T H E S TA R T U P
FROM I DEA TO ENTERPRISE
5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD ENCOURAGE
“THE F-WORD” WORKPLACE IN THE
BY RON JOHNSON MANAGING DIRECTOR, BLUEPRINT CREATIVE INC.
Yep! It’s high time for employers to allow true freedom of expression in the workplace and encourage the use of “The F-word” throughout the organisation. You know what word we’re talking about, don’t you? Do we really have to spell it out for you? Fine! “F-U-N!” It’s the word “Fun!” (Wait, what did you think we were talking about here?!) Despite what some critics might think, it is
HAPPY PEOPLE ARE MORE CREATIVE! Research conducted by Professor Teresa Amabile, an expert in creativity in the workplace, found that persons who were in a good mood on a given day were more likely to have creative ideas that day, as well as the following day. According to Professor Amabile, “There seems to be a cognitive process that gets set up when people are feeling good that leads to more flexible, fluent, and original thinking”. Considering that Professor Amabile defines creativity as “producing novel, workable ideas and solutions to problems”, it is definitely in your interest to maintain an environment where your team members are in a good mood.
So lighten up and have fun already!
HAPPY WORKERS ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE
possible for hard work and fun to coexist in the same room. And having fun in the workplace isn’t just about being “nice”. As it turns out, there are some pretty sound business reasons for integrating fun into the work environment. Here are five compelling reasons why you should encourage a culture of fun in the workplace.
There is a growing body of research which suggests that happy workers are more productive. One study conducted by a group of economists led by Andrew Oswald, a professor of economics at Warwick Business School, found that happy workers were up to 12% more productive while unhappier workers were E V O LV I N G B U S I N E S S - 8
