Terri Ramsey Beavers Fun at work is sometimes thought to be a distraction, but no more than a distraction than it is to talk to your coworkers. People say that you’re not at work to socialize, but that they insist on you not working from home because you need to be around people. Which is a delicious irony, really, because the encouragement is to socialize when the real reason is because the landlord has to pay the rent on the office.
Just because you are going to and from your job everyday doesn’t mean you can’t make it fun. Even being at work for eight or nine hours per day and then tagging on commute time can be more fun. Should you choose to Transfer your Spotify playlist to Apple Music, you can add music to your routine on your commute as well as during your working day. If you are an employer, then you should be thinking of ways that you can make working more comfortable for your team, because this way they’re going to stay with you for longer and your turnover levels will be reduced. When you find new tasks enjoyable, you are more eager to dive in and be someone who completes them. Let’s take a look at the ways that you can make working more comfortable for yourself and for your team.
- Inject a little competition. You can really inject those larger projects down into tasks and give smaller rewards when the employees are completing them before a deadline. People love to compete against each other and against themselves, but that doesn’t mean you have to make it a horrible competition. Don’t berate any losing teams and make sure that you are keeping up with the winners so that you can learn what they’re doing differently and what is motivating them.
- Go hybrid. If you currently do own an office that you are paying the lease on, of course you want people to use it. But it’s a good idea to give them three or four days a week to choose where they would like to work. If you have one day in the office altogether, you can install that team spirit that you’ve been looking for. But letting people have that flexibility and that chance to work from home can make a very big difference.
- Keep that music playing. Some people do really well with music playing with them, so be flexible about your employees with their headphones in. Of course, headphones are a must because just because some people like to listen to music while they work doesn’t mean that everybody does. Listening to music can help them to reduce their stress while working, which makes them feel more inspired and motivated to do a good job. It’s a technique that you should try just to see how it impacts your work day.
- Go outside. A good way to make working more comfortable for employees is to tell them to go and vary their working location. If you have an outdoor garden where you work, let them go outside with some giant chunky blankets and pillows and work outside instead.