How to Goof Off at Work

When I was a kid my dad worked in a highrise office building. I didn't understand what his job was. He came home every night on a commuter bus with his briefcase full of papers. "What do you do at work all day?" I asked him. "Is it fun?"

My dad was in a good mood most of the time after work. He seemed to like his job. He laid it out for me. "At my job we publish a magazine, and so there are editors and writers who write about what's happening in our industry," he said.

"There are advertisers who put their ads in the magazine so that the buyers will see them.I work with the editorial people and the people who sell the ads, and of course with the advertisers too."

"I understand that part," I said, "but how is it interesting? No offense but it sounds boring."

"It's not boring at all," my dad said. "It's fun. The conversations are interesting. I learn something every day." When I was in high school I went into the city on the bus and stopped by my dad's office. I watched him at work for an hour or so and listened to his conversations.

It was the seventies, and the office was decorated with bright orange office furniture. My dad's office-mates were friendly with me and one another. I could see what my dad was talking about.

His office was busy but everyone seemed to be having fun. My dad will turn 89 in a few weeks and I still hear from people who worked with him back then.

Work is supposed to be fun. There's no reason for it to be stolid and boring, much less a scary place where any false move can get you in trouble. Fearful workplaces are unnecessary. There is no economic benefit to anyone when a workplace is full of dark energy and fear.

The emotional drain on the people who work there is unfair to customers and shareholders, not to mention the employees themselves and their families.

You can make your job more fun no matter what kind of job you have. If you hate your job, you owe it to yourself to find a new one. Fear keeps us trapped. You can step out of fear and choose a workplace that celebrates the fun side of work.

If you think "There is no such workplace, Liz" it will be true. If you decide to go in search of people who deserve your talents and who still remember how to have fun, you will find them!

Here are seven ways to have fun at work and remind yourself and the people around you that you are human beings first, family and community members second and employees third:

DOODLE

Doodling is good for your creative process. Bring a pad of paper with you to meetings so you can doodle while you meet. Use our Doodle Prompts if you want!

BUILD COMMUNITY

Bring your lunch to a staff meeting and eat and share ideas at the same time. Save a little time to talk about something that isn't work-related. Talk about your weekend plans.

Catch up on your teammates' latest adventures outside of work. You are real people in your department. Your job is only one small part of you. Share some of the rest!

TAKE A BREAK

People aren't designed to sit in a chair and look at a computer screen for hours on end. Get up and walk around, stretch or duck into a spare room and do jumping jacks. Keep your body healthy and your mind will thank you!

MEET SOMEONE

Walk down the hall or get in the elevator and introduce yourself to the first new person you meet. If you see someone at work you've seen before and haven't officially met, today is the day to say "Hi! My name is [Zorabia, e.g.]. What's yours?"

SAY THANKS

Lay an unexpected Thank You! on someone you work with, just because they are awesome and you've noticed it.

Leave an unexpected LinkedIn recommendation for one of your colleagues or a customer or vendor. Draw a thank you card or write a poem for someone. Why not show your creative side at work?

SHAKE IT UP

Meetings don't have to be boring. Change up your meeting format to get off the linear agenda and into a fertile brainstorming session.

Here are some questions to kick off the action:

• What do we do in our jobs that we'd stop doing in one second if we could? How can we get rid of whatever activity is sucking our energy away, and replace it with a more useful activity?
• What changes do we anticipate this year and how we can prepare for them now?

MAKE IT HUMAN

Small changes at work can make an enormous difference. Pick one outdated Godzilla policy to nuke every month or every week.

Every city and state has archaic laws still on the books, and nearly every company does, too. Choose a past-its-expiration-date procedure or policy to ditch, and celebrate another step toward becoming a Human Workplace!