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A little fun in the workplace goes a long way

You have your typical workdays—hopefully, not too stressful—and if you’re lucky, you have some that are downright fun. This week is staff appreciation week (SAW) at the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. (FMA), and the focus is on fun.

Remote workers throughout the U.S. and Canada fly in for the event, the one time of the year that some visit the home office. Work continues, but during the day employees participate in bakeoffs, games, drawings, group lunches, and other activities designed to acknowledge their value to the organization and develop comradery.

FMA doesn’t wait for this week to provide perks to make employees feel valued. It offers flexible work schedules, the opportunity to work from home, anniversary recognition, and special events. All companies, regardless of size, would be wise to follow suit.

As noted in an article on smallbusiness.com, “Highly motivated employees often find their motivation from working in a pleasant office environment. It is to your advantage to make your workplace a happy place for your employees. The more they can play and relieve stress, the harder and more efficiently they’ll perform.”

The article goes on to list 11 ideas to help inject a little “fun” into the workplace. Among them are some that FMA puts into practice:

  • Allow for flextime. Giving your employees some flexibility in their work schedules shows your concern for their personal lives. In addition, allowing employees to work from home occasionally can be a great motivator, making the days in the office a lot more productive and less stressful.

    Currently, about 10 percent of FMA’s employees work from their homes in various U.S. states and Canada. When the company moves into its new offices in December of this year, others will work from home several days a week.
  • Cultivate fun. Make your office an exciting place to be by holding frequent contests, celebrations, and team-building activities. Surprise everyone by ordering in lunch or by starting out the day with coffee and pastries in the kitchen. Be creative.

    FMA provides meals and treats occasionally, observes Wellness Wednesdays on which free fruit is made available to employees, and has a community service committee that schedules special food events with proceeds going to local organizations.
  • Acknowledge anniversaries. Celebrate the day each employee joined your team. Let them know how much you appreciate their contributions with a small gift, cake, or token of gratitude for the role they play in the company.

    FMA acknowledges all anniversaries at its monthly all-staff meetings. Each employee receives a paid day off to be used sometime during the year, and those with “milestone” anniversaries receive a small monetary award and a commemorative plaque.
  • Step out occasionally. Plan occasional group excursions to get everyone out of the office once in a while. Have a group lunch in a nice restaurant, hold an off-site meeting at a museum or botanical gardens, or take everyone on an impromptu trip to the movies.

    FMA has about a dozen departments. Occasionally, the company as a whole has an outing, but more often, departments have off-site meetings and lunches. For example, the editorial department, to which I belong, has monthly lunches out to celebrate birthdays.

This year’s SAW is a little different from most. It’s bittersweet. This is the last time the festivities will be held in the Rockford, Ill., location. The organization, founded in 1971, has been in its current building for almost 25 years. In December, it’s moving to Elgin, Ill. The hard hats on the employees pictured in the group photo represent the new building construction taking place. They also represent the theme of this SAW—FMA Staff is the Cornerstone to a Solid Foundation.