Work Hard / Play Hard – The Importance of a Fun Working Environment

The age-old phrase of ‘work hard, play hard’ has been around for as long as we can remember at som3, but that doesn’t necessarily mean working 12 hours a day until that first beer on Friday afternoon, followed by 10 more, into town and then hitting the shots. Eat (kebab), sleep (3 hours), repeat, for the whole weekend!

Any working environment can be a stressful place and certainly within the roller coaster world of recruitment where KPI’s, monthly, quarterly, yearly targets are everyday jargon, this can create a feeling of being very overwhelmed and sadly in this day and age cause a lot of mental stress. In fact, in a 2018 study by the Mental Health Foundation, 74% of UK adults felt ‘overwhelmed or couldn’t cope’ at some point. An alarming statistic but fear not, we can all channel our inner Dane and adopt the Hygge way and become much happier whilst maintaining that all important productivity at work.

Luckily at som3, since its inception, the ‘Hygge-ish’ mentality has always been the way. Albeit a high-pressured environment due to being a start-up company, there have never been any elements of stress, animosity or ‘arsiness’ as we are all aware that working as a team is the way this business is going to be a success. KPI is a banned phrase and quality of work is far more important to us. Question is, how do we achieve this quality? Simple, we ensure a fun environment in the workplace and the excellent results are a bi product of this mantra. Whether it be team nights out, trips to Theme Parks, late starts, early finishes or a quick trip to our local Chinese for a bite to eat at lunch, we’ll try anything to keep everyone on the top of their game.

Whatever your company does, or you do individually to try and improve the amount of fun you have at work, remember what the added benefits could be:

Happy can mean healthier

Less stress and anxiety – less risk of heart disease, strokes, diabetes

Fun improves communication and collaboration

Nearly two thirds of knowledge workers collaborate multiple times a day with their colleagues, so encouraging an effective way to improve cohesion within your organisation should be a priority

A fun environment breeds creativity

Creative environments have an atmosphere and activity that is easily distinguishable. There’s a buzz in the air, colleagues are enthusiastic and energetic, and there are lots of conversations happening

Fun makes employees more productive

A 2015 study by the University of Warwick’s Centre for Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy found that happier employees are more productive by an average of 12% and, in some cases, up to 20% more than a control group. This difference is significant, given that “in terms of national GDP or economic growth, productivity rises of 3% or so are considered very large.”

Having fun encourages advocacy

Advocates act as a powerful force in shaping the public perception of an organisation. Employees that have fun, enjoy what they do, and are engaged will naturally share stories and act as advocates for your brand – on and offline. If every one of your employees shared news and updates about your brand to their own social groups, then your audience will increase exponentially – and for free!

And so on that final point, see you all on the other side, som3 are off to Alton Towers