Showing your coworkers and employees that you appreciate them is a wonderful way to boost morale and keep everybody happy and comfortable with their work environment. And what better time to show them you appreciate them than January 28th, National Fun at Work Day? Here are just some of the many ways you can celebrate, make your coworkers/employees feel appreciated, and have fun at the same time!
- Ice cream and pizza social
The notion of the ice cream and pizza social is somewhat of a cliché in the office world, but that’s because it works. Nothing is more relaxing than coming from a long morning of hectic work to find ice cream and pizza waiting for you on your lunch break. It not only fills workers’ stomachs; it warms their hearts, because they are able to see just how valued they truly are. Being able to celebrate with everyone over good food is also a great stress reliever, so they will return to work feeling refreshed and ready to face the rest of the day.
- Throw a meeting that is unrelated to work
Although meetings are necessary for many different positions in many different jobs, they can incite feelings of apprehension in employees who stress about saying the wrong thing, making a bad impression, or otherwise messing up in some way during the meeting. So throwing a meeting unrelated to work is both a great way to distress during National Fun at Work Day, and a good way to ease some of the trepidation generally associated with meetings. All you have to do is gather everyone in a meeting room, similar to how you would during any other meeting, and keep the conversation lighthearted. Ask everyone to talk about themselves. Talk about your plans for the weekend. Discuss possible vacations people are thinking about taking. Any conversation that doesn’t relate to the job or work-related responsibilities works great; the goal is to help employees relax and have fun for a few minutes, and also make them feel valued, because you are having a meeting centered around them. It also has the extra benefit of easing some of the nervousness they will feel towards future meetings, because they will remember how valued they are, and worry less about doing the wrong thing!
- Introduce some fun activities to keep work interesting
It may be National Fun at Work Day, but the work doesn’t just stop. All employees still have to fulfill their duties; the goal is to make their typical duties fun and exciting. A good way to do that is by introducing fun activities they can participate in even while working. Anything that doesn’t interfere with their job responsibilities works great. Some suggestions include dressing up in costume (and maybe giving away rewards for the best costumes), playing music (at a low volume so those working on the phone can hear!), and drawing raffles to win some fun prizes. Anything creative that keeps work exciting works great!
- Have a scavenger hunt
Hide little surprises and prizes around the office for people to find. This keeps things exciting because people never know what they are going to find, or where! If you want to make sure it is fair, you could hide things in random spots on people’s desks, so that you ensure everyone walks away feeling like a winner. This still keeps things exciting because people don’t know where on their desk they are going to find their prize, or what they are going to find. Then once it’s over, the fun will continue as people compare prizes and discuss how hard/easy it was to find their prize.
- Get everyone involved in the celebration process!
Nothing makes people feel more valued than knowing they are being heard. So why not have coworkers get involved in planning for National Fun at Work Day? This way, you can learn what they find fun, and cater the activities to suit their own interests. Implementing some sort of incentive is a good way to excite coworkers as well, and make them eager to contribute their ideas. It doesn’t have to be anything excessive; awards, certificates, and even small, simple prizes go a long way towards building excitement and getting people eager to participate! After all – it is a day for them!