Act Out

Play and laughter: two magic ingredients. The right mix of these two and there is not much that cannot be resolved or created.

Creativity at Work guru, Linda Naiman, (www.creativityatwork.com) lists some reasons to bring play into the office. Here are my top five:

1.Play = Fun = Profit: The more creative we are the more satisfied. This means we feel better about our colleagues, our work and our organisation in general. Naiman quotes research from Fortune Magazine (1998) that shows that employees with high levels of motivation show 127% more productivity that those with average motivation.

2. “Play is good corporate strategy for problem solving”: When we play we relax, when we relax we are more creative, when we are more creative we can solve problems and generate ideas – it’s very simple!

3. Work / Life balance requires play: this is the most important element listed (surprise! not money!) by employees. Being able to balance the two can be the single most important reason for an employee staying or leaving a job.

4. Fun is the new status symbol: Naiman refers to studies that show that if an organisation wants to keep their talent they need to foster a fun, creative and challenging environment at work. And talent, as we know, is what makes one company stand out from the rest.

5. Workaholic = LOSER:  Being addicted to non-stop, fast-paced work without breaks for play and rest is a sign of low-self esteem. What is more, performance suffers.

I have been told on a number of occasions not to mention the word play too much in relation to business because it turns people off. I challenge that. The days of Henry Ford walking around the factory floor grimly picking on people for telling jokes are far gone.

Good leaders are fun; good leaders understand the importance of play and of laughter. Good leaders know that play and laughter bring people closer. They know that when people feel good and motivated they work well together.

Good leaders understand that laughter ‘…is the closest distance between two people,’ as Victor Borge so wisely said.

 

Filed under: Programs & Workshops by Erika