Our Secret to Fun and Fulfilling Workdays
The modern-day workplace has evolved significantly in recent years, with employers around the country recognizing the importance of creating a positive work culture. At Shoup Legal, we’re no different. From the start, we set out to create a business where employees actually want to work. I want my team to feel supported and appreciated while giving them plenty of opportunities to have fun during their workday. Over the years, I think we’ve been successful, and our team has had a lot of fun together.
As a law firm, there’s a general consensus that our work environment is slightly more uptight than other businesses. While we do our fair share of serious work, it’s important to unwind occasionally, and we do that through bonding experiences. Sometimes this takes the form of luncheons and themed parties, while other times, it’s a gathering over the weekend.
One of the ways we encourage a positive culture at Shoup Legal is by knowing each other’s likes and dislikes. We find this out through colleague queries. For example, we may ask our team members if they like surprise parties. Those who do might get a surprise party on their birthday or special occasion. If a team member does not like surprise parties, they won’t have to worry because we know their preference. Sometimes these queries serve as icebreakers, like when we asked our team what time period in history they would like to go back to. It’s a great way to bond with our co-workers.
We also have a team meeting every morning when we ask someone to give a quote, joke, or fun fact of the day. The other day someone informed us that the Earth has earthquakes, but the moon has moonquakes. It’s always great to start each day by learning something new.
Other activities that our team looks forward to are our quarterly events. We’ll invite the entire team to escape rooms, scavenger hunts, or other fun activities.
We invited everyone to bring their Nintendo Switches to work once, and we all played video games together. Sometimes, we’ll even put together internal challenges that pit the east side of the office against the west side in a friendly competition. For Christmas, we had one side of the office dressed in green and the other in red. Everyone had a great time!
We spend so much time with our co-workers while we work. Adding fun into the mix puts everyone in a good mood, and everything seems to operate much more smoothly. It creates a more amicable atmosphere, and co-workers actually enjoy each other’s company. It helps to avoid uncomfortable office politics while improving our overall culture. And it has a direct effect on our clients. When you interact with someone who is happy, the feeling spreads, and you can have a much more enjoyable experience. Whereas, if you were to interact with someone who didn’t enjoy their job, it would show, and you probably wouldn’t have the best time working with them.
There’s no reason not to have fun at work. It makes the job more enjoyable for yourself and everyone around you. I’m already looking forward to our next quarterly event, and I know I’m not the only one!
