Bring Your Kid to Work

One of the greatest sounds on earth is the laughter of a child. Can everyone agree on that?

OK, this is a story for RV PRO, so maybe I should have said the greatest sounds on earth are the words, “We just had another record year of RV sales!” or “Our customer satisfaction ratings are through the roof!” or “These employee retention numbers are fantastic!”

Well, I contend that they’re connected and that the joy and fun a child experiences might just be the key to operating a great business and hearing those positive business sentences uttered year after year.

I’ve read that kids laugh 400 times a day, but by age 30, that drops to 17 times a day. (As the Joker says in “The Dark Knight,” “Why so serious?”) Granted, there are times in business and our personal lives that we need to be serious, but with all the health and professional benefits of laughing and having fun, we have to put more of it in our lives. A Villanova University study found that laughter reduces the level of stress hormones in our body, builds a stronger immune system, helps us cope more effectively with stress and can even help us live longer. Wow! And that’s just some of the powerful data out there reminding us of the value in laughing and having fun.

Create a Positive Culture

Unlike a new process or procedure, fun isn’t something we can mandate, measure and evaluate with key performance indicators on a spreadsheet, but when it’s there, we sure know it. We can see it in the smiles of our engaged coworkers and hear it in the respectful interactions during sales conversations. It’s evident in how we treat our business partners across the industry and in how we negotiate a new contract. Fun is a by-product of a positive work environment and shows up in all aspects of our business.

So, how do we get there? Here are a few ways to help build fun, laughter and a childlike mentality into the fabric of your organization.

Build Trust

When there’s trust in our workplace, great things happen. Harvard Business Review research notes that employees in high trust companies have 50% higher productivity, 76% more engagement and 106% more energy in the office than employees in companies with low trust. This alone sounds like a recipe to improve customer satisfaction and employee retention. And creating an environment of trust is pretty straightforward.

Listen — When we’re truly available to our fellow employees and really listen to each other’s ideas, confidence builds and creativity flourishes — and we learn so much in the process.

Respond — A real trust killer for me is when I don’t hear back from people regarding questions I’ve had or requests I’ve made. It’s so simple to get back to a person, even if it’s a response they may not like. It shows we heard them and value their input.

Clarity Is Kindness — I first heard that phrase from the CEO of a large building and manufacturing company that I spoke to. She strongly believes that when clear, actionable goals are openly communicated and discussed, everyone feels respected and wants to be a part of the road map to success. This consistent communication can even reduce workplace anxiety by taking away a fear many have of the unknown. She said, “It’s not just good business to gain employee buy-in, it’s showing kindness to let your team know what to expect.” I like that a lot! And speaking of kindness and respect …

Show Respect and Kindness — While I hope this isn’t a lost art, it feels like many people today are carrying some anger and frustration into the workplace. Find common ground where you can and try to bring down the temperature with a smile or kind words. Use “please” and “thank you” at every opportunity and remember that unhappy people may be going through some tough stuff that we don’t understand. We could be the positive difference maker in their day — and that’s worth a lot.

Create Space for Fun Interaction

Bringing people together for some quality interaction is great, but this isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario. While a Ping-Pong table in the breakroom or a basketball hoop by the loading dock works for some, it may be a lunchtime book club or an informal happy hour during the last two hours of the work day that makes sense for others. Ask your employees for ideas, and never make it strained or feel mandatory. It’s about creating space to get to know each other.

Recruit, Hire, Train & Review for Fun

Think about the amazing opportunity we have to influence the culture of our organization every time we bring on a new employee. If we get it right, it’s golden. So, why not blatantly declare at every early step of the hiring process and in every performance evaluation, that we’re looking for people with a sense of humor that are willing to laugh a little?

Model Desired Behavior

It doesn’t matter what position we hold within our company, we’re all casting a shadow of who we are and what we believe, in everything we do. We’re all models and we’re all looking at each other for support, affirmation or reminders of what’s important. We signal our beliefs in the words we use, the way we treat others and even in the body language we choose. So, if we have an agreed-upon company vision, it’s up to all of us to carry ourselves in a way that embodies that vision.

So, while I’m not advocating to put a jump castle in our lobby or a Slip ’N Slide in our conference room (though those may be great ideas), I am asking that we reclaim some of our childhood behavior. Laugh a little more, trust each other and be willing to have fun when the spirit moves us. Yes, it’s important that we take our job and the quality product we deliver seriously, but if we laugh when we can and let ourselves be a little more vulnerable, we could see a more positive culture spread like wildfire. And when that happens, record sales, elated customers and happy, healthy employees will soon follow.