Posted on Jun 16, 2014

Where Does Fun Fit Into Business?

Maybe you’re familiar with these common sayings:

Work hard. Play hard.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Everybody wins with a healthy work-life balance.
You don’t stop having fun when you get old. You get old when you stop having fun.

As a differentiating value, Fun means activities that are enjoyable or amusing; playfulness; therapeutic refreshment.

So, where does fun fit into business?

The ‘Shark’ on Fun

I recently read a post by Barbara Corcoran, one of the “Sharks” on the hit TV show Shark Tank, and Co-Founder of Barbara Corcoran Venture Partners. It was the title of her post that caught my attention:

Fun Is Good for Business

Barbara’s key point is that the best ideas come from “playing outside the office”.

Fun activities might include a company picnic, a party for salespeople, or even an event to simply celebrate the boring month of February.

In her definitive way, Barbara ends her post succinctly:

“Fun is the most underutilized tool in business today. Conducting business as usual results in usual business, but if a company plans good times together, it always results in extraordinary business!”

Fun might be a differentiating value for Barbara in her business. But what about for others?

Reader Comments

I was also intrigued by some of the comments that readers posted to Barbara’s article about this idea of fun at work.

There were many comments in support of her idea, including:

“Productivity and creativity soar when fun is part of the job.” – Peter Put
“Not only does it boost creativity, but it also increases morale and can lower employee turnover ratios.” – Lauren LeBlanc
“Looking back, I had the most success at companies where fun was baked into the culture as part of providing an environment that enabled team members to grow.” – Thomas Lai

There were also comments challenging this idea, such as:

“Fun at work is no substitute for a well-functioning, supportive work environment where role definition, objectives and expectations are clearly defined.” – Kerry Hicks
“…far too many companies… use these ‘fun’ events to add a veneer of goodwill to an otherwise negative working environment. The getaways were forced and awkward.” – Mike Hickman
“I agree that fun is needed at work, but we need to let people have fun in their own way” — Gabriel Cosmin Gheorghiu

Fun is one of those values that will never be clear-cut. Yet many companies still embrace it.

Fun Companies?

Family Dollar promotes a culture where: “Team members are encouraged to work hard, take pride in their achievements, and have fun doing it.”

Nationwide believes selling insurance can be fun.

W.W. Grainger defines fun this way: “Celebrate achievements and encourage a healthy balance between work and personal life.” (This sounds like the old cliché of promoting ‘work-life balance’)

In the highly competitive industry of selling electronics, Best Buy believes their people can “Have fun while being the best.”

CarMax defines it this way, “We have fun making car buying fun for customers.”

SpartanNash states, “We take time to celebrate team and individual achievements, incorporating fun into our work.”

And then there is Southwest Airlines – the masters at fun. One of their core values is having a “Fun-LUVing Attitude” which is clearly defined by 6 powerful points:

Have FUN
Don’t take yourself too seriously
Maintain perspective
Celebrate successes
Enjoy your work
Be a passionate Teamplayer

But regardless of how a company defines fun at work, the power of this value is in how it gets applied. As Barbara suggests, when a company plans good times together, it always results in extraordinary business!”