I’m a firm believer in having fun at work-----with certain rules. If people enjoy their work, they are more productive, turnover is decreased and when there is an opening, people quickly refer friend to fill the gap. One firm that places an emphasis on enjoying where you work is Google. In looking at the reasons to work there, some of the things that come up are:

• Appreciating motivation- Google has “created a fun and inspiring workspace, including on-site doctor and dentist; massage and yoga; professional development opportunities; shoreline running trails; and plenty of snacks to get you through the day. ”
• You will work with people with very diverse backgrounds from “former neurosurgeons, CEOs, and U.S. puzzle champions to alligator wrestlers and Marines.”
• Games available at work- hockey, puzzles, ping pong, pool- you name it.

But this isn’t about Google. This is about fun. Another good example of fun at work can be witnessed by you. I encourage you, if you are ever in Seattle, to visit Pikes Market and the Seattle Fish Market. Employers—they even have a video training program on the importance of having fun at work. You can see parts of it on YouTube. As you watch, the continual show goes on. Fish, crabs, clams, all flying through the air with some warning, but not a lot. Guaranteed fun for customers and staff alike. As they say in their training video, it makes it easy to get up early out of bed and handle fish all day. At the lab where I worked in Denver, we had small stuffed fish that occasionally sailed through the air (in a safe area, not the work area) if someone got overly grumpy. Call it a reminder.

Palantir Technologies in Palo Alto warns it’s prospective engineers of long hours working to produce their project but offers perks to help the time pass including (taken from their site):

• Free gourmet catered lunches and dinner. Delicious home cooking, hand prepared by our own Palantir Chef.
• Special recreational events including Giants, Warriors, and Sharks games, Trampoline Dodgeball, innertubing, Trivia Night, and more.
• Onsite massages, team CrossFit, and yoga classes.
• Free unlimited drinks and snacks, with requests. Gotta have that favorite soda? No problem.
• Game rooms with 90″ HD projection screens, Wii, Xbox360’s, PS3, and automatic massage chairs.
• On-site mini-gym with towel service, showers, and athletic equipment

You think these are a bunch of spoiled programmers? You bet.

It doesn’t have to be anything that fancy either. On my 50^th birthday, my staff redecorated my office for the occasion. I have attached some pictures but what you don’t see is the Depends diaper in that wheelchair before I sat down. They had melted a Hersheys bar in it in the microwave. NASTY!

One time one of my supervisors got pretty upset with me about not getting as good a review as she expected. She brooded for a day or two but knew that I had made valid points. The second day after her eval, she walked into my office asking if I had a minute. I replied that I had all the time she needed at which time she held out a silly string can and absolutely plastered me to my chair. After that all was even and forgiven. I’m glad we had a good enough working relationship and she had the comfort level to do so. By the way, I left that job after five years. As I gathered my stuff after saying goodbye, I found silly string in places I had never thought it could land.

It’s important to be creative but fun doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive. Sometimes Friday Jeans Day is enough to raise spirits. Does your staff dress up (appropriately) for Halloween? Two years ago my staff did the Wizard of Oz and the patients got a real kick out of it. We also got the hospital prize. Here’s an idea. What if all the local television stations encouraged their weather and traffic people to wear green on Halloween. That way, when they were on camera near the green screen, they would look like floating heads and hands. COOL!

Let me sound a warning here. As I researched this article, I saw videos of people zipping down isles on office chairs and wheel chairs and jumping from desk to desk. This is NOT what I am talking about. Fun must be safe and comfortable for administration and management and cannot endanger anyone or violate peoples’ beliefs or cultures. It’s not a time to jokes or stories that offend others. Human Resource policies still apply in all cases. Employees also must give back to the organization. There is a time for fun during breaks and lunches but the work still must be the focus of the day. The goal in having fun is to improve customer service and employee morale so that they are more productive, not less.

What is the bottom line? It is possible to have fun at work. We can't all afford what Google and Palantir have but we can have parts of it. It may or may not be as pervasive as the Fish culture or as integrated as the Google model. It can be a moment or two in a day when the staff feels comfortable laughing together. Most of all, if your staff comes to looks forward to coming to work, the company will ultimately benefit by lower turnover and easier recruiting. Don’t believe it? Try to apply for a job at Google. You will have a lot of company.

Enjoy your Treasure Pasts (and futures)

Stuart