8 Ways to Create a Fun and Productive Company Culture

We’ve all heard about how fun it is to work at Google. There are lots of companies where they believe that if their employees are having fun, more work will get done. And the principle is solid: the more your employees enjoy coming to work, the more they are likely to show up to work. As long as your company culture is also one of productivity, you will be much more successful. But how exactly do you do that?

1. Consider offering flexible work hours.

Some people work better in the morning and would prefer to have the afternoons off. Some people would prefer to come in at noon and stay until nine pm. If you have the option of offering flexible work hours, if it is possible to offer this kind of thing without compromising the functionality of your business, don’t be afraid to do this. It is guaranteed to make your company more fun and more productive. When people who work best from noon to nine pm can actually work those hours, you’re going to get more out of them and they will certainly be less grumpy about coming to work.

2. Offer reasonable vacation days.

At some businesses, you have to work for years in order to earn enough vacation time to actually take a week off during the summer. What if you offered more reasonable vacation day options? One of the best ways to make people productive is to give them time off of work. You’ve probably experienced this yourself. If you work yourself to the bone and you never take any time for yourself, you become progressively less and less productive. If, on the other hand, you take some time off, you return renewed and ready to work your butt off again.

3. Reward creativity.

When someone does something that is a little bit outside of the box, and it works, reward that person. It can be scary to try something new, but if it helps your business or your marketing strategy, you should encourage this kind of thinking. Sometimes, the way things are is not the best way to do things. Don’t be so stuck in your rut that your employees are terrified of taking a little risk. No one ever got anywhere great by always following the rules and doing exactly what tradition says they should do.

4. Create office challenges.

These should be both serious (to increase productivity) and fun (to increase the fun quotient). For example, you might have a chili cook off. Bring in a ping pong table and hold a tournament. Hold a contest to see who can come up with the best new slogan for the company. Not only will this help people to display off their many and varied talents, it will encourage those who might sometimes be a little standoffish to get involved with the company, whether it is in a productive way or in a fun way. These events are as much about team building as they are about having fun.

5. Make it easy to get moving.

Offices who make it easy to workout (or, at the very least, to not sit all day), are more likely to have happy and productive workforces. We’ve all heard about how Google has a gym for their employees. And while having a dedicated gym might not be possible for your office, partnering with a nearby gym to offer discounted rates or having some sort of physical activity (like a challenge to walk or run a certain number of miles) is a great way to encourage physical activity.

6. Encourage your employees to take breaks.

Why do this? First of all, it encourages socialization. And while you do not want your employees to just be standing around talking to one another all day, you do want them to get to know each other and feel like they can work as a team and ask each other for help. If everyone takes a break at around eleven and then again at around three, this provides ample time for them to mingle, and then get back to work. When they do get back to work, their minds and motivation will be refreshed.