The Importance of Play in the Work Environment

We humans take ourselves too seriously at times. While walking around, be aware of how many people are smiling and laughing in a normal business day. Are you one of them?  I believe the Millennial generation does this more than the other generations and I say good for them.  Do you notice when you get in an elevator that everyone is really quiet - you can hear a pin drop at times. People are deep in thought or just being quiet to get where they are going. And, they typically are not smiling.

It's really important to goof off once in awhile and laugh at ourselves.  The definition of "play" is time spent without purpose.  Far too often in our American culture we feel that we have to have our nose to the grindstone, be productive, having our day planned out, working, cleaning, taking kids to practice, having a structured day, every day.  It's really important that we make time to just have fun without achieving a goal.  This is vital to our health and our human development.  Creativity and innovation stem from play. Check out the environments of Google and Zappos. People have freedom to be creative and enjoy their working environment.  More and more companies are creating these type of work environments especially in the technology fields.

Please don't save play just for a scheduled vacation. Incorporate fun into your life regularly through taking time to develop a hobby, being outdoors enjoying nature, being with your family and loved ones - maybe grabbing a cupcake after lunch or a yogurt or going to a great movie, having people over for dinner, etc. There are so many ideas you can explore.

Some suggestions around integrating play into your life are: 1.  Create a list or a couple of activities you could do for hours on end and forget about time - reading, playing a game, running, etc. that you really enjoy and maybe have forgotten about. 2. Schedule some unstructured time on your calendar and commit to play without feeling guilty. 3. Include others - family, friends, kids, a coworker.

Your mind and body will thank you for this believe me.

Write a Love Letter to Yourself - Man on the Street

Happy New Year - Auld Lang Syne by Sissel (Live) Movie

Happy New Year - Auld Lang Syne by Sissel (Live) Movie: Receive my simple gift of Love Wrapped with Sincerity Tied with care and Sealed with blessings To keep you happy and safe all the life long. Happy New Year!

Happy Work Places

Being happy in a work environment should not be taken too lightly.  Studies have shown over the years that high performing employees are also typically happy employees.  Did you know that happy employees take one tenth the sick leave of their least happy peers?  Are six times more energized in the workplace; intend to stay twice as long in the organization, especially millennials; are twice as productive.

iOpener Institute conducts data studies and did one on happiness in the workplace.  Their Performance-Happiness Model is made up of five components

• Contribution - what you do (I add, ask yourself "is what I docontributing to the organization?"
• Conviction - short-term motivation ("what is your short term motivation?")
• Culture - feeling of being a good fit with the company or organization (ask yourself - "is this culture a good fit for me?")
• Commitment - your long term engagement (ask yourself  - "what would I like to be part of here long term?)
• Confidence - self-belief (I am confident in my abilities and value I bring to this organization)

It's the job of the leadership team and human resources to constantly work on creating a better work culture. Part of this includes understanding how people deal with change (which is unique for everybody), continually allowing and encouraging open dialog on topics that matter to the company and keeping everyone informed.

Zappos is the prime example of a happy company. Check out their culture on their website.