Is fun the missing employee experience you’ve been searching for?
When was the last time your team genuinely had fun at work? No, not the obligatory awkward happy hour or a corporate retreat, but real, belly-laughing, creativity-sparking fun. If you can’t remember, you’re not alone. Many businesses focus on productivity, KPIs, and hitting targets but forget that fun plays a huge role in energising employees, boosting creativity, and solving problems. Spoiler alert: fun might just be the missing employee value you’ve been looking for.
Why Fun Matters at Work
It’s easy to dismiss fun as something that doesn’t belong in the workplace—some might even argue that work isn’t supposed to be fun. But let’s flip that idea. What if fun was the secret ingredient to unlocking your team’s full potential? Studies have shown that environments where employees feel positive, playful, and relaxed lead to higher productivity, more innovative thinking, and better collaboration.
Injecting fun into the workday can actually lower stress and loosen the mental blocks that keep your team from thinking outside the box. When people are comfortable and laughing, they’re more open to sharing wild ideas, problem-solving creatively, and embracing new challenges. Fun isn’t just fluff; it’s a key driver of creativity and innovation.
Spicing Up Team Workshops: The Power of Play
Team workshops and meetings can sometimes feel like a never-ending cycle of bullet points, PowerPoints, and polite nodding (not the ones facilitated by Nourish Group though!). We have found sprinkling a little bit of fun and introducing playful elements into your workshops completely shift the mood, breaking down barriers and helping your team get into a creative, problem-solving mindset.
Here are some of the ways we spice things up:
Start with an Icebreaker
And not your typical "fun fact about yourself." Instead, try an offbeat, energizing activity like “Two Truths and a Lie” or a 5-minute improvisation game. These not only break the ice but also engage parts of the brain that are used for quick thinking and out-of-the-box problem solving.Gamify the Workshop
Turn your workshop into a friendly competition with points, challenges, and rewards. Split the team into smaller groups and make problem-solving tasks into games. By introducing a playful competitive element, people will feel more driven to contribute, while keeping the energy upbeat.Encourage Absurdity
Have a brainstorming session where all ideas—no matter how wacky—are welcome. Challenge your team to come up with the most outlandish solutions to a real business problem. The aim is to loosen up their thinking and remove the fear of judgment. Sometimes, the craziest ideas inspire real breakthroughs.Take It Outside
A change of environment can work wonders. Take your workshop outdoors into nature or into a more relaxed setting. Being in a less formal space encourages openness and lowers inhibitions. Plus, it gets your team moving and thinking more dynamically.Improv for Problem Solving
Improv exercises are fantastic for encouraging spontaneity and quick thinking. They help team members become more comfortable with the unknown, learning to trust their instincts and each other. This playful practice can translate into how they approach real-world problem-solving.
Fun Fuels Creativity
When your team feels relaxed, they’re far more likely to offer creative solutions. Fun makes problem-solving feel like a game rather than a chore, and that sense of play breaks down the barriers that might otherwise keep employees quiet or hesitant. Creativity thrives when people aren’t afraid to make mistakes or throw out unconventional ideas—and having fun together makes people less afraid to take those risks.
Incorporating fun into team workshops isn’t about losing focus; it’s about creating an environment where creativity and innovation can flow more freely. Fun leads to collaboration, and collaboration leads to stronger problem-solving. And let’s face it: a team that laughs together works better together.
From Fun to Flow
The magic of fun is that it leads to a state of flow. When people are deeply engaged in something enjoyable, they hit that sweet spot where time flies, ideas flow easily, and obstacles seem to melt away. That’s where the magic happens in problem-solving—when your team is so immersed in the process that they come up with solutions without even realizing it.
By integrating fun into your workshops and workplace culture, you’re not only making work more enjoyable for your team, but you’re also setting the stage for those lightbulb moments of creativity and breakthrough thinking.
A Happier, More Productive Team
At the end of the day, fun isn’t just an employee perk; it’s an essential ingredient for building a dynamic, creative, and productive team. When your employees are having fun, they’re more engaged, more innovative, and more likely to bring their best ideas to the table. So, if you’ve been searching for that missing element to shake up your team’s energy, maybe it’s time to inject a little more fun into your workshops—and watch the creativity unfold.
By turning problem-solving into a playful, collaborative process, you’ll not only spice up your team workshops, but you’ll also unlock the potential of your people in ways you might never have imagined. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to bring fun back into the workplace!
Contact us for professionally facilitated design thinking workshops with an element of play.