My Office Sucks. Save me!

Want to make your office more fun, but don’t have the dough of the big guys? (No Budget!—No Bull)
What does your dream job look like? Well, I love my job, but I have to admit that my office is a tad short in the playground-supply category.

Enter Red Bull and these awesome photos of their offices.

Ok, so these guys have some serious dough to invest in their work culture. That’s cool… if you got it spend it. And if you’re gonna spend it at the office, I’m all for increasing level of lightness, creativity, morale and spontaneity.

But what about those of out there without the required millions to invest in our workplace and work culture? What can YOU do? Glad you asked. Here’s three things you can do — on any budget — to improve your sense of humor in the workplace.

• Bring some toys (Koosh Balls, Play-Doh, and a ton of Pipe Cleaners) to your next meeting. Encourage your people to play, fidget, and generally goof off while they are are the meeting.

• Have a lottery or raffle and raffle off a bunch of fairly worthless or at least low-value stuff. For example, you can raffle off a free cup of coffee, a “shiny” dime, an extra 7 minutes for lunch, a mint tooth pick, a coupon for 55¢ off Grape Jelly, and maybe a lunch out with the boss. And if you like (and you can swing it with the boss) you can arrange for a better prize like a gift card or maybe letting the winner go home an hour or two early.

• Create a ritual where on the anniversary of your first day at work, you are required to wear a sign around your neck that says, “Anniversary!” Then everybody else in the office has to chip in 50¢ or a buck each and that money is gifted to the person celebrating the anniversary. Their instructions are to have a killer lunch, or to take their spouse out to dinner that night. Good news: a cash bonus courtesy of your peers. Bad news? You gotta wear that stupid sign!

My point? Humor in the workplace and a positive work culture doesn’t have to be expensive. If you can afford it, buy a slide like Red Bull. But if you can’t buy new furniture and re–do the stairs, you can still raise the morale at work. It’s easy, it’s cheap, and it’s well within your grasp.

So… what are you waiting for? Go do it!

Have more ideas? Share them with me! Leave a comment.

Learn more about my humor in the workplace seminars, keynotes and motivational speeches here.

Brad Montgomery
Humor in the Workplace Consultant, Speaker, and Sliding-Board Enthusiast

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