Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Tabije: Are you having fun at work? By Maeng Tabije Notion Plus
THE common idea of people is that when at work one has to be serious; its not the place and time to have fun especially during working hours. Wrong! Believe me, workers who are having fun at work are more efficient and accomplish more.
Stress is one of the silent killers worldwide; science has proven it beyond reasonable doubt. Now, a lot of executives say it can't be avoided if one wants to succeed in this highly competitive world. Is it really true? No!
For one thing, I believe in the saying, "The difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude."
Say, you're on your way to an important meeting and you're stuck in the middle of a crawling traffic because of an accident. Even if you kick everything in your car in frustration, you still be late, right. Your throwing a tantrum doesn't change anything except your blood pressure and stress level.
On the other hand, you can call the office, and ask your secretary to tell your guests of your predicament and nobody will take it against you. Then you can sit back, relax, and listen to your favorite FM station. Or send those crazy texts to your friends. You get the drift, I'm sure.
At one time or another, I'm certain you have had some fun days in the office. But most days you are dead serious at work. But why does it have to be so? You have the power to have fun everyday. Don't wait for fun to come to you. Create it.
List down all the things that bring fun and enjoyment to you. Put them in your desktop and do them more often. Does a picture of sunrise perk you up? Then put one in your desktop or wall.
Do poems lift your spirits? Then have a book of poems in your drawer and take a few minutes daily to read a few poems, especially when you are stressed out. Do pictures of your honeymoon or family vacation in Hong Kong lighten your day? Have that album in your side table. And so on.
Cultivate the habit of always smiling. When someone comes to your table, smile while saying hello. When you answer the phone, smile, never mind if the person on the other line can't see it, he will surely sense your cheerfulness.
Cheerful people definitely have less stress in their bodies. Problems seem less heavy and they go away faster when you cheerfully face them.
A study was done sometime ago asking customers whether they enjoyed talking with a sales person who was serious and all facts and figures as compared to another one who was fun to be with. The overwhelming answer was that they enjoyed doing business with one who was always smiling, who enjoyed himself, who had fun doing his job.
If you're an executive, ask everyone in one of your meetings, "What can we do to make our workplace more fun to work in?" Let everyone contribute. You'll be surprised at their wealth of ideas. With improved morale, they'll be accomplishing their work easier.
Here's a "weird" stress buster I read from somewhere. Have a stuffed toy of your favorite animal in your office -- bear, dog, cat, whatever. When talking in the phone, you can stroke it gently and you'll surely feel good.
Now if you are irritated, you can whack it in the head. And if you are really raging mad, you can kick it to the wall. The point is you need to let that stress steam out of your system before it bursts inside you. But you have to do it only when nobody sees you, get it?
If you're in sales, rejection is a daily thing. A lot of people feel down when they encounter rejection. Again here is where attitude matters. Know the "conversion rate" of your industry -- how many percent of the people you talk with end up buying what you are selling.
If it's, say one in every 10, then each time you fail to clinch a sale, you can yell while clapping, "YES! Now I only need to talk to nine more before I finally get to my buyer." And the next one is 8, then 7, then 6, then wham -- a sale! I bet you never thought that failure could be a source of fun, did you?
Here's to your enjoyable trek to success!
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Answer to last week's teaser: The numbers are the same even if you turned the paper upside down.
This week's teaser: You are driving a bus. Three people with blue eyes get on, two people with brown eyes get off, then seven people with black eyes get on. What is the color of the bus driver's eyes?
(Ismael D. Tabije does consulting and advisory work for the UN, the WB and the EC. Visit his website BestManagementArticles.com. Email feedback to Citibooks@yahoo.com.)
