"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you."
Well, perhaps not many companies will tell you that, but I did hear about a supervisor that sent out an email to everyone in the department "If you can't get the job done, know, I will find someone that can." I'm very sorry to say "Holy shit", but "HOLY SHIT!" That kinda reminds me of a 19-fittysomething football coach who held two a day practices, full contact, up to and including game day. Hollering, whistle blowing frequently, laps, running hills (the offender toting someone piggyback up the hill), one, and only one real quick water break.
Mearth from Earth hatched from Mork. This much we know. From whatever planet it was he came from, they aged backwards. I suppose, at nearly 70 years old, making suggestions for ways to have 'work at fun' is bassackwards, but if it makes one dent in the life of stringency for a fellow chum, all the better.
Can you have fun and be productive at work? I was a rebel, don't ask me.
Let's talk laughter in general. This one thing I read and will now plagiarize said "Laughter is the best medicine."..... Benefits: It relaxes the whole body. It decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus, improving your resistance to disease.
Well, yeah... companies ARE into Wellness.. mebbe because they hound (and hound) the HR person to be. You see, if they promote wellness, it lowers Health Insurance costs.. so mebbe they'll at least listen to this talk about fun crap at work.
Wonderful, but I wasn't quite done espousing (through plagiarism) the benefits of laughter, fun. It triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel good chemicals..... it protects the heart by improving the function of the blood vessels, thus, increasing blood flow which can help you against a heart attack and cardiovascular problems.
Well, OK, companies might be mostly ears. I once heard of a company did have one guy have a heart attack after they had him work five consecutive months without a day off. Take that back, they said he got Thanksgiving off, they're not complete assholes.
Laughter burns calories. Hmmm, wellness, ok, tell me more. It lightens anger's heavy load. (A company may say 'we are PEOPLE PEOPLE here for goodness sakes, WHAT ANGER?') Oh, I dunno. Take a peek, I've heard of companies where there are skid marks in the parking lot leading to the exits? ANGER, we have no stinking ANGER here.
How do you suppose we have this fun you speak of?
I thought you'd never ask. Some quick ideas, encourage recognition. Make eating lunch at your desk off limits. Start every meeting with a little fun. Let 'em bring their pets to work once every 6 months or so. Before you say "Barks make me barf" please know, this would boost morale, and even decrease absenteeism. Maybe suggest a Happy Hour for those that may be so inclined. Could go a long way in reducing at work hiccups. Good music one hour a week? (Not so loud that customer service conversations would be impossible.) Reserve time for feel-good wellness activities (Remember! Health care costs!)
Have a scavenger hunt. Spin a wheel for prizes. Devote thirty minutes or so every other Friday for Game-Time (board games, video games, mind games, anything goes as long as employees are having fun. Trivia Time outs.. Get outside. Karaoke once a quarter. WHAT? Sure, it's fun, you'll get to know employees better, hey, we all know Karaoke, it will simply allow employees to know "it's ok to not be perfect occasionally."
OK. I ain't been everywhere like the Johnny Cash song states, but, I've worked at fun, and I've worked at patooey. Guess which ones had the most productive employees?
Like ole' Warren Buffet says "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 like saving up sex for your old age?" WARREN!! I kinda liked that though!
Or mebbe that Steve Jobs on jobs "I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And, whenever the answer have been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."
I'm not sure I can keep the job I'm at now, you see I might get injured worse than I already have. Huh? How so Victor?
Well, you see.. I was behind the counter the other day.. I mentioned something about "Having work at fun"... Well, long ago (long, long ago) I could do a front flip. i've never been able to, nor tried to do a backflip. When I said that about 'work at fun', my boss said "I kinda like that." I wanted to try a backflip. See? I might get hurt.
THEN... then, I volunteered to work Christmas Eve (I ain't married, Christmas Eve is family time, besides, I can use the bucks anyways...) so, imagine my surprise when my boss brought me Turkey dinner with everything (green beens, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, roll, butter, yada).. DANGEROUS. It gave me a RED MARK because I pinched myself so hard to see if I was dreaming. If I wasn't smiling so much I mighta called OSHA.
Life is fun. Within reason, work should be too.
By Henry Gibson. Forward by Maynard G. Crebs
Love, Victurd
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