Enjoying Work is More Than a Perk
What was your dream job when you were a kid? I wanted to work in a candy store (or an ice cream factory!). I wasn’t passionate about selling flavoured sugar or watching a conveyor belt in below-freezing temperatures, but I was excited about eating unlimited candy and ice cream! In high school, I aspired to a more noble calling. I wanted to be a police officer… but just because I wanted to work with a well-trained dog in the K9 unit. Many times, the perks of a job draw us more than the actual work.
Companies are starting to catch on and are using wild perks to pull people through the door. Some businesses now have ping pong tables in the break room or bring-your-dog-to-work day. Others offer onsite spas, arcades or gourmet buffets. Once employees are through the door, they get stuck in an office to ensure actual work gets done. Why can’t an enjoyable workplace still be productive? Can fun actually improve parts of the business? How can a regular company make work entertaining without putting a waterslide in the break room?
Put the Status Quo at Risk
Sometimes, fun can be unsafe. Like having a Nerf war while building a skyscraper, organizing office chair races, or dancing over the freshly mopped floor. Other times, a little fun can decrease risk.
After giving the same tour every day for two years, I had every joke, piece of information and example perfected. It was perfect, and I was bored! My tours had gone dry but scared to change anything up. Our interpretive trainer broke the monotonous script and introduced a word-of-the-day challenge. Reworking my tour to seamlessly include the word “bummfuzzle” livened my tour up in a hurry. When I stumbled over my words I just laughed it off because it was a fun challenge, not a performance I needed to ace.
At another location letting the pressure off helped my team relate a little more authentically. We used a quirky “thumb scale” to check-in with each other. The scale from thumbs up to thumbs down relayed how we were feeling. A simple wag of the thumb meant “Where are you on the scale?”. By changing things up we made it safer to be honest or check in.
Here are five ideas to do things differently:
Create a secret handshake or greeting.
Have competitions or games.
Provide snacks and treats.
Making someone a “leader for the day”.
Give a prize for the craziest idea when brainstorming.
It’s Time to Scream in the Lobby
It was embarrassing to have a senior leader in our high-end hotel jump and scream in the lobby for no reason. Even worse was that it was me!
All my life I have been unscareable. My brother popping out of a dark doorway barely gets a twitch, but one valet I worked with had a knack for unintentionally scaring me. Hence the jumping and screaming in the lobby. Once he realized he could scare me, it was no longer unintentional. Over time, we found ways to tease each other without impacting our guests.
When the valet and I playfully ribbed each other, we learned each other’s boundaries. I knew what bothered him and what didn’t, so I knew he wouldn’t be offended when I gave him feedback. When I assigned a roommate without much notice, he was quick to call me to resolve his concerns. If we hadn’t built rapport earlier, I doubt he would have felt comfortable calling me (his boss’s boss) to sort this out. The relationship we developed helped us prevent and resolve conflict.
Here are six ideas to build relationships:
Send silly messages or memes.
Be quirky in your emails.
Share and sample food, especially if your team is multiethnic.
Ask about their fitness program, faith, dreams or weekend project.
Plan team outings. Go beyond the pizza party and annual baseball game to tour a museum, visit a supplier, play minigolf or go whitewater rafting.
Celebrate wins. A card, drink or candy bar are simple, thoughtful ways to celebrate success.
Scrooge Isn’t Your Boss
I love housekeeping: folding so many sheets your fingers bleed, rushing to achieve perfection on an impossible deadline and cleaning up poop in the shower. Yup, housekeeping is the best… but only on Opposite Day.
Despite the horrors of housekeeping one guy asked to join our department after helping out for a few days. He said it seemed like we had fun:
We started every morning with some stretches and a quick briefing.
I ran around in the afternoon with chocolate almonds and juice boxes.
We joked and chatted as we put laundry away or sorted recycling.
People want to enjoy work, but work isn’t inherently enjoyable. We need to craft fun times. One hotel receptionist I knew got bored during a slow period near Christmas. So she used some craft paper and Pinterest to make our office door look like a snowman. I loved it, our guests loved it, and she had fun. The next month, she replaced the snowman with a scene of penguins. Other departments started asking her to do their doors and everyone wondered what her February idea was.
I can always tell when someone is being authentic. The server whose energy and peppy step brightened my day. The high school kid at Staples who practically skipped over to ask if I needed help finding something. The drive-through attendant who wished me a good day and seemed to really mean it. When people enjoy what they do, it’s contagious for their team and customers.
Here are five ideas to infect others with genuine delight:
Dance around while you work.
Everything is funny over the radio.
Smile with your mouth and your eyes.
Tell puns and dad jokes.
Ask someone what the best part of their day has been.
Live Out Your Dream Job
I want to let you in on a secret: I love going to work.
I don’t love changing the sheets and finding . . . well you don’t need to know, but I love working somewhere where it’s safe to be honest about emotions and try new ideas. I love building relationships and having fun with my team at work and outside of work. I love silly jokes, high-fives and dancing around in the office while we do our jobs. It’s not the job. It’s how I do the job. I may not eat unlimited ice cream or have a waterslide in the break room, but I enjoy what I do and that helps the business.