Don’t Overlook the Importance of Fun

By Jim Elliott

May 4, 2021

Early in the pandemic and lockdown, we initiated weekly company-wide video chats using Google Meetings. We still hold these faithfully, and rarely miss a week.  As you might expect, each meeting includes discussions of company business and announcements.   

We rotate the responsibility for running the meeting among the sales, executive and administrative staff. Each week, a designated person will lead a discussion about issues of concern to them.  

In addition to the serious part of the meetings, we try to have some fun each week.  Most of our staff miss seeing their colleagues and the busy office environment that encourages interactions.  So, the designated leader chooses an activity that they think everybody will enjoy.  It doesn’t take much time: about 30 minutes a week.  Most of the ideas are creative and well-received.  For example, the leader of the day recently asked all the participants to name their favorite song and to sing a few lines.  The result was hilarious.  There was some very good singing, some very elaborate excuses, and many creative ideas aimed at side-stepping the assignment.  It turns out that senior executives are among the best at avoiding potential embarrassment. 

We’ve done what we can to mitigate some of the isolation during the pandemic, and I’m sure these moments of fun will be among the good memories we’ll share when we finally get back together.  I highly recommend taking a little time to build in some fun.