It’s Official - having fun at work not only makes for increased creativity, productivity and less absenteeism, it is also better for your health

A third of bosses surveyed by Investors In People said that dealing with employee stress was an issue for their organisation and 80% said that making their organisation a healthy place to work was a high or very high priority (2006).

In research for Lifetime, one of the UK’s leading leisure training providers, 60% of the people surveyed said they weren’t happy with their jobs (Lifetime, 2006).

30% of us, according to Monster.co.uk, get distraught over vile colleagues (also Monster.co.uk, 2006).

Happier Workers Have Healthier Hearts – researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found that male British civil service workers who experienced a "fair sense of justice" at work were almost a third less likely to suffer from Coronary Heart Disease (October, 2005).

And many other studies agree – working in a fun, stress-free environment in which employees are aware that they are appreciated is not only better for your health, it is also better for your creativity, productivity and can be instrumental in reducing absenteeism:

"If you - and others - aren't having fun doing what you're doing, chances are people aren't doing the best they can do."
Kouzes and Posner, The Leadership Challenge (1995)

"If you have fun at what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. Make work like play - and play like hell."
Norm Brinker, On the Brink, Brinker & Phillips (1996)

"Play at work improves employees’ motivational and cognitive processes and diversionary play fosters creativity. Ultimately, it helps organisations generate ideas for their new products and processes, respond to new challenges and create a social context that promotes on-going creativity."
Professor Babis Mainemelis & Sarah Ronson, The Playful Organisation, London Business School (2006)

Employees who enjoy their work report that they are:

- less anxious and depressed
- more satisfied with their jobs and their lives in general and more convinced that other people have fun at work
- more motivated by their work
- more creative at their work
- better able to meet job demands
- less likely to be absent from or late to work
D.J. Abramis, Finding The Fun At Work (1989)

Can your company afford not to be a fun place to work? Contact Fresh Tracks today and see what you can do to make work fun or click here to fill in an event enquiry form.