Work, fun? You’re having a laugh! No, that isn’t a joke because work needs to be fun if you want to get the most from your staff. Employees hate going into an office that makes them do the same job for eight to ten hours a day. It isn’t challenging, and that is soul-destroying. Even worse, it is an excuse for them to slack off and lower their productivity levels. As the boss, you need every staff member to work their hardest if you are going to make money, which is why the time to have fun is now.
When you read the term fun, don’t think of bouncy castles and clowns because that isn’t what it means. Fun means enjoyable, as in your workforce enjoy going to work and enjoy their job. And, there are plenty of ways you can make this dream into a reality. All you have to do is think about your employees and what they want from their role.
Here are a few examples.
1. Make Work Challenging
The one thing that everyone hates is boredom. Boredom makes it seem as if the day is never going to end as time doesn’t fly when you are bored. Unfortunately, your job roles might be pretty monotonous due to the nature of the role. Take answering phones as an example. How many people do you know that enjoy that job? The answer is not many. Although your hands seem tied, they aren’t because you can outsource roles like this to experts. This frees the staff up to take on jobs that are much more challenging and rewarding. Or, you can alternate the people who work on the phones and who deal with customers face to face. At least makes life fresher.
2. Offer The Right Incentives
Workers love the jobs that reward them for their effort and commitment because they get something in return. The obvious example is a financial reward like a yearly bonus, but there are plenty of other options. Your role as the boss is to find out which incentives suit which people. Then, you can tailor them so that they get more satisfaction from their job. It is true that everyone likes money, yet certain employees might understand the bigger picture. They will want a promotion or a reference that will boost their career.
3. Easy Does It
Although people want a challenge, they also want an easy life. Yes, that is a massive contradiction, but it is how people think. For instance, they want a role that means they have to think and act for themselves, but they don’t want a lot of it. Too much work makes them feel overworked, and that stresses them out. Employees also don’t want to have to work hard to find the solution. If they have to sift through tons of data from various sources, they will get angry. To solve this problem, you need to invest in integration software.
4. Work/Life Balance
For obvious reasons, you want to get the most from your staff. However, that means that you can push them too hard. As a result, their life away from work suffers. When that happens, they won’t enjoy coming to work. In fact, they will hate it and you for separating them from their family. The best businesses understand the balance between work and play. They know that some employees have families that they need to cater for while some are young and need to let off steam. You need to be one of those firms if you are going to make work fun. Try and be as flexible as possible and give them time off at the weekends. Also, introduce flexi-time so that they don’t have to be in work for nine and finish at five. It will make a huge difference to their lives and their quality of work.
5. More Breaks
Again, giving people more time off work seems counterproductive. After all, the more they work, they better for the company. Well, that logic is flawed because people need breaks to break up the monotony of the day. If they work all day, they will start to feel fatigue and their work levels will fall. Plus, regular breaks refresh them and increase their energy levels. So, they will work even harder when they come back from a break. The key is to find the right balance. If you give them too little, they won’t feel the effects. But, if you give them too many they won’t get through enough work. Three to four a day is a good number if you are looking for inspiration.
6. Positive Work Environment
No one wants to work in an office that resembles a prison because prisons are dull and lifeless. Still, it is amazing how many offices aren’t up to standard when it comes to working conditions. Yes, it might seem fine, but it doesn’t go down well with your workforce. The worst thing about is that it is easy to remedy. All you have to do is make sure that there is enough light in the room and make it fresh and vibrant. You don’t have to spend a lot of cash to make this happen because a tin of paint and a handful of bulbs will suffice. One example that you want to take into consideration is Google. Google is one of the kings of the work environment because they cover every base – they even have rooms where staff can nap! You might not want to go that far, but you can take inspiration from their framework.
7. Open It Up
One simple and effective way to make the office seem more like home is to embrace an open floor plan. Employees love it when they can walk around without any restrictions as it gives them more freedom. However, employers don’t like it because they think that it promotes a casual approach to work. It does to some extent, and that is why it works. Employees form bonds and want to socialize at work – that is a fact. Stopping them from doing so only promotes the prison mentality. Instead, open the floor up to everyone so that they feel as if they work for a democratic organization and not a dictator.
8. Work From Home
Everyone can’t work from home, or can they? Thanks to technology and the Internet, an entire business can communicate without being in the same room. That means that employees can work from anywhere in the world as long as they have a Wifi connection. Use this to your advantage and let your employees work from home from time to time. They will love the novelty of working in their pajamas and not getting a lie-in on a weekday. Plus, it shows them that you aren’t bothered about where they do their work as long as they get it done. Again, this adds to the culture of flexibility and freedom that all employees love.
9. Don’t Be A Pushy Boss
Pushy bosses are the worst. They are the ones that lose their cool at the smallest incident and have the entire office on edge. Don’t be one of these bosses. Remember that the carrot is more effective than the stick as most people respond better to kindness. A boss that is one of the people is one that inspires people to work harder.
If your business is an enjoyable place to work, you will reap the rewards.