With budget cuts continuing to be the norm in business and the reality of smaller bonuses, it becomes ever more challenging to engage employees and motivate them to produce at a higher level. Today we are challenged to come up with new and innovative ways to bring our work teams together and the best way to do this on a tight budget?  Make work fun again!

I know, for all of those traditionalists out there reading this you are probably panicking at the notion that work could become a place where laughter, loud cheering and an occasional HOORAY! might disrupt the normal calm of the cube farm. Rest assured its time to change that tone.

More and more, companies are adopting the practice of introducing “play time” into the work day. This comes as a result of an ever increasing level of stress and new demands on the work-to-life ratio. This play time not only offers employees a way to relax and break from the normal day, but it also in a sense builds the team mentality throughout the office. Much like high-school where we used sports, music, theatre and clubs to build team and strengthen relationships, companies are now adopting many of these practices to do much the same thing in their corporate environment.

It is important to develop games and activities that can both bolster morale and offer a sense of belonging. Softball leagues were the first foray into this realm many years ago, but now you can see knitting groups, book clubs and even social involvement and charity groups forming to tackle causes on behalf of the company. Managers are incorporating traditional games into their off-site meetings and even introducing incentives to drive prizes and awards.

By incorporating these practices and supporting their formation, companies can achieve a greater sense of employee satisfaction without risking the bottom line in a tough economy. Of course as the bottom line improves, feel free to up the ante on prizes and awards.

An investment in your team is the best investment you can make. These are your front line warriors out there everyday representing you and your brand. Empower them to have fun, get involved and make a difference. They’ll be proud they work for you, share their goodwill. What will you get in return for introducing utter chaos into your workplace? You can count on getting a reputation as the company who has employees that give back, get involved and love their work. Chances are your human resources department may start singing your praises as their recruiting task becomes ever easier as word spreads that your company is the one to work for.

So let your creatives in the workplace go wild and create some fun adventures for your team. After all, spring is here and what better time to reenergize your most valuable asset, your team.