Wondering whether putting a pong pong table in your office will increase engagement? Read on….
A few weeks ago, I talked about Google’s Turkey Technique that wows their employees and most anyone that gets a chance to visit their campus.
An important key to their overwhelming success- hey, they were voted as #1 out of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2017– is they make play a core part of the working environment.
Since then, I have received numerous messages from people who have said to me,
“But Leena, isn’t work supposed to be serious? How do we, as a company, balance creating a dynamic, fun, collaborative office space and not overstep the line to nurturing a space that is lax and unproductive? If we put in a bunch of ping-pong tables in our office, how will anyone get anything done?”
So this week’s post is about addressing this dichotomy.
Tech startups have become known for their hip office spaces. They are a symbol of how creativity has taken center-stage and work spaces are more and more being designed to ignite innovation amongst employees. However, a foosball table, zen meditation space, or even a bowling alley in your office will not change a thing if playfulness, creativity, and innovation is not integrated into your culture. You’ve got to be intentional with how you create your office culture and let your workspace be a reflection of that.
What’s office culture, you say?
Quite simply, it’s the personality of a company. It defines the environment in which you work, as well as your company’s mission, values, and goals. It can be identified in the way you and your co-workers interact with each other, the pictures and posters on the walls, the notices on the bulletin board, the language and tone of messages in an email, and many other small but impactful, ways.
Don’t fall into the trap of simply exchanging ping-pong tables for purpose in the office. Do these instead:
- Look at what you want your business to represent and then build your environment accordingly.
- Have a vision people are inspired by.
- Do meaningful work that does more than putting a dollar in an employee’s pocket.
Recent research found that today’s generation are prioritizing purpose in their work. If you haven’t caught on to this yet, and you have a significant number of millennials in your workplace, you may need to re-think your business operations.
However, if you want a low-cost way to improve morale, help employees take a break from their desks, foster friendly competition, or help increase alertness and concentration, while getting the endorphins going, providing recreation outlets are a great option.
The bottom line? The genius of the AND vs OR is you don’t have to sacrifice one over the over.
Originally published at www.leenapatellive.com