Workplace Fun Ideas

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Workplace

Fun Ideas
A collection of great ideas and strategies to help you build a positive and productive workplace.

by

David Koutsoukis

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We all need Humour and Fun, because no Humour and Fun equals glum!
David Koutsoukis

Fun

Humour

Workplace Fun Ideas

By David Koutsoukis Illustrations by Ashley Clapperton
Text and illustrations David Koutsoukis 2005

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Introduction..
Happy people are productive people.
Recent research shows that having fun in the workplace can significantly improve productivity and performance. This research provides evidence that: Happy Employees = Happy Customers = Better Bottom Line It must be said that I am not advocating that workplaces be turned into a circus. There is a time for play and a time to work hard. We need to get the balance right, and ensure that we build in some fun time that is appropriate and not distracting from core business. The purpose of this e-book is to provide you with a range of strategies to help you have some fun at work. It must be remembered that there is no one best way to have fun, as every organisation, and every individual within that organisation, will have a different concept of what fun is. Many of the activities in this book have been designed in the form of checklists. Pick out the ideas and activities which suit you, your workplace and your people. There is also a strong correlation between planning for fun and actually having fun. To have an ongoing positive effect you need to ensure you have an action plan in place to keep the fun going all year round. I hope you enjoy Workplace Fun Ideas and find it useful. If you would like clarification of any of the ideas, or if you would like to know more about my products and programs please email me at [email protected] Enjoy! Kind regards

David Koutsoukis

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Contents..
10 Top Reasons for Having Fun at Work.. 10 Top Reasons Why Fun at Work Works! Finding Fun in a Land Far, Far Away.................... Fair Play Guidelines for Having Fun at Work....... The Fun at Work Funstar................................. Fun Work Environment ................................... The Daily Dose of Fun ................................... The Weekly Dose of Fun .................................. Special Days and Activities...................................... Staff Meeting Fun..................................................... Training Fun....... Social Events............................................................ Corporate Sense of Humour.................................. Wacky Workplace Fun Ideas.................................. Planning for Fun................................................ Ob La Di, Ob La Da. Dont Forget to Have Some Fun! About David Koutsoukis......................................... 6 7 8 9 10 11 13 20 24 29 33 36 39 40 42 43 44

If you want creative workers you must give them enough time to play
John Cleese

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10 top reasons for having fun at work..

Benefits for employers, managers and leaders
Having fun in your workplace will help you to: 1. Develop a positive staff culture 2. Boost morale and motivation 3. Build relationships - employee/employee, management/employee and customer/employee 4. Improve teamwork 5. Enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty 6. Help attract and retain the best people (reducing recruitment and retraining costs) 7. Improve customer satisfaction 8. Enhance creativity and problem solving 9. Resolve conflict and difficult issues 10. And therefore increase productivity and performance

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10 top reasons why fun at work works..

Research tells us that fun and laughter
1. Make you feel good 2. Promote optimism 3. Reduce stress 4. Ease boredom 5. Help us cope with problems 6. Build relationships 7. Break down barriers 8. Lighten up serious or tense situations 9. Promote creativity and problem solving 10. Create joy among people

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Finding fun in a Land Far, Far Away

The first step towards having fun at work
The first step towards having fun in the workplace is to take yourself to a Land Far, Far Away. WHAT? I hear you ask. Yes, just like the movie Shrek, take yourself to a land FAR FAR Away. Let me explain. To have fun at work you need to fulfill the: Fun Attitude Requirement, i.e. Be in the mood for some fun. Fun Ammunition Requirement, i.e. Have some fun up your sleeve.

Getting to the Land Far, Far Away:

1. Have a Fun Attitude. The fun attitude is up to you go to work with a twinkle in your eye and some spring in your step in anticipation of what fun you might have with customers and colleagues.

2. Have some Fun Ammunition ready. Start collecting ideas and resources for having fun at work. Ideas from the Fun at Work Funstar on the following pages will give you heaps of Fun Ammunition and suggest some places you might fire it!

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Fair play..
Guidelines for having Fun at Work
Workplace fun and humour should be: 1. Appropriate for the workplace 2. Inclusive the fun should be shared with as many people as possible 3. Sensitive to how people might react

Workplace fun and humour should not: 4. Be racist, sexist or vulgar 5. Offend anyone 6. Make fun of anyone 7. Be sarcastic 8. Detract from core business 9. Damage the reputation of individuals 10. Damage the reputation of the organisation

And remember that what is fun for one person is not necessarily fun for another. Recognise and value the fact that there will be a diversity of fun styles.

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The fun at work funstar..

Eight great ways to have fun at work

1. Fun work environment 8. Corporate sense of humour 2. The daily dose of fun

7. Social events

3. The weekly dose of fun

6. Training fun

4. Special days and activities 5. Staff meeting fun

People rarely succeed unless they are having fun in what they are doing.
Dale Carnegie

The following pages outline strategies for having fun at work under headings from the eight points of the Fun at Work Funstar. They are presented in checklist format so that you can go through and pick out the activities which take your fancy and suit your workplace. Have fun!
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1. Fun work environment..

Time flies when youre having fun and times fun when youre having flies!
Kermit the Frog

Think about how you might be able to add some fun to your physical work environment. Keep in mind what it is appropriate for your workplace and does not detract from your core business. Here are some ideas: Personalise your Workspace Create your own home away from home Fun pictures and posters Photos Fun mouse mats Amusing screen savers Mobiles Music (if appropriate) Burning oils Put a small basketball hoop over the bins Put Up Fun Signs Put a sign on your photocopier that says Temporarily in Working Order Put a Caution Wet Floor sign on a carpeted area In the gents toilet We aim to keep this toilet clean, your aim would help Above a toilet roll holder Bachelor of degree, please take one Label all the computers in your office with names such as Margaret, Bruce, Damien. Put flashing Christmas tree lights around special notices to get attention Put a sign on the photocopier that says, "Voice Activated! Speak loudly into the panel." Make the Staff Room/Break Areas User Friendly Make the staff room/areas happy places and user friendly. Make it a place where youre not constantly reminded about work. Humour board for jokes, funny pictures etc Coke machine Cappuccino/ Percolator for coffee Water Cooler Personalised staff coffee cups Exercise room/gym Inspirational posters or pictures
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Staff photo board Suggestion box for staff fun ideas Staff calendar Mr January, Miss February etc Recreation areas or equipment pool tables, darts, table tennis Humour library fun books, tapes, CDs, videos The Toy Box props and gadgets (eg rubber chicken) to keep people amused Caricatures of staff members

All for fun and fun for all!

The Oaqui (from Bernie DeKoven)

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2. The daily dose of fun..

He who does not get fun and enjoyment out of life every day needs to reorganise his life.
George Matthew Adams

Imagine if everyone in your workplace or organisation had one piece of fun to share with others each day. Wouldnt that lead to lots of fun! The Daily Dose of Fun concept encourages you to have at least one piece of fun to share with friends and colleagues every day. Here are some examples of Fun Ammunition you can use daily: 1. Fun quotes 2. Fun facts (trivia) 3. Jokes and one liners 4. Brain teasers 5. Lateral thinking puzzles 6. Funny pictures 7. Optical illusions 8. Hand held puzzles 9. Props and gadgets 10. Lollies or candy I have two books full of Fun Ammunition in my Daily Dose of Fun series. Each book has a piece of fun for every day of the year that you can share around in a number of ways. You can simply share them with your colleagues, text them from your mobile phone or use them in your newsletters and emails. The first two titles in the series include 366 Fun Quotes and Observations on Life and 366 Fun Facts You Never Needed to Know. Check out the last page for details on how to order them. The following pages have a few samples from some the books to get your started. Enjoy!

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fun quotes and observations on life..

1. Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that, who cares? He's a mile away and you've got his shoes. Billy Connolly 2. Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live. 3. A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative. 4. Do cannibals play swallow the leader at birthday parties? 5. He who laughs last thinks slowest. 6. If at first you dont succeed, skydiving is not for you. 7. A chicken crossing the road is like poultry in motion. 8. A plateau is a high form of flattery. 9. A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumour. 10. A comb makes a lovely parting gift. 11. Always proof read carefully to make sure you havent any words out. 12. Always remember that you are unique, just like everybody else. 13. The average income of the modern teenager is about 2 am. 14. I fired my masseuse today. She just rubbed me the wrong way. 15. Help Wanted: Telepath. You know where to apply. 16. Why do kamikaze pilots wear helmets? 17. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

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18. Why do they call them apartments when theyre all stuck together? 19. Confucius say man who dream about being a muffler will wake up exhausted. 20. Would a dyslexic person go to a toga party dressed as a goat? 21. A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother. 22. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that's why we call it the present. Winnie the Pooh 23. Wait, I just remembered something! You're boring and my legs work. 24. He thought he was a wit, and he was half right. Henri Arnold 25. Never play leapfrog with a unicorn. 26. Why do people who know the least know the loudest? 27. Time flies like and arrow. Fruit flies like an apple. 28. 100% of missed putts dont go in. 29. A backward poet writes inverse. 30. A bicycle cant stand on its own because it is two-tired.

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fun facts you never needed to know..

1. 2. 3. The dot on top of the letter I is called a tittle. You cant fold a piece of paper in half more than seven times. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog was originally designed to test telegraph transmissions, and uses all the letters in the English language. It is said that a goldfish has a memory span of only three seconds. The title of the Don Mclean song American Pie, comes from the name of the plane that crashed killing a number of musicians including Buddy Holly. The Hundred Year War actually only lasted 116 years. The shortest sentence in the English language is I am. To tell if an egg is fresh or not you put it into a container of water. A stale egg will float to the top and a fresh egg will sink to the bottom. The longest one syllable word in English is, screeched. A crash is the name for a group of rhinos. "Fortnight" comes from the shortening of "fourteen nights." The word jiffy is actually a unit of time. It is the speed at which light travels one centimetre in a vacuum. A spat is the name for a baby oyster. A bee flaps its wings at 250 times per second. This is what causes the buzz. Did you know that its impossible to lick your elbow?

4. 5.

6. 7. 8.

9. 10. 11. 12.

13. 14.

15.

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16.

That fact that Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon is known by most people, but how many know that that last person to walk on the moon was Gene Cernan. A cat has 32 muscles in each of its ears. The tongue of a chameleon is twice as long as its body. A cucumber is made up of 96% water. There are only eleven hours in a day on Jupiter. Apparently a ducks quack doesnt echo and no one can seem to explain why. A full moon always rises at sunset. A giraffe has a 21 inch tongue which it can use to clean its ears. A grasshoppers legs can walk on their own even when they are detached from the rest of its body. 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 The only words in the English language that have three consecutive double letters are "Bookkeeper" and "bookkeeping". Did you know that you can sing the Australian National Anthem, "Advance Australia Fair" to the tune of "Gilligan's Island"? If you spell "Evian" backwards it says nave. The saying, to take pot luck comes from earlier times when people often kept a pot of stew boiling on their stove. When people dropped in or came to visit, they had to eat what ever was cooking. Hence the term to take pot luck. You tried to lick your elbow didnt you!

17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

22. 23. 24.

25. 26.

27.

28. 29.

30.

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short jokes and hilarious one liners..

1. What have Jack the Ripper and Winnie the Poo got in common? They've both got the same middle name! 2. Did you hear about the sandwich that walked into a bar? The barman said "Sorry we don't serve food in here." 3. Patient: "Doctor doctor, sometimes I feel like Im a wig wam and some times I think Im a tee pee! Doctor: Listen youre just too tense (two tents)! 4. Two fish were swimming along when one bumped into a wall. "Damn!" he said. 5. Did you hear about the man who thought Sherlock Holmes was a block of flats? 6. The Deputy rushes up to the Principal all flustered, "Principal I've just caught some kids having a weeing competition!" "What did you do?" answered the Principal. "I hit the roof" replied the Deputy. "Well done!" said the Principal. 7. How many pessimists does it take to change a light bulb? None, it's probably screwed in too tight 8. Notice heard over the PA at a train station: Whoever lost 8 bottles of whiskey please report to the front office, theyve handed in the bloke who found them. 9. Heard at a rowing lake: Come in row boat number 99 your time is up, . come in number 99 your time is up, ..come in number 99 your time is up! .. number 66, are you in trouble? 10. Very funny Scotty, now beam down my clothes!
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11. Did you hear about the man who fell into an upholstery machine? He is now fully recovered! 12. A man was on an elevator the other day, and the operator kept calling him 'son.' The man said, "Why do you call me son? You're not my father." "I brought you up, didn't I?" 13. A man was telling his friend about his new hearing aid. It cost me five thousand dollars, but its state of the art. Really said his friend, What kind is it? Ten Thirty 14. I said to the gym instructor "Can you teach me how to do the splits? He said "How flexible are you? I said "I cant make Tuesdays." 15. Man : "Doc, I can't stop singing the Green Green Grass of Home." Doctor : "That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome." Man : "Is it common?" Doctor : "It's not unusual." (to be loved by anyone) 16. A grasshopper walked into a bar. The bar tender says Weve got a drink named after you! What, Trevor? 17. What did the instructor at the school for Kamikazi pilots say to his students? Watch closely. I'm only going to do this once. 18. Did you hear about the country boy who would have won the spelling bee if he hadnt been asked to spell hospice. 19. What is the difference between a poor marksman and a constipated owl? A poor marksman shoots and never hits. 20. Sign in a Chinese Pet Shop. Buy one dog, get one flea!

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fun.. 3. The Weekly dose of fun..

Fun is not a four letter word.
Rocky DeKoven

Have some regular weekly fun activities (typically on a Friday morning tea, but dependent upon the nature of your workplace. Have a range of fun activities that people will look forward to such as lucky draws and fun awards. Weekly Newsletter Have a weekly (or monthly) newsletter for staff with lots of fun stuff for staff and/or about. Alternatively add a regular fun and humour section in your serious newsletter. Weekly Lucky Draws At a given time each week (eg Friday morning break) have a lucky draw. People who want to be in the lucky draw contribute a dollar or two per week and this goes toward the prizes. Here are some variations. Lucky Numbers each staff member is allocated the same lucky number each week. Draw numbers out of a bingo barrel allocate prizes. (You can get cheap bingo barrels from toy shops) Raffle books (sometimes called check tickets) Chocolate (spinning) wheel with lucky numbers on it Lucky playing card people are allocated a playing card instead of a lucky number and a lucky card is drawn from a deck. 100 Club (Have a 100 people in the competition) Cow Pat Lotto (for agricultural regions) a cow paddock is drawn into a grid with numbered squares. People draw lucky numbers. The cow is let out on Monday morning and the first grid square it does a poop in is the lucky number! Crazy Cash - guess last two digits of $ note Beer Hunter / Frog Hunter a winner is drawn in a lucky draw. That person then gets to pick a number out of a hat. Whatever number they draw is the number of beer cans, (or chocolate frogs or whatever you want to use) they win. Bubbles & Bucks the prizes are either champagne & cash Bingo/Keno One-Off Different Lucky Draws Put lucky numbers on interesting things and then sell them, give them or fire them out to people. Here are some different ways of allocating lucky numbers Ping pong ball gun Sling shots with ping pong balls
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Space gun discs Lucky clickers Lucky Games Chase the Ace / Jag the Joker Get a pack of cards and make up a board with the 52 cards on it or just use the pack. Each week people can enter "Chase the Ace" by buying a lucky ticket, eg $1 which goes into "the kitty".For your dollar you get a lucky raffle ticket. All lucky tickets bought in one week are put into a barrel and a ticket drawn out and who ever has their lucky ticket drawn out gets to "Chase the Ace" That person draws a card off the board and if they pick the Ace of Spades they get the jackpot (whatever's in the kitty). If they don't draw the Ace the money jackpots until the next week. You may allocate consolation prizes, eg King gets $10, Queens gets $5. If you want to raise money you don't jackpot all the money - some goes into the fundraising account. As the weeks go by and the jackpot builds up more and more people go in it so they don't miss out! You need to watch security of the board - you might want to staple the cards into place - or just use a deck of cards and shuffle them each week. Once the Ace goes off you can start again with a new deck. Pick Your Nose You make up a board and attach to it, say, 32 rubber noses or laminated clip art pictures of noses. You have a sign for the board that says "Pick Your Nose!" On the back of each nose is a lucky number. People buy a raffle ticket and go into a lucky draw. If their number is drawn out they have to "pick their nose". Each lucky number on the back of the nose can either represent a dollar value, eg number 8 gets $8 prize, or you can allocate the numbers a prize, eg number 6 gets bottle of wine etc. Thank Your Lucky Stars - star sign raffle. Have a container with 12 ping pong balls in it. Each ping pong ball has one of the star signs written on it. Some one draws a ball out. Everyone in the group with that star sign gets a prize, eg a chocolate. Have fun prizes Champagne, wine, special lager or other Cash Chook (chicken) Meat Pack $2 shop prizes novelties Booby prizes Boss's parking spot Syndicates and Fun Bets Betting syndicate
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Lotto syndicate Race horse syndicate Shares Football tipping Baseball tipping Basketball tipping Soccer pools Reality TV Sweepstakes Put in some money, draw a contestant. At the end of the TV series whoever has drawn the winner of the show gets the prize money. Survivor Big Brother Bachelor Bachelorette Idol Series Fines Have a fines session once per week where pople are fined token amount for doing silly things run by the Fines Master. The money goes into a kitty which is spent at a staff social function. Swear box Fun Awards for Doing Something Good: Make up some nomination slips so that any staff member can nominate a colleague for doing something good. Have a box in your staff area to put the nominations in. Draw one nomination out each week and that person gets the award. Type up all the nominations and display them in the staff area as a Hall of Fame. Here are some ideas for titles/prizes: Champagne Award Certificate of Appreciation Scratchie (lottery ticket) Award Good Guy Award Shining Light Award The Shining Light Award is a torch. Whoever wins the award has to shine the torch on the next winner. The WAM (Worth A Mention) Award Employee of the Month Customer Service Award

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Fun Awards for Doing Something Silly: Make up a fun trophy which is given out each week. Whoever wins the award has to find someone to give it to the following week. Make sure that there are guidelines so that people arent offended if they get an award. Take photos of the winners with their trophies and create a Hall of Shame in your staff area. Here are some ideas for titles/trophies: Wood Duck Award Bummer Award Hold the Snake (Rubber snake) Nerd Award Toilet Seat Award Silly Sausage Award Dunny Brush Drip of the Week For someone who needs a bit of TLC: The Care (Teddy) Bear given out to people (privately) who might be feeling a bit down Regular Activities Aerobics/fitness club Liar dice Card games Sports events Worst Joke Wednesday joke telling competition Bring and share lunches Friday Afternoon Drinks Many organisations have a regular social event at the end of the week. Why not come up with a fun name for it and have special themes and activities? Thank God It's Friday! Club Hey! Hey! It's Friday! Choir Practice MOP (Monthly Office Party) POETS club or Bush POETS Club (Pi** Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday) Make up badges Invite other businesses or organizations Have some staff initiated entertainment - take turns to provide music, food, tricks, jokes or other fun stuff

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4. Special days and activities.

Deep play precedes deep work
Jeremy Rifkin

Make a fuss of special days and activities. Get staff into a happy frame of mind by putting up decorations, organising food and by doing activities that fit in with a fun theme. Special Days Staff birthdays have cake, party hats and horns Australia Day 26 January National Day (of your country) Valentine's Day 14 February Bastille Day 14 July St Patrick's Day 17 March Easter Fourth July Christmas in July Halloween 31 October Black Friday Staff Appreciation Day Secretary's Day Flower Power Day everyone brings in freshly cut flowers Hump Day - middle of season, term or semester Teddy Bears Picnic- bring your Teddy to work Horse Race Day eg Melbourne Cup/ Kentucky Derby lunch, hats, sweep, yabbie/mouse/rat/crazy crab races etc Make up your own special day! Fun Theme Days Smile Day/Week wear a smiley badge and smile, smile, smile! Badge day - every one has to wear a badge of some sort Toy day everyone has to bring in one of their favourite toys eg a slinky Colours red, black, green etc Wear a tie Ugly Tie Casual dress Beach/Hawaiian For more theme ideas see also Social Events Themes

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Celebrate Achievement Have a special celebration when you team reaches certain goals Do the Well Done Dance if someone does something good. Special Activities Baby photo competition A cartoon or photo caption competition Workplace golf putting competition Secret Friends you are allocated a colleague secretly give them little presents for one week Massage magic have a masseur come in every now and then for some 5 minute massages Mr Whippy (the ice cream truck) Get Mr Whippy to visit your workplace. If you have a factory get him to drive in! Mo-vember Get all the guys to grow a moustache (a mo) in November Easter fun - Easter bunny visit Easter fun - treasure hunt Father Christmas visit Secret Santa (Christmas Secret Friends) Pregnancy prediction predict the birth date / weight competition for a pregnant staff member Positive Pegs (clothes pin) To promote a positive atmosphere: If anyone is caught making a negative comment during the working day they have to stick a peg on their collar. Three pegs in one day means they have to shout (provide) morning tea the next day. The Fun Year Book Create a staff year book at the end of the year just like your high school year book The Fun Crew Get a group together called the Mushrooms whos job it is to go around delivering some fun to the troops every now and then. eg jokes, quotes, a song, an icecream etc. (Why Mushrooms you are probably asking well theyre the Fungis of course! Gorillagram (or other) The Speaking Hat Have a funny hat in your office. When someone comes in tell them you only listen to people wearing the speaking hat make them wear it.

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Sweepstakes Sport/Reality TV Sport draw names for who wins, who scores first etc World Cup Soccer World Cup Rugby World Cup Cricket World Series Baseball Super Bowl Civic Activities Staff "adopt" a cause for the year TV Appeal Salvation Army Appeal Community focus Red Cross Appeal Jeans for Genes Red Nose Day Church Appeals Daffodil Day Royal Flying Doctor Service appeal Tree planting Staff fun run End of Year Awards Awards for doing something silly: Wood Duck Silly Sausage The Royal Order of the Dunny Brush The Royal Order of the Toilet Seat The Farn and Duck Award (spoonerism) Mug of the Year they get a mug of course Award for doing something silly at Christmas: The Christmas Turkey Award for the oldest person on staff: The Longevity Award Wheel Chair Award Stone Henge Award Awards for appreciation: Certificate of Commendation Certificate of Appreciation The Champagne Award The Crownie Award

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TOP Award (Totally Outstanding Performance) WAM (Worth a Mention) A Thankyou-Gram Pat on the Back Award The Cadbury Roses Awards yum, chocolate! Award for the person who has been in the workplace the longest: The Long Service Award Resiliency Award Award for the youngest person on staff: The Young Gun Award Baby's Dummy Award Award for the person who most looks like Santa: The Santa Award The St Nick Award Award for someone who is accident prone: The HBF Award (medical insurance company) Award for someone who swears a bit: The Expletive Award The Ken Award ken! The Rough Diamond Award Awards for people who like their food: The Supersize Me Award Bakers Delight (bakery franchise) Awards For people who suffer from flatulence: The Windy Award The Flat Ulance Award Other Awards The Florence Nightingale Award - for the most caring person The Wordy Wit for someone with an outstanding vocabulary. The Dapper Dan Award for a man who is well groomed. The Smile Award - for the person who puts a smile on other peoples faces, or for the person who has an infectious smile The Megaphone Award - for the loudest person
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The Mouse Award - for the quietest person The AA Award - for the person who most likes a drink The Iron Man or Iron Woman Award - for the fittest person The Kookaburra Award - for the loudest laugh The Oscar for the best actor or drama queen The Quiet Achiever for someone who goes about their business without making a fuss Golf Nut Award for the golf nut! The Nutty Professor Award for eccentric scientists The Dummy Spitter Award self explanatory The Foot in Mouth Award self explanatory The Impersonation Award - looks like someone famous The Boomerang Award for someone who leaves, gets a present but comes back to same workplace The Computer Nerd for someone who is good with computers

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5. Staff meeting fun..

We dont stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.
George Bernard Shaw

Pre Meeting Fun Have music playing as people come in Give everyone an ice cream treat or other surprise Food pizza, chocolates, cream donuts or healthy dips Get someone to be the Town Crier who calls everyone in to start meeting Have some fun toys to pass around to get people to lighten up Quick quiz have small prizes Quick performance by talented staff Cartoon or photo caption competition Play Celebrity Heads or a variation called Celebrity Veg! Fun Agenda Items Have some fun agenda items such as Recipes Love lives of your children Gossip (non malicious) Joke of the day Funny cartoon or similar Funny quotes or trivia Fun faxes, emails, short PowerPoint show Play a Short Video Clip (5 mins only) Monty Python Bloopers Funniest Home Videos Fawlty Towers The Office Fun Contests Origami Paper plane throwing Push ups Air guitar Miming to a song Karaoke
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Fun Activities (before, during or to finish a meeting) These activities can also be used on training days Two truths and a lie At the beginning a staff meeting have a "Two Truths and a Lie" session as a team building activity. People take turns at standing up and telling three things about themselves - two are true, one is a lie. People have to try and guess which one is the lie. Have some small prizes for people who guess correctly. If you have a large staff, break up into smaller groups. Joke Popcorn. Everyone has to think of a very short joke or riddle. On the command mingle everyone mingles around the room. On the command connect people connect up with another person and swap jokes. Do it 3 or 4 times. Buzzword bingo Draw up bingo cards with a list of phrases that are commonly used in meetings. Eg: can I get back to you on that, touch base, game plan, key objectives, mindset, core business, pushing the envelope, mission statement, seat of your pants. Buzzword pegs (clothes pins -for US readers). At a staff meeting: If someone mentions a banned buzzword such as "strategic", "empower", "communication" or "pedagogy" they stick a peg on their collar. Three pegs means they're not allowed to speak any more. All those in favour, make a noise At your next staff meeting when you have to vote on something: all those in favour hold your nose, make a noise with clickers, noise blowers. Well done dance Do the special Well Done Dance if someone has done something good. Staff names crossword Create a staff crossword puzzle and give humourous clues about people. Visit www.alsoftpublishing.com/download.shtml for a crossword generator. Scategories People have to write down as many words as they can on a given topic (eg countries, cars) starting with the letter "x" or whatever letter you choose "Who said that?" Compile a list of sayings that certain staff members often use. People have to guess who they belong to.

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Modelling Balloons Get a couple of packets of modelling balloons from the supermarket. Get people to create an animal or an object. Give a prize (bottle of champers or something) for best creation. People Poker. Everyone gets a playing card and on your command people have to get together to make up different poker hands as you call them out. First group of people to you with the hand eg full house, four of a kind, win a prize, eg chocolate, $2 dollar shop gizmo Party Popper Quiz. Give everyone a party popper. Make up some quiz questions. The first one to pop their popper gets to answer the question. If they are correct they get a prize. TV/Movie Theme Quiz. Get a CD with TV/Movie themes. Play the tune first one to guess it wins a prize. Animal Noises. You need to make up some cards with pairs of animals - eg 2 frogs, 2 sheep etc. Everyone gets a card. Everyone puts on a blindfold. On your command they have to match up with their partner by making the sound of that animal. First couple of pairs to join win a prize. Heads and Tails Two Up. Quiz night favourite. Get two coins (20c best). People try to predict which way the coins will land by placing two hands on heads for two heads, two hands on bottom for two tails, one hand on head and one hand on tail for head and a tail. Throw the coins. Those people who predict the wrong combination are eliminated. Repeat the process until you have one person left give them a prize. Bingo - you can get cheap bingo sets from toy shops. Finding Nemo. Download pictures of Nemo from the internet. Cut them out and hide them around the venue. Tell people to Find Nemo and give out prizes if they do.

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Mobile Phone Competition. Give everyone your mobile phone number. First one to ring you gets a prize. Variation get them to text you. First text message to you gets a prize. Dart fun. Set up a dart board or pin up board. Blow up balloons and put treats inside them, eg chocs, scratchie tickets. Pin balloons to dart board. Party goers get one shot with a dart to pop balloons and win prizes. Keep going till all the prizes are gone. Peg panic. Buy a few packets of pegs. People pair up. One is the pegger, one is the peggee. On your command the pegger has to place all the pegs on his or her peggee partner not on hair or clothing. Play off two pairs at a time. The winning pair go on to the next round, the losers are out. Keep going until you have a grand final. Winning pair gets a prize. Meeting awards Prizes for best tie, best jargon, shortest speech, quickest answer etc.

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6. Training fun..
Laughter loves company and companies love laughter.
Joel Goodman

Fun Activities

Also see Staff Meeting Fun

Theme for Training day - see Social Events - Themes Team building activities Mini Olympics competition Sumo suits Mechanical bull Dunking machine Car rally Bike rally Food/Catering McDonalds breakfast BBQ/sausage sizzle Theme - decorate, music, food Italian, Mexican, Chinese, pizza, pie etc Fish & chips Chicken Treat etc Special Guests Incursions Guest presenters David Koutsoukis Elvis impersonator Magician Jester Caricature artist Sword swallower / chainsaw juggler Belly dancing Bootscootin' Hypnotist Bush dancing Samba drum workshop Horse race video game Health screening Science exhibitions Relaxation activities Tai Chi Yoga
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Massage Relaxation session - tapes, CD etc Health spa/club Cultural Pastimes Art gallery Museum Imax Movies Theatre Get Aways Magical Mystery Tour - bus trip River/Lake Cruise boats, ferry Picnic spot Parks Mystery Flight/Charter Beach Sports Softball Volleyball Tennis Squash Racketball Soccer - indoor, outdoor Cricket - indoor, outdoor Basketball Netball Excursions Television station tour Zoo Ice cream factory tour Brewery tour Newspaper tour Bakery tour Steam train ride Old prison tour Recreational Activities Ice skating Roller skating Ten pin bowling Lawn bowls
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Social dancing Walks - river, beach, parks etc Table tennis Bush/city walk Golf, mini golf, botanic golf Swimming Gym/Aerobics Billiards, pool, snooker Kite making / flying Outdoor Pursuits/Adventure White water rafting High ropes courses etc Abseiling Rock climbing Camel rides Sand boarding Kayaking Canoeing Bushwalking Mountain biking Hot air ballooning Archery Sailing adventures Skydiving Adventure courses Horse riding Water ski park Jet skis Jet boat Parasailing Windsurfing Surfing lessons Bicycling Mountain biking Fishing Other Ideas Amusement arcades Science exhibitions Laser shooting games Shooting gallery Joy flights/air charter Go kart racing Paint balling
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EVENTS.. 7. SOCIAL EVENTS..

The purpose of fun is to have it!
The Oaqui (from Bernie DeKoven)

Social Club Social Club - special privileges Staff social newsletter - fun stuff Adopt a collegial mascot, eg a chicken, frog. Put the logo on advertising for staff events WORK DAY SOCIAL EVENTS Before Work Breakfast Club - before work cuppa at work brewed coffee etc Coffee shop McDonalds or other restaurant for breakfast Breakfast meeting Champagne Breakfast During Breaks Morning Tea Club bring and share morning tea Luncheon Club bring and share lunch Straight After Work See Weekly Fun - Friday Afternoon Drinks AFTER HOURS SOCIAL EVENTS Drinks with a "Hook" - Special Interest Sundowner Beer tasting Home brew tasting Wine and cheese Cocktail party Gambling night River cruise Themes Fancy Dress Nerd Circus (have a Miss Big Top award) Gilligans Island Shakespeare
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Australiana/Americana/ Best of British /Italian/ Mexican Beach/Hawaiian Toga Halloween Hollywood/Oscars Bad Taste Pajama Party Xmas in July Back To School Crazy Hat/ Mad Hatters Rock & Roll "P" Party etc Country & Western Black Friday Ugly Shirt New Years Eve Priests & Prostitutes Garbos Night Out Cabaret - Black Tie Back To Bali/Hawaii Recreational Corporate competitions eg, golf, bowling, lawn, bowls, softball, netball etc Meals Restaurant Progressive dinner Fondue BBQ Entertainment Theatre Restaurant Movies Casino Karaoke night Football Baseball Basketball Annual Events Annual Dinner Dance Christmas Party End of year/season shows Family "Christmas Tree" Family Day
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Staff Revue each department has to do a skit Overnight camp Seek Out Talent Source out talent within workplace and get them to do the odd performance Red Faces talent quest Other ideas No shop talk pegs At social functions have some pegs (clothes pins) on hand. Anyone who "talks shop" has to put a peg on their collar. Three pegs means they have to do some pre-determined task such as making an apology speech, pass around food or doing the dishes.

Its more fun when youre not the only one having it
The Oaqui (from Bernie DeKoven)

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8. CORPORATE SENSE OF HUMOUR.

Let employees, colleagues and customers know that the company has a sense of humour
Obviously the type of humour you can use will be dependent upon the nature of your organisation. You dont want to turn your workplace into a circus or detract from core business. Here are some ideas that might work for you. Fun staff photos take photos of staff which look like theyre having fun. Frame them and put them up in the reception area Use caricatures of staff members instead of photos Use fun quotes on your email signatures Fake policies change some of your workplace policies to make outrageous statements distribute them to employees and see who picks them up. Eg Chocolate Policy Thou must eat chocolate on Fridays Have fun little props and gadgets lying around for customers to play with Have a Fun Fax File - a clear sheet folder with all the fun faxes (now emails) that come through the office keep it clean! Put novelties around that will start up conversations eg the fake foot that sticks out of the filing cabinet Put a small basketball hoop over the bins Get each department to come up with a logo or mascot and display them Humour in correspondence. Use humorous quips and quotes in your memos, reports, brochures, letters, emails or newsletters. Why not have a fun and humour section in your newsletter and just use the quotes, jokes and ideas from this e-book or from www.funman.com.au Have funny names for rooms, eg the Storeroom of Doom, the Sleep Generator (the conference room) No boring speeches policy. Make sure that anyone who has to give a presentation to staff must include some kind of fun or humour. Make up some funny signs for everyday purposes eg, seen on an airline baggage carousel: Free carousel rides baggage only, in an ear piercing salon: Ears pierced while you wait Use cartoon characters on signs

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ideas.. Wacky workplace fun ideas..

If you dare!
Here are some crazy ideas for you to try at work. Obviously, many of them are tongue-in-cheek, but some of you might give them a go! Bear in mind that some of these might contravene the guidelines for having fun at work we dont want to offend any colleagues or customers! Here are some of my favourites: Play wheelie chair basketball using the rubbish bins for goals. Play indoor baseball or cricket using a rolled up newspaper and a ball of paper. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that. Put your rubbish bin on your desk and label it "In." Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has gotten over their caffeine addictions, switch to Espresso. As often as possible, skip rather than walk. Name all your pens and insist that meetings can't begin until they're all present. Schedule meetings for 4:14 p.m. or 2:37 p.m., or 10:16 a.m. Encourage your colleagues to join you in a little synchronized chair dancing. Determine how many cups of coffee are "too many." Decorate your office with pictures of Cindy Brady and Danny Partridge. Try to pass them off as your own children. Run a lap around the office at top speed.

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While riding a lift, gasp dramatically every time the doors open. While an office mate is out, move their chair into the lift. In a colleague's diary, write in 10am: "See how I look in tights". Hang a two-foot long piece of toilet roll from the back of your pants and act genuinely surprised when someone points it out. Leave a message for a colleague that says Please ring Mr Lyon on (give them the number of the local zoo). Walk around the office making noises like a bee. When people ask you why youre doing it say I dont know, it just gives me a buzz. Ask one of your colleagues if they would like you to do a good turn for them. When they say yes, stand up and turn around with style! Dart around the office suspiciously, while loudly humming the theme from "Mission Impossible." Go into a storeroom, shut the door and wait a while, then yell loudly: "There's no toilet paper in here!" Before making an announcement at a staff meeting or over the PA system sing. Hey now, youd better listen to me everyone of you Ogh! (as in the Roy Orbison song Working for the Man.) Play Mary Had a Little Lamb on the touch pad of your telephone: 3212333 222 399 3212333 - 322321 See how loudly you can get people to talk on the phone by saying that you can only just hear them. Send round an official looking memo from the IT department informing everybody that all the computers have now had 'Voicemaster' voice recognition software loaded. Then give instructions for installing the software, such as: say 'good morning/good afternoon' in a firm and clear voice to activate, etc. Use a large banana to point at your presentation slides.
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Planning for fun..

There is a strong correlation between planning for fun and actually having fun!
1. Create a position of responsibility A Director of Fun or Collegiality Coordinator to "drive" a program of fun/team building for staff. Alternatively you could have a Ministry of Fun where workers take turns to facilitate the fun, eg. Sales Team could be the Ministry for the first 3 months of the year, Management second three months and so on. Allocate funds for fun & collegiality. You could also have an employee contribution scheme whereby management will match any funds raised by staff to put towards fun/team building/social activities. Ministry of Fun meet to collaboratively plan and create a timeline of events. Action Plan developed to ensure the fun actually happens (who does what, when, how, and what with?) Evaluate the success of each of the activities. Could some become regular events?

2.

3.

4.

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Ob la di, ob la da
Dont forget to have some fun!
Parody of the Bealtles song. Revised lyrics by David Koutsoukis*

You're sitting down at work on a Monday morn Thinking 'bout the jobs you have not done You can't believe the holidays have come and gone So you must tell yourself you've got to have some fun Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on yeah, don't forget to have some fun x2 You're craving for your cuppa nearly smoko time To the staffroom just as fast as you can trot Where they talk about their problems and the waste of time Well you must tell them there is something they forgot Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on yeah, don't forget to have some fun x2 Has your sense of humour gone and taken away your smile? You'd better go and find it 'cause youll need it there When you get back to work The boss is getting cranky as he cracks his whip And everything it seems is going wrong You're feeling under pressure, you're about to flip So you must crack a smile and come and sing this song Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on yeah, don't forget to have some fun x2 Has your sense of humour gone and taken away your smile? You'd better go and find it 'cause youll need it there When you get back to work So bring your sense of humour when you come work Think about the things you do and say Get some laughter in the workplace, don't forget this song Cos you must have yourself some fun along the way Ob-la-di, ob-la-da life goes on yeah, don't forget to have some fun x2 And if you want some fun, sing ob-la-di-bla-da

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KOUTSOUKIS.. ABOUT DAVID KOUTSOUKIS..

Speaker, author and workshop leader
David Koutsoukis is team development expert who works with organisations to improve results by attracting and retaining a focused, engaged and capably led workforce; and by building positive, productive and high performing teams. He also helps educators build positive and productive classrooms and schools. Why not have David present at your next seminar, conference or workshop? For more information visit:

www.davidkoutsoukisltd.com

www.dkeducation.com.au

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