Where do you stand on the following statement?
Fun is an important part of the workplace.
Like anything, there are right and wrong ways to achieve this. Arguments against including an element of fun in the workplace often point to the distractions it can cause. Frivolous actions and come off as unprofessional. There is a time and a place for fun. Medical professionals have less opportunity for fun within their day to day functions than those in an adventure guide position. While a guide can joke around and have fun with clients throughout the day, a surgeon needs to save their fun for appropriate moments. We can also acknowledge that miscommunications about what constitutes as fun, and the intent behind a person’s actions, can cause interpersonal friction.
Having fun with your team brings entertainment, relaxation, gratification, excitement, and pleasurable wit. A fun environment goes a long way toward staff retention and satisfaction. Fun in the workplace is built on several key pieces which ensure the pitfalls outlined above do not occur. The basis of which, is trust. Humans have fun when they are able to let go of worry, and apprehension. To accept enjoyment from others we need to trust their intentions. We need to understand the parameters within which each team member functions and have confidence in our own standing as a member of the team.
