FUN AND LAUGHTER IN THE WORKPLACE

For my money, fun and laughter are two of the best ‘life catalysts’ you can get. If you’re having a way old time peppered with laughter, it doesn’t matter what you are doing, it will be done with enthusiasm and verve. Time will seem to whiz by. You’ll look back at what you’ve achieved and think, ‘Wow I had a good time can’t wait to do it again.’ Research even suggests that you’ll get more done, but getting paid for such a thing is not so common. The association between fun and the workplace is not high. My ambition is to change all that.

The authors of the recently released book "The Levity Effect" (Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher) present the argument that if you lighten up the workplace you'll be "laughing all the way to the bank". They explain that fun at work "can provide a competitive advantage, help attract and retain employees, and provide the spark to jumpstart creativity."

In short, a happy workplace is said to improve communication and morale, lower the level of employee churn, and foster employee loyalty. Increased profits are assumed to follow.

Strong evidence certainly supports this claim. As The Economist reports, companies that are classed as "great" to work for by the Great Place to Work Institute score unusually high marks from employees on the question, "Are you working in a fun environment?" Great companies scored 81% on this, compared to 62% for companies ranked "good".

Another study by Ipsos found that 90% of employees who rate their managers' sense of humor as "above average" expect to be in the same job in a year's time. Those who rate their managers' humor as "average" or "below average" rate their chances of staying at only 77.5%.

“It seems so simple. Increase the fun and make your workplace function better.”

Sure enough it seems that way but fun and laughter can be deceptively tricky to foster. It’s not as easy as putting a pool/ping-pong table in to the lunch area, although it would help. It’s not as simple as sending an all-staffer email joke, although that too would help. Sometimes you need to call in the experts.
At anthill CKD we specialize in getting groups of people laughing and interacting in a new way. We use theatre based exercises to get people out of their desks and having some serious fun. No experience necessary.

Want to know more.
Find us at www.anthillckd.com.au
or send an email to max@anthillckd.com.au
or joh@anthillckd.com.au

The Skill of Listening

“The most common gripe I hear in the workplace is
that people are not listened to.”

Listening is a specialised practice in much the same way as portraiture is a specialised art-form. Everyone can draw to some extent, we can all do a stick figure but not all of us can create an accurate representation of a person as we see them in our minds eye. So too, we can all listen or ‘hear’ as the case may be, but not so many of us truly listen skilfully.

When a person is relating an experience of theirs to another, usually within a few moments the other will want to respond in some way, well before the experience is relayed completely. Perhaps the listener has recalled a similar experience that they now want to share, perhaps they have the ‘solution’ to the perceived problem or the ‘right response’ to what they think they have heard. Perhaps they have a warning to offer; an interrogation to undertake; some preaching to do; a judgement to offer; an analysis; or any number of other responses that can loosely be termed as ‘hearing’. The words have barely washed over and the response is on the way. This is the level of listening to which most people adhere. Yet there is more, much much more.

I know this because for the two decades I have worked in the specialised theatre form of Playback Theatre Sydney. As a Playbacker, I am required to listen as other people relate experiences they have had in their life. Those experiences could range from anywhere, stories from childhood; parenthood; adolescence; work-life; home-life; hardship; success; you name it. When the story/experience is finished being related I am expected to participate in an improvised recreation of that experience as a piece of instantaneous theatre. I work with an ensemble of actors and a musician. We act out that experience, playing the various roles/characters involved; including all the relevant details/events provided and add dramatic tension/gravitas/humour/effect/stress wherever it is required.

Over a 20 year period I have developed a sense of listening that ranges over many levels to prepare myself for this role. Not only have I learnt to listen to the words that are spoken well enough to repeat back the story almost word for word.

I learnt about how to silence myself in order to listen to others in this multi-level way – I have developed techniques and exercises that help me come to that place of neutral/open listener.

I learnt about what was being communicated through the tone of voice and body language of the teller - often emotions not spoken of are hinted at in this way, hidden anger; joy; surprise; shock; frustration and all the rest of the gambit in our emotional range can be glimpsed.

I learnt to listen to myself as the story/ experience is being told – what images entered my thoughts in response to what I hear; what elements seem more important in the experience being related, what would I do or feel in that situation.

I learnt to listen intuitively, to trust that what I heard, felt and thought was relevant and that there was somehow other information that would come out in the re-enactment, that was not otherwise communicated, yet which was accurate and necessary nevertheless.

Most of all I learnt about just how much information can be perceived through in depth listening and just how great an effect it can have on the teller when they are listen to in this insightful way. When we communicate, even by phone, even by email, the amount of information that goes along with those words is staggering.

Think about the effect on your customers or clients when you display the skill of in-depth listening to what they have to say. What about the work relationships that could be forged and developed through the sharing of this skill. The most common gripe I hear in the workplace is that people are not listened to.

At Anthill Culture and Knowledge Development we teach groups of people about this form of in-depth listening. We don’t just point out the pitfalls of bad listening or the many ways to express good listening; we pass on the techniques and exercises that can be used to continually grow your listening skills. We get groups of people to practice these in-depth listening skills with each other in a participatory environment.

The by-product of Anthill Culture and Knowledge programs is often a happier work group; higher workplace morale; a more confident workplace communicator; a better functioning team; employees who want to stay at your workplace and happier more loyal customers/clients just to name a few.

Want to know more?
Find us at www.anthillckd.com.au
Or send an email to max@anthillckd.com.au Or joh@anthillckd.com.au

Newspaper says "Managers hate staff"

I recently read an article in the Telegraph titled “Managers ‘hate staff’”. The article stated that a new study conducted by management consultant James Adonis shows that one in five business managers do not like, respect or enjoy working with their staff, and almost half the managers surveyed believe they are bad at doing their own jobs as well. The research further suggests that bad management and bad staff relationships can lead to poor performance at work, absenteeism and even resignations. So how important is the quality of workplace relationships? I would say extremely important. People can be vastly experienced and expertly qualified to perform at work, but if they are absent or underachieving or even worse, looking for another job, then all of the other stuff doesn’t matter too much to your business. Good workplace relationships are a valuable asset to any business or organisation; they affect profit margins, efficiency and the overall success of a company. Despite popular opinion, workplace relationships are not deepened by doing work. They do not develop by doing filing together or co-operating on projects. Relationships function through work and are sustained by it. There are plenty of instances where people work side by side for years and yet know little of each other. Relationships start growing when people start talking; when they begin to tell their stories to each other and listen; when they begin to communicate; laugh; and know each other on a more significant level. I think laughter and stories are the two key elements of relationship building. I’ve spent the last 20 years building relationships and opening communication channels through laughter and stories. We at Anthill Culture and Knowledge are focussed on this particular aspect of business and organisations. We develop relationship at work through a twofold process involving ‘creative exercises’ designed to get participants moving laughing and communicating and ‘story forums’ designed to get people talking and listening, with the focus on the listening. Sounds crazy I know but I bet that if those managers surveyed in the above study, the ones who believed they were bad at their job, if they had the opportunity to talk to each other and share their experiences of being a manager, I’d wager that they would gain tremendous insight. If they had the opportunity to laugh and be a little creative with their peers, they would gain invaluable confidence and boost their self worth. That would flow on to their staff in a very positive way. In the Anthill way of thinking, stories and laughter equates to a better organisation, higher staff morale, stronger workplace relationships and people performing at their optimum. That sounds like good business to me Want to know more. Find us at www.anthillckd.com.au or send an email to max@anthillckd.com.au or joh@anthillckd.com.au

What is workplace community?

‘Workplace’ and ‘community’ are words that don’t often get associated. A workplace is not very often referred to as a community, and a community is rarely referred to as a workplace. I have often been told not to use the term ‘community’ in the corporate world, yet I believe that community in the workplace is very important. So what do I mean by workplace community.

In my experience it’s this: if you are on communication level that is open and frank with your colleagues at work then you have an important element of a workplace community. Being able to openly talk and discuss your experiences, thoughts (and dare I say ’feelings’) about the issues and things that are of concern and importance to you, is a rare thing at work. Colleagues are mostly focussed on doing their job “and so should you so buckle up and fly straight”. That’s the usual message I have almost always received from most workplaces. Ignore your inner thoughts, responses, reactions and inspirations. That workhouse ethic has served us well up to now but the world is changing and with it are the expectations of what a workplace should be.

If you can laugh with your colleagues and at yourself then you have an important element of a workplace community. Laughter is often frowned upon in the workplace. It occurs in small quiet bursts, “but don’t let the boss catch you or you may have to explain yourself”. Laughter is considered unproductive and inefficient. Yet there is a growing number of books and research that attest to the contrary. The authors of the recently released book "The Levity Effect" (Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher) say that if you lighten up the workplace you'll be "laughing all the way to the bank". They explain that fun at work "can provide a competitive advantage, help attract and retain employees, and provide the spark to jumpstart creativity." Laughter can create bonds where nothing else will work.

If you know your colleagues beyond their name rank and serial number, if you know what inspires them, what is inspiring about them, their strengths and weaknesses then you have an important element of a workplace community. If you know what they hold to be important and dear in life. If you know their frustrations and disappointments. If you know something of their existence outside work, then you have an important element of a workplace community.

At anthill we seek to develop and enhance workplace community through creative exercises and story sharing forums.

It is only by having the opportunity to laugh together, to drop the workplace role and simply enjoy the freedom of interacting in a creative and dare I say playful environment that silent barriers can be broken and communication channels opened. We have experience in getting people to laugh and interact with each other in a novel way.

Then through our story sharing forums we create the space for hearing the stories of inspiration, learning, experience and whatever else is needed to open the doors of communication and deepen the sense of community mindedness in your workplace.

The workplace where you can laugh regularly and loudly, where you can take creative risks without fear of being judged a failure, where you are known as a person, where you can speak freely, where you know others and can talk openly, that is the workplace where you will give more of yourself, where you will stay longer and perform better.

Want to know more.
Find us at www.anthillckd.com.au
or send an email to max@anthillckd.com.au
or joh@anthillckd.com.au

Welcome to the first blog from Anthill culture and knowledge development. Anthillckd www.anthillckd.com.au had its inspiration in 2006 when Johanna and myself got together and decided to create something unique. We had a vast collective storebank of knowledge and experience in storytelling, performance, creativity, communication and relationships. So we created a forum, a platform that uses the experience of individuals, creative exercises and storytelling techniques in the areas of teamwork development, workplace community, knowledge management and soft skill development. We develop working groups of people and individuals who are able to better utilize their own knowledge/experience storebanks as well as those of their colleagues, who are able to communicate their uniqueness and take advantage of difference, who can be more creative and communicate better. We help people to enhance their listening skills, to become better communicators, to laugh; play; work; talk and cooperate better. We have a range of programs from half day ‘creative burst’ workshops to programs designed to your needs, using our creative and storytelling platform. Want to know more. Find us at www.anthillckd.com.au or send an email to max@anthillckd.com.au or joh@anthillckd.com.au