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Have you ever wondered who came up with the unwritten “rule” that work can’t be fun? Or, why is work so often considered the exact opposite of fun? Obviously, the fellow in this video doesn’t believe in following this rule. Check it out!

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that an average American spends 8.7 hours of each day working. This is equivalent to 36.35% of a day. If this statistic is extended over the life span of an average American, it is safe to assume that a person will spend a total of 19 years and 8 months working. These are staggering numbers; especially if you consider the amount of time that people spend not having fun at work!

Creating a culture where fun is integrated into the day-to-day operations of an organization can be a key differentiator for a company. How can you create a highly productive environment where a culture of fun is encouraged and rewarded? Here are a few possible ideas.

1. Celebrate individual and team accomplishments.
   One of the greatest joys of working collaboratively with others is seeing the fruits of your work take shape. Yet oftentimes, individual efforts and team accomplishments tend to be quickly forgotten as people rapidly move onto the next task at hand. Although this happens frequently in today’s deadline sensitive world, it does not mean it is right! Taking time to celebrate accomplishments adds meaning and purpose to daily work and helps people appreciate the unique contributions every team member makes to an organization. Every organization and person can view celebrations differently. For some, the celebration might be a simple lunch or dinner together, but for others it might include time spent doing an enjoyable activity outside of work. Regardless of how your team decides to celebrate, the key is making a commitment to celebrate!
2. Don’t be afraid to use humor appropriately.
   When was the last time you had a good laugh at work? One of the most important things to glean from the video of the steward above is that he sought to interject a little humor and fun into his otherwise routine task. Work doesn’t always have to equal hard labor! Taking time to laugh and add an appropriate amount of humor to your daily tasks can help transform routine or difficult tasks into much more exciting opportunities.
3. Choose to have a positive attitude at work.
   A powerful, yet frequently unpopular way to increase the “fun” scale of a work environment is to evaluate how one’s attitude is impacting others. Every person’s work attitude can have either a positive or negative impact on others. If you have not done this before, commit an entire day to raising your level of awareness of your personal attitude by trying to maintain a positive “can do” attitude as much as possible. You will quickly see that your attitude can have a positive impact on those with whom you interact!

Obviously there are limits and boundaries, and we’re certainly not advocating a free-for-all work environment. But, what we are suggesting is that you take a serious look at how you and your team can create and sustain a fun and productive work culture. Who knows, maybe your organization can rewrite that unwritten rule that work can’t be fun!