Having fun in the workplace
By Dr Marilena Antoniadou
and Dr Mark Crowder
Session Overview
Why is workplace fun necessary?
What does workplace fun involve?
Workplace fun offices examples/ideas
Dangers
What is Workplace
Fun?
McDowell (2004: 9) argues that fun involves
activities that are “not specifically related to the
job and are enjoyable, amusing, or playful”.
Ford et al. (2003: 22) define fun as a “work
environment that intentionally encourages,
initiates, and supports a variety of enjoyable and
pleasurable activities”.
Did you know?
The average pre-schooler
laughs or smiles 400 times
a day?
This number drops to only
15 times a day by the time
people reach age 35?
Also…
Laughter releases
endorphins - a chemical
that is 10 times more
powerful than the painrelieving drug morphine,
into the body with the
same exhilarating effect as
doing strenuous exercise?
And also….
Laughing increases
oxygen intake, thereby
replenishing and
invigorating cells?
It also increases the
pain threshold, boosts
immunity, and relieves
stress.
Does workplace fun matter?
 Attracts and retains employees: workplace fun was found as a
stronger predictor of applicant attraction than salary and
opportunities for advancement (Tews et al, 2012).
 Greater employee and customer satisfaction, as it instils more
confidence in dealing with customers (Karl & Peluchette,
2006).
 Generates trust and improves communication (Karl et al,
2005).
 Releases stress, breaks up conflict and tension (Whitelely &
Hessan, 1996).
You Can’t be serious!
A survey by Hodge-Cronin & Associates found
that of 737 CEOs surveyed, 98% preferred job
candidates with a sense of humour to those
without.
Another survey by Robert Half International,
found 84% of the executives thought that
employees with a sense of humour do a better
job than people with little or no sense of
humour.
Mann, S. (2009). Making fun OK at work. Professional Manager, 18(5), 36-8.
You Can’t be serious!
Dr. David Abramis (1989) at Cal State Long
Beach has studied fun at work for years. He
found that people who have fun on the job are:





more creative
more productive
better decision makers
get along better with co-workers
miss fewer days through sickness etc than
people who aren't having fun.
Can’t laugh?
The inability to laugh may be a
sign of impending burnout.
When it is no longer possible to
find humour in anything, it may
be that the employee is in the
throes of burnout, or
depression.
Over to you…
Making paper-aeroplanes in teams
Is work meant to be sitting and
being bored?
Work should be fun too!
In teams: Give examples of workplace fun
activities
What does workplace fun involve?
i. social events (e.g. holiday parties and picnics);
ii. team building activities (e.g. company-sponsored
athletic teams and bowling nights);
iii. competitions (e.g. team sales and productivity
contests);
iv. public celebrations of work achievements (e.g. public
recognition for outstanding results)
v. recognition of personal milestones (e.g. public
recognition of birthdays, weddings and anniversaries of
employment).
Some specific ideas
Food (everyone brings cake and ice cream for
birthdays, anniversaries)
Bringing pets
Casual dress days or costume days
Employee recognition and awards (e.g. ideas win
prizes).
Company-wide trip to an amusement park
Playing games (e.g. forming committees to plan fun
activities, hula hoop marathons, mini parades).
Also…
Establish a ‘Fun committee’
Create a ‘Fun Bulletin Board’ or a ‘Humour
Room’
Contests (baby picture, guess who?)
Secret Santa…in July to celebrate the end of the
academic year.
Gifts (traveling flower bouquet)
Games (play trivia, board, or card games during
lunch).
Fortune’s “100 Best
Companies to Work For”
 A ‘fun work environment’ is one of the factors distinguishing
superior performers from others in Fortune’s list.
 Matt Weinstein (1996:21), author of ‘Managing to Have Fun’,
supports this idea:
“If you want your company to provide excellent customer service,
you first have to provide that same kind of attention and
appreciation to your internal customers—your own employees.
You can’t expect your employees to provide “service with a
smile” if you don’t give them something to smile about!”.
Some examples
An IT firm Melbourne: a Mad Men-style meeting
room replete with early 1960s furniture
YouTube – San
Bruno, USA
Electric
Works –
Sheffield, UK
Cold stone creamery
Cold Stone instructs employees to sing a
special song related to the company, in the
spirit of joviality:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q3dUY
AY7jI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlN6_ZTd
pjA
Google staff are encouraged to spend up to
20% of their time on non-Google related
activities.
On-site physicians and nurses, convenient
medical services, and comprehensive health
care coverage help keep employees healthy
and happy
Hot and cold snacks are free
• Massage rooms
Over to you…
Can you give any examples of workplace
fun activities that have NOT worked?
The Dangers
Different perceptions (can be perceived as
bullying)
Culturally-specific
May be met with resistance (e.g. Baptiste,
2009; Fleming, 2005)
Cost & Time
The use of fun in the workplace
1. Must be appropriate in nature and how it is
used.
2. Humour should not be offensive to the
ordinary or reasonable person.
3. Meant to encourage people to see the
absurdity in our thought processes, perceptions,
and behaviours.
Epilogue
‘Work is something you do, not
somewhere you go’
References
 Abramis ST (1989) Finding the fun at work. Psychology Today 23(2): 36–38.
 Karl, K., Peluchette, J., Hall-Indiana, L., & Harland, L. (2005). Attitudes toward workplace
fun: A three sector comparison. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 12(2),
1-17.
 Ford RC, McLaughlin FS and Newstrom JW (2003) Questions and answers about fun at
work. Human Resource Planning 26(4): 18–33.
 Karl, K., & Peluchette, J. (2006). How does workplace fun impact employee perceptions
of customer service quality?. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 13(2), 213.
 McDowell T (2004) Fun at Work: Scale Development, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and
Links to Organizational Outcomes. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Alliant
International.
 University, San Diego, CA.Tews, M. J., Michel, J. W., & Bartlett, A. (2012). The
fundamental role of workplace fun in applicant attraction. Journal of Leadership &
Organizational Studies, 19(1), 105-114.
 Whitelely, R., & Hessan, D. (1996). Customer centered growth: Five proven strategies
for building competitive advantage. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books.