How To Have Fun At Work

By Michael Fields

Sadly, you spend the better part of your life at work. A human will spend 97,464 hours working from 18-65 an average 8 hour day 5 days a week. If you’re not having fun at work, you’re wasting an insane amount of time of your life. It’s that simple. With that in mind, I made a conscientious choice a few years back to make my day job one of the more exciting parts of my life. Even though I work with some miserable people and my job function itself is mind-numbing, I manage to get up every day, put on my suit and tie, and head to the office with a smile on my face. How do I do it? Let me share some tricks.

First off, the moment I’m out the door my iPod is already in my ears. As I’m running for the bus or walking to my car, I’m either listening to a comedy podcast or a goofy radio show. Whatever it is, I am being entertained for my one hour commute. This gets me revved up for the day.

As soon as I get to my office, I usually grab a coffee and jump online to find something funny. I spend about 20 minutes or so scouring through hilarious pictures, videos and stories to send to my coworkers. I subscribe to a variety of humorous websites and my inbox is usually full of material. The goal is simply to make people laugh and my coworkers have come to expect my early morning email.

fun at work (Photo credit: candrews)

Another great idea to brighten up your workplace is food. Every single time I walk in my office with doughnuts, cupcakes, or candy, my coworkers lighten up. Immediately, there are smiles everywhere. I try to bring in a treat at least a few times per week. I alternate with healthy and unhealthy snacks. Although chocolate seems to be the most popular item by far, people love vegetables and dip just the same. Last week, I brought in a large container of Starbucks coffee. My coworkers went nuts!

Speaking of food, I organize a weekly lunch outing with as many coworkers that I can get. Leaving the office for a long entertaining lunch hour really gets people excited. We try to plan this on Wednesdays to make it a nice midweek break. On Fridays, there’s an unwritten rule in our office that everyone has to hit the local pub. Whether it’s for one drink or an all night party, either way, everyone has to make an appearance. I am proud to admit that I started this trend and it has been very successful.

I’m also a huge fan of funny gifts. My apartment is full of the most ridiculous gag gifts you can imagine. I find every excuse in the book to buy a coworker a silly present. If I have no reason, I bring one in the office anyway. The nice thing about these types of gifts is that they are usually inexpensive and everyone gets a good laugh.

You can check out http://ift.tt/1bpq40s for some great gift ideas.