things to do at Work
If you suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, you’re probably wishing you were anywhere but work. And if you’re in the NE, you’re still digging out of your 28 plus inches of snow. So isn’t everyone ready for a little fun at work?
And according to Psychology Today, it’s not just a nice to have, but bringing fun to the workplace provides several benefits like increased creativity and health. So don’t wait, February is the perfect time to bring the fun. Here’s a few ideas that shouldn’t reduce productivity too much and keep everyone engaged:
1. Get out of the office. Go to a bowling alley, climbing wall, movie theater or other fun place. Since the middle of the day during the week is slow for many of these businesses, they will often agree to close down for your group.
2. Have a contest. This was actually done on one of the morning shows. The staff was invited to share their best “viral video”. This is great for a virtual team or a group in different offices. Everyone can send in the videos to a central location and then vote. It’s also a great way to create a social media link for your own team’s use.
3. Give out awards. Since this is Academy award month, give out your own Oscars. You can actually buy miniature plastic Oscars. Have award for “ Best Dressed”, or “World’s longest emails”. Make it fun and try not to make it about work product.
4. Play a sport. I know it’s winter in most places, but there is basketball. One of the best things we ever did was have a basketball game between offices. Everyone that didn’t want to play was either a coach or a cheerleader. You could play indoor soccer anything that gets as many of your team engaged as possible.
5. Share your favorite ….. I don’t know about you but I’m always trying to find new music I like. Every week you could sponsor a different genre like Country week or Hip-Hop. Have people send in their favorites then share the playlist on your internal site or email it. You can do the same thing with recipes or movies. It will also keep your virtual team in the loop.
6. Baby contest. Have everyone send in their baby picture and post them online. Then have everyone try to match the pictures to the person today. The one with the most right guesses wins!
There are tons of other fun ideas you can bring to the workplace. The key is to make sure everyone is engaged and of course- it has to be fun. So take your hands off the keyboard for a minute and start improving your creativity and your health.