At Contactzilla, we believe that our team is our greatest asset. Without them, we wouldn't be where we are today. Like you, we desire our squad to be happy and experience fulfilled in their jobs.

We as well want to motivate our team to be as productive as possible, without pushing them also far and stressing them out.

In my experience, team happiness spurs productivity and by making your work environment a 'happy identify', you tin take care of your squad and encourage them to get more washed.

Hither are 10 of our favourite ways to make work fun so your employees stay happy and motivated…

1. Accept a games area

If you want your team to stay motivated stay motivated and refreshed, you should be encouraging them to take regular breaks. Of form, you desire them to take their breaks away from their desks, and then try to provide a fun and relaxing 'breakout area' where people can go for 10 minutes to clear their minds.

At Contactzilla HQ, nosotros have a pool table every bit well as a small area with a sofa, edible bean bags and a picnic demote. Anyone is welcome to a game of puddle, or to accept their laptop over to the beanbags, whatsoever fourth dimension they need a interruption or change of scenery.

Fifty-fifty merely a game of pool every few hours is enough to put a smile on our faces. Not only does it make u.s.a. happy but nosotros often finish upward chatting almost projects over the pool tabular array, giving usa a fresh new perspective to take dorsum to our desks.

2. Go out together

Have fun with your whole team by going for regular days and/or nights out. Going out together as a team is a great way to become anybody having fun and forming relationships outside of work that could inspire collaboration dorsum in the office.

Every bit well as being loads of fun, days out tin can brand great team-edifice exercises, even if you don't fancy traditional 'build a raft from drinking straws' manner team building days (we survived this zombie apocalypse together and had a great fourth dimension).

Alexander Kjerulf, Chief Happiness Officer at Woohoo Inc, believes socializing with your colleagues is key to forming a collaborative civilization…

"If yous're not able to chronicle to your coworkers as homo beings and build positive relationships, your career volition suffer. Socializing and getting to know them every bit people will help you to communicate better, trust each other more and piece of work better together."

3. Encourage friendships

Socialising with coworkers tin go farther than after work drinks on a Friday and the odd team-building day. According to Tom Rath, author of Vital Friends, people with a 'best friend' at work are upwards to vii times more engaged than those who aren't.

Workplace friendships can too assist you develop a culture of 'compassionate love' which inquiry has found tin lead to higher levels of satisfaction and teamwork, as well as a reduction in sick days.

4. Decorate

You spend a huge proportion of your time at work so its important not to detest your part. If you want your squad to relish being at work, make sure you provide a workspace that's bonny and interesting but also conducive to productivity.

Retrieve, your office is a reflection of your brand. Decorating in accord with your brand will help your team stay in touch with information technology. For example, if your business prides itself on its simplicity, a messy, cluttered office isn't going to help your team experience in line with your mission.

Stuck for ideas? Why not get everyone involved and decorate your office every bit a squad? It's fun and a great way to get anybody working together.

5. Become a domestic dog

Recent research has shown that having a canine companion in the office can actually increase productivity, reduce stress and spark communication between employees.

Another study found that participants who worked with a dog nearby ranked their team-mates higher on measures of trust, team cohesion and intimacy than those who didn't. In other words, having a dog in the office can also help your squad become better collaborators.

So continue, go a domestic dog in the part and watch happiness and productivity and soar!

6. Go the beers in

At Contactzilla, our squad is by and large fabricated up of web developers and each of them has different skills and experience.

Our team love to learn new skills so every Friday afternoon, we concur a "tech talk" where one of the developers talks about a trouble they've encountered or a new slice of tech they've been using. We find that sitting down with a beer at the terminate of the week and sharing cognition is a fun and productive way to wind down.

vii. Gloat pocket-size wins

Teresa M. Amabile, one of the world's leading researchers studying organizations and the roles people play within them, has found that one of the biggest influences on workplace happiness and productivity is the "progress principle".

"What we found was that, of all the events that occur on best days, one stood out well above the rest – but making progress on meaningful work. We call this the "progress principle."

According to Amabile, meaningful work "does not necessarily mean lofty goals similar curing cancer, but that the work exist of value to the person doing information technology. In fact, meaningful piece of work tin can exist as ordinary as providing customers with a useful service or a quality production. Just for the progress principle to have effect, the work must be meaningful in some style to the person."

If you want your team to be happy, y'all need to make sure they feel they are making progress and understand the importance of their role to your company.

8. Peer to Peer feedback

Chances are, the boss doesn't know or understand exactly what everyone on the squad does on a day-to-mean solar day ground. To make sure your team is getting the feedback they deserve, why not try peer to peer feedback…

At Contactzilla, we encourage our team to aid each other out and give each other feedback, whether positive or constructive. They capeesh feedback from their peers who empathise their work in depth and it helps them develop closer relationships and interact better in the future.

ix. Share photos of your children or pets

Yes, I'm telling yous to be "that guy", merely hear me out…

Showing photos of their kid or pet to co-workers can help your team establish friendships, creating a happier and more loyal workforce. If that wasn't enough, studies also prove that looking at cute animal pictures at work can actually brand you more productive!

10. Encourage hobbies at work

Everyone has a hobby they're passionate about so why not allow your squad take a one-half-hour out to piece of work on their hobby? It's a smashing way to relieve stress, recharge your batteries and offers your team the gamble to bail over common interests. Hobbies like reading, scrapbooking, model building, adult coloring books or even knitting can be welcoming for stress relief during the work twenty-four hour period. According to a study performed on 115 participants 34% felt less stressed, 18% less pitiful, and their center rate dropped approximately 3%.

About the Author

Mark Panay is the Marketing Director and Co-Founder of Contactzilla, a seamless contact management system for businesses and organizations. In addition to his love for emerging technology, Mark is too a trustee of Deki, a very cool microfinance charity that helps entrepreneurs in developing countries generate sustainable incomes.

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