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Feb. 27, 2006 “Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it.” - Eileen Caddy If you were to walk through my workplace you may just think that the staff is loony. Normally dressed in suits and dresses, the staff is instead donned in jeans and t-shirts. Giggles from the women and the men are heard down the hall as beach balls hit them in the head and an impromptu game of volleyball takes place. At 3:00 p.m., the sounds of “Do the Hustle” echo as the co-workers put their work aside to dance down the hall. And these people are professionals? Absolutely! And they love what they do and have fun doing it! With stress and anxiety edging up the claims ladder for workers’ compensation and the staggering numbers associated with employee turnover, employers are looking at ways to produce a fun environment, which also produces motivation. Not as easy as it seems, though. There are many obstacles that have to be moved to be able to do this. Countless books, videos and seminars are distributed with “how to” steps, but without a receptive manager that holds the motivational and leadership skills; it is just a dead subject. How do you motivate employees? The answer is both simple and complex. You can't motivate employees. You can only create an environment where employees can remain or become motivated. “The world belongs to the energetic.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson Managers who actually listen to their employees is the first main key to motivating them. If employees believe that their manager is willing to hear both good and bad news and actually set out to do something about the suggestions they've made, then the employees will have a greater commitment to the job and a renewed interest in team work. Once the manager(s) is receptive to completing the steps and plant the seed, there comes another obstacle. Motivation comes from within each separate person. You cannot make someone motivated. Does everyone participate at where I work? Sometimes, but not always. There will always be employees who feel that it is a waste of time or just bad to have fun at work. Having supportive supervisors help and those that join in fertilize the environment. “The man who moved a mountain was the one who began carrying away small stones.” - Chinese Proverb One of the most famous places spurring a frenzy of fun is the Seattle, Washington named the World’s Famous Pike Place Fish Market. Working with stinky fish all-day and ornery customers, the owner, John Yokoyama decided to make it FUN. Being labeled a tyrant and feeling like he hadn’t accomplished much, he instead decided to implement a set of E.C.P.’s (Essential Creative Principles) with the determination to become “World Famous”. The company believed that it was possible to impact lives. The four principals of FISH! are; § Play § Make Their Day § Be There § Choose Your Attitude By following these four principals, John and his company are committed to sharing this “fishy” way of life with other corporations. Word of the philosophy has soared and large companies such as IBM, Marriot, Spring and Intel have gone FISH! crazy. The employees at Pike Place wear big rubber pants while they fling fish (Play). With a smile on their faces, they joke with the customers or those just coming to watch the “show” (Choose Your Attitude). Often times they drag people off the street, or the “yogurt dudes” (business people who work down the street who come to watch the Pike Place employees work to get motivated) into the store and make them fling fish with them (Make Their Day). Looking directly into their eyes and getting to know their customers, the people go away laughing and relaxed (Be There). Nobody needs to actually purchase anything, however their sales have skyrocketed and not one penny has been spent on advertising. And when hit with the bad economy and John thought he would have to lay staff off, employees pulled together and came up with a plan. That month sales were highest than they ever were. No, this is not a “fish story”! You don’t sell fish, you say? Just thinking about the four principals with regards to the industry and this philosophy can be fit into all of them. But again, management and employees need to work together to come up with a plan – and nurture creativity. The FISH! video and book has drowned the motivational market with regards to the workplace. While the video and the book are great starts to creating motivation in the workplace, it certainly should not be the end. The manager needs to continue watering the creativity. Have a potluck, send anonymous notes with “Great Job” on them, help out someone who you know has a large project and is stressed, bring in a balloon for the staff and spread the seeds. "The human race has only one effective weapon, and that is laughter. The moment it arises, all our hardesses yield, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes place." - Mark Twain I work in Human Resources where there always seems to be a large crowd of employees congregated around our desks in this department. As hosts, laughter is the appetizer offered. The Human Resources office is draped in seasonal decorations, the lighting is a soft pink in lieu of the harsh yellow fluorescent lighting and the bulletin boards share both work announcements, legal postings along with tasteful comic strips and jokes. Motivational quotes are posted weekly as a thought for the week. Short breaks are encouraged and the employees often take them in my area. Why? Because we have fun and give out laughs. The cobwebs clear out of the mind with breaks and laughter melts the stress. Schools understand that children need recess breaks to eliminate boredom and routine. The same remains true for employees and productive and happy employees make companies money. "Laughter is the shortest distance between two people." - Victor Borge Fun and work can go together…and it should! Workers who have a sense of humor and who have fun are more likely to be successful. When that mental attitudes increase, so does oxygen, endorphins and blood flow to the brain. This clear the mind promoting thinking and creativity and creating a motivated environment that benefits employee and employer. A wise manager will allow laughter in the workplace, after all it is a team builder. No matter who you speak to regarding motivation in the workplace, the bottom line stays true. You can create the atmosphere for motivation, but you cannot make someone motivated. That comes from within each person. Plant the seed, water it daily and remember to fertilize. I assure you that blooms will appear. “That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life, but in a new way.” - Doris Lessing ------------ About the author: Kristy Schiller works as a spiritual intuitive, psychic detective and a paranormal investigator along with her ‘real’ job in HR, but her favorite job of all remains mom to two beautiful children. Visit her at www.tangledwishes.com. Email: Kristy@tangledwishes.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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