Making Work Fun Is The Secret To Getting Extra Done

This article is predicated on the Future of Work Podcast episode “The Real ROI of Having Fun at Work” with Bree Groff. Click right here to hearken to your entire episode.

What if having enjoyable at work wasn’t only a profit, however a core a part of doing nice work?

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In the most recent episode of The Future of Work® Podcast, transformation knowledgeable and creator Bree Groff shared why enjoyable, connection, and curiosity deserve a central place in how we take into consideration work. 

Groff has spent her profession serving to Fortune 500 corporations like Microsoft and Google navigate complicated change. Drawing on that have, she makes a compelling case for rethinking what makes workday — and the best way to create extra of them.

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Rethinking the Cost of the Workweek

Many folks measure their weeks in output and productiveness. But Groff suggests a deeper query: how are we spending our lives?

“We are spending five sevenths of our lives each week at work. And that is far too much to consider only the input to a paycheck, only the input to a company’s bottom line,” she mentioned throughout our podcast dialog. 

Her level is each sensible and philosophical. People carry out higher once they’re energized. But in addition they need to really feel their time has worth past the transactional.

Not One Kind of Fun, however Many

Groff resists a slim definition of enjoyable, particularly at work. It’s not about ping pong tables or performative pleasure. Instead, she encourages folks to seek out satisfaction in a variety of sources — private development, camaraderie, mentoring, and even moments of quiet focus.

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“The good thing about joy and fun at work is that you don’t have to get all of your joy from the same place,” she mentioned.

Sometimes, it’s not about function or that means. Sometimes it’s about relationships, curiosity, or mastering a ability. Fun is private, and other people ought to be empowered to seek out it in methods which can be genuine to them.

Leadership Sets the Conditions

Leaders can’t manufacture pleasure, however they will create the house for it to emerge. That begins with listening to how groups work, not simply what they produce.

Groff shares sensible instruments, like check-in rituals and “Do Nothing Days” — time put aside for deep pondering and unstructured dialog. These are usually not distractions. They create the circumstances for higher pondering, deeper collaboration, and extra inventive breakthroughs. And it additionally occurs to be good for the enterprise.

Start Local: The Power of Cozy Teams

Even if a company isn’t totally aligned, managers and people nonetheless have affect. Groff encourages crew leads to consider themselves as CEOs of their very own small cultures. Cozy groups — the place folks really feel psychologically secure, trusted, and identified — can exist inside any firm.

Small gestures matter. Making house for a fast snicker, checking in sincerely, or sharing the actual causes somebody has their digicam off can shift your entire tone of a crew. And when all else fails, Groff suggests “thin-slicing” pleasure: discovering even a minute within the day — like a peaceable espresso break — and totally having fun with it.

Fun Is Not Optional

Groff’s perspective doesn’t ask for much less work; it asks for higher work. She makes it clear that enjoyable isn’t a tradeoff with efficiency, however relatively a basis for it.

Work will all the time deliver challenges. But most of our lives are spent working. That time deserves to be properly used, properly felt, and sure, enjoyable.

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