Fun and creativity go hand-in-hand. It seems obvious enough that having fun will boost creativity, though it’s surprising how many companies overlook this key element.
To maximize creativity, collaboration and productivity, we must enjoy what we do and the people we do it with. After all, we spend more time at work with team members than any other period of time during the week, so it’s critical that we create an environment that is enjoyable and fun for everyone.This foundation is built through finding the right opportunities to cultivate a culture of creativity and individual self-expression – one that makes the fun organic and not forced.
You can begin transforming your office into a naturally more creative place by looking for opportunities to inject fun into the work environment based on the interests of your team. Pay attention to the activities your team members participate in outside of work and combine common interests to create a fun activity or group outing. You might just find that breaking the monotony of a daily routine will play a huge roll in increased creativity, imagination and productivity.
Here are 5 simple ideas to boost creativity in the office:
Get out of the office and play. Be spontaneous.
If you sense stress with your team or have the perfect opportunity (like a beautiful day), leave the office and find a fun activity to boost team moral and reduce stress. It can be as simple as going to the park to have a brainstorm session or having a meeting at a pub. Breaking the routine and changing your environment is a great way to re-energize the team. My team is fortunate enough to be within walking distance of a barcarde. We sometimes go there to grab a few beers and play some old school video games, which recharges our batteries after a hard week.
Design your office space in a way that allows people to take a break and have fun.
Go beyond just office design elements like paint color and furniture. Make sure to include areas for play like a ping pong table, lego station, game room or other activity stations that encourage playful activities among team members. It’s amazing what a ping pong table has done for our office. It started out as a fun activity between meetings and a great stress release during the day, but quickly turned into Challenge Fridays. Every Friday, we challenge team members to a one day ping pong championship. Challenge Fridays has boosted team morale and camaraderie and is something we look forward to each week.
Encourage individualism.
Let team members express their creativity through such things as clothing, music and art. We all come from different backgrounds and have had many unique experiences that can help in the creative process. Allowing people to express their personalities through fashion and other creative outlets will only intensify the culture of creativity and showcase your diverse community.
Promote the use of music.
Music creates a soothing environment that helps people relax. Lack of noise actually tends to be more disruptive to a work environment than one with music playing. A quiet office makes it difficult to concentrate; the slightest sound can break your focus and have a negative effect. In our office, we have one person in particular who is really into music and loves sharing it with the people in his workspace. If someone doesn’t like his choice of music, they just request a different song or put headphones on and play their own music, which is also encouraged.
Be flexible.
We all have different ways of coping with creative block and stress. Give people the opportunity to find their creative release or activities that get the creative juices flowing. Generally, imagination and creativity are not things that can be forced out of someone. Give people the freedom to explore their own techniques to overcome creative block.
The concept of having fun to boost creativity is not a new, groundbreaking concept. We all know happier team members will lead to a culture of creativity, camaraderie, loyalty and increased productivity. The problem is, we are generally too busy or distracted to take notice of opportunities to grow and nurture a culture of creativity. Take the time to step back, observe, experience and understand the work environment. Small changes can have a lasting and powerful impact on office culture and build a foundation to heighten creativity and productivity in your organization.