August 2008

For fun's sake

Ask yourself this ... who is still painstakingly building the sand castle at the beach long after the children have gone in for a swim? On Christmas day, who seizes the toys, desperate for a turn the moment the unsuspecting child puts them down to get a snack? Who is the most reluctant to accept that they are out in the game of backyard cricket?

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Remember how it felt to be a child at play? How it felt to run and jump and squeal and giggle? Laughing until your tummy hurt; breathless with effort and excitement, competing with your friends in a game of backyard chasey. You didn't know what time it was, nor did you care. The only concern was that there just might be enough time for one more game before you got called in.

Life was simple then - no bills to pay, no meetings to go to, no deadlines.

Consider this ... laughter releases endorphins - a chemical ten times more powerful than morphine into the body. Every time you have a hearty laugh you burn up approximately 3 ½ calories. The average four year old laughs or smiles 400 times a day but by the time we reach 35 that number has dropped to only 15.

Have we forgotten something?

I'm always surprised when I see adults at play by the things that are revealed. It can be fascinating to witness how in that moment of play there are often elements of their personality that they suddenly allow others to see. Faces soften, bodies become more fluid, inhibitions begin to dissolve, unexpected or unknown skills are exposed. I'm talking about the kind of play which has its base in just fun for fun's sake. You don't need any particular skills, anyone can do it. The man, the woman, the CEO, the office assistant, the manager, the grandmother, the apprentice, the extrovert, and the introvert can all play the same game. And what's more they can play together! It's what they bring to, and take away from the game which makes the impact.

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. Plato

How often in your day to day life do you remember to just have 'fun for fun's sake'? We spend so much of our lives playing a role, sometimes it's a relief not to have to do that for a short while. For many of us work and play aren't natural partners, but those for whom that is the case will tell you that the positive affects on their attitude to their workplace are immeasurable. Remembering to include fun in the workplace can help to boost staff morale, reduce stress, increase creativity and help retain staff. Some of us spend a lot of hours at work - wouldn't it be great if you could say at the end of the day that as well as feeling a sense of achievement you also had some fun? And those of us over 35 will have hopefully had more than 15 opportunities to laugh or smile!

Some of the most successful companies in the world have discovered the benefits of changing the atmosphere of their workplace to imbue it with a sense of fun. And not just organising a few occasional fun outings for staff, but really introducing fun into the workplace and making it part of the culture. Whether it is a putting competition in the hallways, a day off for employees on their birthday, a 'relaxation lounge', a Friday afternoon outing as a group to a movie, a weekly raffle, a voucher for an 'experience' awarded to an employee for a particular achievement, a joke of the week, a lunch time quiz ... the possibilities are endless. And not always that difficult to organise, initiate or implement. Many of these companies have started small but can now attest to the obvious positive outcomes of making fun a part of their workplace.

Will you be saying you had fun at work at the end of this week?

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Funatix plan and facilitate programs and workshops to help businesses discover the benefits of a more fun workplace. An innovative approach to teambuilding and goal setting through the use of play and the creative arts.

Judy Gordon Funatix p 0407 146 830 e admin@funatix.com.au w www.funatix.com.au