Engagement has become a hot topic these days, partly due to the fact that an improving job market may soon bring other options to demoralized employees who have survived multiple rounds of layoffs. When examining how to improve employee engagement, many managers overlook the obvious – having a bit of fun in the workplace.

To some managers, selling the idea of fun may be difficult, to say the least. After all, we are just coming through extremely hard times, and managers are naturally focused on productivity and the bottom line. But having fun can indeed boost job satisfaction, engagement, and productivity.

Part of the reason is that having fun makes work more enjoyable – and people who enjoy their jobs are more productive and engaged. Fun activities also help to build work relationships, which is another key ingredient of engagement and retention, and improving work relationships boosts teamwork and communication.

Your organization doesn’t have to go as far as Google,which is reputed to have invented fun in the workplace (although I beg to differ, since I worked at some really fun Silicon Valley companies long before Google was started.) Google employees can enjoy playtime on a slide, read brain teasers on the back of the bathroom stall, and wear their pajamas on Pajama Day, just to name a few examples.

Your organization can still have fun on a somewhat lesser scale. Take for example Boulay, Heutmaker, Zibell & Co. P.L.L.P.,a Midwestern accounting firm. The firm instills some fun in the workplace through a monthly news video created by (and starring) their Director of Talent Development and Senior HR executive. This is not a dry, serious news show, however; the segments are more akin to the Daily Show than CNN. Each show is approximately 10 minutes long and features fun content and games, such as guessing a partner’s favorite song. The show also includes business-oriented material, in a lively format, on company news and events. They introduce new hires, announce promotions or transfers, and offer fun segments that help the staff get to know each other better.

The show is posted monthly on the company's intranet and has been a great success. Prior to the show, usage of the intranet portal was under 10%. Today, usage is over 70%. This has another benefit – as staff login to the portal to see the show, they can also access other content on the intranet, which has made the site a valuable knowledge sharing tool.

The show has also generated greater interest in the activities of co-workers, and many of the staff eagerly anticipate new segments. (Several employees emailed that they were disappointed when one of the shows did not include a game – with prizes – in which people had to guess the showcased employee’s name based on a list of interests and activities.) Since part of what prompted the creation of the show was feedback from staff desiring more communication, this was both an enjoyable and practical solution.

We often get so busy that we think we don’t have time for fun, but this makes for unhappy and unproductive work. If a bunch of accountants can have this much fun, you can too!