It’s OK to have fun at work

The press release from a candy company stopped me because it talked about one of my favorite inventions — the office candy dish. With lots of candy to sell, the candy maker conducted a survey of 1,290 adults nationwide who work in an office to get a better understanding of the office candy dish. According to the public relations folks, they found that people who put candy dishes on their desk were more likely to get raises and bonuses than people who did not.

Now I know it’s difficult to get past the self-interest of the candy company, and even harder not to be cynical about people who would put candy on their desk just to get a raise, yet I think there’s a larger truth here.

Good cheer and fun have an important role in the workplace.

The candy dish offers treats, but it is obviously more than that. It communicates a sense of welcome and camaraderie that’s missing from many workplaces. When there’s a candy dish present, you often see people congregating in a comfortable and friendly manner. The act of sharing candy often punctures stuffiness and creates a sense of team.

I am normally an upbeat person. I love humor, and my raucous laugh is a trademark. Yet, I always found my greatest problems stemmed from taking myself too blasted seriously. When I got totally consumed by problems and challenges, the negative energy flowed from me like prickly bush. I constantly needed to remind myself that in a hundred years, nobody will give a hoot. That usually put things in perspective and helped me realize that if my work was fun I would perform better and so would everybody around me.

When you go into any office and find people rushing around with their heads down and without a smile, you can usually figure this is not a healthy work space. The office without laughter and fun is usually the one that breeds gossip, distrust and paranoia. If people don’t laugh, I’ve found they constantly look over their shoulders.

The infamous minor league baseball promoter Mike Veeck, son of the legendary Bill Veeck, recently wrote a book called “Fun is Good: How to Create Joy and Passion in Your Workplace and Career,” in which he advocates fun as a crucial tool for workplace success and high performance. Veeck’s advice is not shocking, but the book is full of great reminders of how important laughter is at work.

He advises that poking fun at everything “except politics, race, religion and mothers” is healthy. Veeck says it is incumbent on leaders to make it clear to employees that it is OK to have fun, and if they don’t know how, he says they have to be taught. He argues other companies would always prefer to do business with a fun company. Certainly, it’s obvious to most of us we would personally rather interact with someone who is full of joy rather than a sourpuss.

Veeck, the man who was behind the notorious Disco Demolition that caused the Chicago White Sox to forfeit a baseball game in 1979, advises it’s crucial to embrace failure and to poke fun at yourself. His list of suggestions for ways specific trades and professions can promote their businesses by poking fun at themselves is worth the price of the book. Veeck insists irreverence draws attention and he urges people to constantly “push the envelope” in an effort to have fun.

Many will find Veeck a little over the edge, but he is correct that fun is good. Just like the candy dish, anything in the workplace that brings people together, encourages creativity and involvement, and punctures seriousness is going to make the workplace more rewarding and probably more effective.

Tip for your search: Nothing breeds affection for fellow workers like laughter. If you take time to laugh and have a little fun you will find everybody becomes a little closer and a little more willing to make that extra effort.

Resource for your search: “Fun is Good: How to Create Joy and Passion in Your Workplace” by Mike Veeck and Pete Williams (Rodale, 2005)