Popular press articles introduced a variety of positive outcomes that may stem from workplace fun. It has been suggested that people who have fun at work should experience less stress (McGhee, 2000; Miller, 1996), demonstrate lower turnover (Mariotti, 1999), and are more energized and motivated (Stern & Borcia, 1999). People having fun doing their jobs also get along with others better (Meyer, 1999) and provide better customer service (Berg, 2001). However, the majority of these results rely on anecdotal evidence provided by proponents of workplace fun, rather than by empirical research findings. Very few empirical research studies have been conducted to investigate the relationships between workplace fun and various work outcomes. A stream of research conducted by Karl and colleagues focused on the positive effects of workplace fun on various job attitudes and outcomes (i.e., Karl, Peluchette, Hall-Indiana, & Harland, 2005; Karl et al., 2007; Karl & Peluchette, 2006; Peluchette & Karl, 2005). In each of these studies, workplace fun was positively associated with job satisfaction. Specifically, Karl et al. (2005) examined three sectors – public, non-profit, and private organizations – and found no significant differences across the three sectors in employees’ attitudes towards workplace fun. However, further exploration revealed that there were significant differences in experienced fun. These findings are consistent with the assertion that significant differences exist in
Laughter and responsibility are really more like a “1A” and “1B” to me. Laughter is so summarily important because one of the most consistent lessons I have ever learned is that life means little without it. Business environments are not excluded from this proverb. While there is certainly a time and a place for everything, one of the things I have always been most grateful for is to have found a potential career with an employer that
Norman Cousins said, “Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions" (Moss 1). Humor is studied by many researchers in sociology, psychology, art, literature, and medicine. When people wonder whether humor aids in areas other than health, a treasure trove of possible benefits to the learning or educational community is opened up. Humor can be used as a tool to promote learning.Research speaks to the many benefits of humor in healing, to its benefits in the classroom or boardroom, from reducing stress of students or employees, to boosting self-esteem and feelings of camaraderie. Additionally, studies show that those who use humor to convey a message are often more favorably perceived. Humor helps deliver the presenter's message to
Motivation in the workplace is very crucial for businesses and people. For most healthcare managers they have a lot of stress on them daily. As manager they provide leadership, guidance, and skills to their employees. Making sure the workplace operates correctly not only for the success as a team but also for the public. There are different ways motivations can affect us in a behavior standpoint. Quoted “Based on psychological and neurobiological theories of core affective experience, we identify a set of direct and indirect paths through which affective
Happiness on the job is closely related to contentment of values. In fact, happiness could just be
1985 brought a collective sigh of relief to my high school graduating class. We read Orwell’s 1984 in 9th grade English; resulting in fear of the immediate future and suspicion toward anything smacking of governmental control. Reaching our graduation in May 1985, as independent American citizens free of Big Brother (or so we thought), gave some of us a sense that we had “beat the system”, as Gen-Xers are wont to claim. I wonder how many of my classmates would have agreed with what Neil Postman asserted that same year in Amusing Ourselves to Death: TV had ushered in a cultural shift in public discourse, leading to our willing oppression by entertainment.
In the fifth chapter of Gretchen Rubin’s “The Happiness Project”, her main focus revolves around having more fun on a daily basis and adding some entertainment to common activities. Rubin talks about how various studies have modeled the idea that happy people tend to be the ones who have the most fun. Although there are some individuals, such as Jean Stafford, who have contradicting beliefs and feel that there is no direct correlation between having fun and being a genuinely happy individual, Rubin is a firm believer in this concept. Other main points that Rubin touched on in this chapter include taking her leisure seriously and accepting that she likes to have fun in a variety of different ways. Gretchen Rubin emphasizes the point that
The goal of these informal gatherings is to improve organizational communication while providing a light-hearted environment for employees to build personal relationships and celebrate ongoing achievements. Each ‘Happi-ness Hour’ begins with informal remarks from the CEO who shares important news and information about the company, recognizes new and departing employees, and announces upcoming staff birthdays. Following these highlights, employees have the opportunity to socialize and enjoy light refreshments. ‘Happiness’ Hour can also take on a unique cultural theme that allows employees to learn more about the backgrounds of their colleagues.
These questions enable learners to contemplate the meaning of ‘fun’ at work. What would be acceptable or appropriate in their working environment?
In this article by Brooks and Bitterly “Why it Pays off to Be Funny at Work -- Usually”, is about how people act toward jokes at work and if it even allowed. This article talks about researcher on how some employees up make jokes at work. In "Why it Pays off to Be Funny at Work -- Usually” article is written that the people who take the chance to humor up their workplace show perceive as they are being sure of themselves; seem very confident.
Lessons from the Mouse by Dennis Snow is a book based on Snow’s experience working at Walt Disney World in Florida. Snow has managed to take what he learned on how to treat customers and distill that knowledge into ten separate lessons. Each of these ten lessons could easily apply to anybody seeking to improve their customer skills or career. Picking only three of them to report on has proven to be a difficult task. The three lessons that I have picked for this short report are those that I think could benefit me the most: (a) Lesson 7: Never Ever Say, “That’s not my job!”
we do,” Frank explains. Fun at work? It sounds like an oxymoron. But in order to attract and keep valuable talent, companies are finding creative ways to generate positive emotions in the workplace.
Lastly, I think that having a fun place to work creates motivated individuals who will have an increased job satisfaction. A “fun workplace” doesn’t have to be an oxymoron. Anyone can choose to create a fun workplace. Both qualitative and quantitative data exist to support our belief that a fun work environment can have a positive impact on productivity, quality,
You can enjoy what you do as long as you have a good attitude. You have to make sure that your idea of fun and your supervisor’s idea of fun are on the same level. Employees have to make sure that their fun is tactful and professional. Benefits of having fun keep the workplace less stressful and make it easier to go to work every day. There are days where it is hard to go to work, but if you can wake up knowing that you get to go to a job you enjoy because it is more “fun” than others, it makes it more likely that employees will last longer. Risks of having a “fun” work environment are closing the gap between employees and supervisors. There is a fine line between being the boss and the employees and it is ok to have fun with the staff, but it is important that they know that the supervisor is still the
Work—just the word is enough to make me nauseous sometimes. Look at the definition of the word: work—effort exerted to do or make something; labor, toil. It isn’t exactly the definition of fun. Okay, granted work isn’t always awful. There are plenty of people who like their jobs, and work can even be fun. But for the most part, we all know that we’d rather be doing just about anything other than working. Luckily for us, we don’t work all the time. No, we sleep, eat, drink, and have fun. How do we have fun? Well, some of us might get our pleasure from eating or drinking, sometimes a little too often. Others of us might have fun spending time with our companions or family, but usually when we think of having
The relationship between job satisfaction, motivation, and efficiency or productivity is very important in the business industry as well as in personal life. Long term research has found that the single greatest predictor of longevity is work satisfaction. Work is one third to one half of a persons' lifetime, and if frustrated the mental and physical effects are very costly. Job characteristics including skill variety, task identity, and task significance lead to psychological conditions in which in turn leads to increased motivation, performance and job satisfaction. It is important to investigate this area in order to determine how much of an effect does