Workplace Happiness: Can We Really Have Fun at Work?

“There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn’t that a little like saving up sex for your old age?”
– Warren Buffet

If you’re lucky enough to find something you are good at and truly love doing, you’re less likely to think of it as “just work.” Successful men and women have one thing in common … that they enjoy what they do. That does not mean that everyday is a load of laughs from beginning to end. People who find workplace happiness derive enough happiness and satisfaction from their roles overall to see them through the tough times. When you enjoy what you do, even the longest days don’t seem so rough.

Finding Workplace Happiness

You cannot mandate that people have fun at work. It just wouldn’t work. There will always be a small portion of employees that remain sour and smug throughout the workday. They lead a miserable life. What you can do is create an environment where accountability exists and fun at work merge into perfect harmony. Here are three tips to boost the happiness factor at work:

Drop Your Inhibitions – Laughing tends to remove inhibitions. Under the spell of inhibition, people feel limited and stuck. Encourage everyone to be open to new ideas and solutions without setting limiting beliefs. Innovation is more about psychology than intellect.

Embrace Failure – When you take yourself too seriously, you are afraid to be seen failing. Expect that some ideas will fail in the process of learning. Rather than treating the mistakes as failures, think of them as fun experiments.

Embrace a Positive Attitude – Under the pressure of a difficult problem, or if you are stuck on something, nothing innovative is likely to emerge. Do something fun to shift your thoughts back to the positive. Come back to the work problem with a fresh and more creative mind.

Let’s Work at Having Fun

Fun is all about creativity, innovation, play, experimentation, progress, and seeing real things come to life. Start to nurture fun at work, as well as passion and motivation. Learn to pay attention to laughter. Where there is laughter, there is an idea that holds people’s interest. If you don’t take yourself too seriously, the pleasant by-product is that work becomes more enjoyable, and your innovative side will be more visible.