Are You Having Fun At Work?

Such qualities as loyalty, energy, intelligence and hard work are consensus career advice of what it takes to build a successful career.

However, same career counseling holds that there is another essential ingredient that is too often overlooked. That is having fun on the job.

You’ve heard the axiom, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Well, it is true.

A macho point of view is the order of the day among some ambitious careerists. It expresses itself through a sort of masochistic drive to work more hours than the next fellow, never take a vacation and otherwise reject the idea that work can be fun.

Jon Neulinger, author of The Psychology of Leisure states flatly, “Those not interested in doing anything but work are not likely to be CEOs.

Job Tip: Fun Increases Productivity

Studies show that a sense of humor, in proper dosage, can boost creativity and productivity, as well as take the air out of tense situations.

It can help you land the job you want. One study revealed Nearly 100 percent of over 700 chief executive officers surveyed preferred job candidates who have a sense of humor over those who don’t.

A clinical psychiatrist at Stanford University has found that a good laugh raises the pulse and blood pressure and releases adrenaline into the system. The lungs expand and torso muscles expand and contract. After laughter, the blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. Laughter is said to be like jogging in place.

Leaders use humor to communicate goals and motivate their followers.

That’s why the late Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart, the giant retailer, was willing to put on a hula skirt and dance down Wall Street when Wal-Mart employees met a challenge he had laid down.

Job Tip: It is not necessary to be another Johnny Carson to provoke a rejuvenating laugh or enjoy a joke. Lighten up. Be willing to laugh at yourself. See and tolerate absurdities on the job. They do exist and they are not necessarily the end of the world.

Tommy May, CEO of Simmons First National Bank, who is an arch conservative in business matters, put humor to work to motivate workers in a United Way campaign by letting his chief competitor throw a chocolate pie in his face when the May-led team came in second in raising money.

Heed the wisdom of Mark Twain: “…the law of work…the higher the pay in enjoyment the worker gets out of it, the higher shall be his pay in money also.”

Wise Career Counsel: It all comes down to the advice from one sage observer who said, “Get happiness out of your work or you may never know what happiness is.”