Humour as the glue of the team: four tips on creating a fun working environment

Laughter and humour often help people overcome even the most difficult obstacles. If we took everything seriously, we would soon lose our motivation and positive attitude. Humour is therefore an integral part of any teamwork. A manager who can successfully implement humour and fun in their subordinates' work can help the team not only lighten the mood even in critical situations, but also increase everyone's productivity and satisfaction. So here are four ways you too can help create a fun work environment.

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Casual Fridays

Fridays in themselves tend to be less formal than the rest of the week. As Business2Community points out, they are ideal for implementing, for example, a casual dress-code. Or you could go one step further and, let's say, make a rule for every Friday about what everyone should wear. For instance, one week you could ask everyone to wear something yellow. The next Friday, you might suggest an item of clothing more than 15 years old. And so on. Imagination knows no bounds.

Team-building activities

Do not underestimate the importance of socialising in the workforce. Team-building activities are ideal opportunities for this as by their very nature they create many humorous situations. These may be small and short (e.g. a team lunch) or large and long (e.g. a weekend at some cottage).

Team rituals

Each team gradually develops certain habits, routines and rituals. As a manager, you should try to maintain, develop and nurture these. Some may be humorous at their core: for example, when a team member has a birthday, the rest of the team could always try to give them the kitschiest, most disgusting paper birthday card possible.

Gamification of work

Gamification involves incorporating game elements into an activity. Gamification of work may take the form of a whiteboard in an office where salespeople record the deals they have managed to close. Whoever has the highest number at the end of the week will have a song sung to them by their colleagues. Or something like that. Well-chosen and healthy (i.e. not excessive or too competitive) gamification serves not only to motivate workers, but also generally to entertain the whole team.

 

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Article source business2community.com - open community for business professionals
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