10 Things to Make Your Office Fun and Inspiring Again

On average, we spend 40 hours a week at work, 160 a month and 1920 a year. That is why it is so important to make your time at work as fun and as inspiring as possible.

Sitting slumped down in your seat, watching the clock ticking to the glorious 5.30 mark isn’t really going to get your creative juices flowing and it’s certainly not going to be enjoyable.

Did you know that the average employee only spends 72% of their working hours sitting at their desk? According to the same study, 50% of them would spend an extra hour at work every day if their work environment was attractive and inviting.

      Here is a list of 10 ways to make your office both fun and inspiring, so you can get out of that rut, back at your desk and maybe even work towards that promotion you’ve been chasing

       1.  USB Mini Fridge

      Every office worker suffers from a case of The Three o’clock Slump; some reckon it might even be a medical condition. Grab yourself a mini fridge powered by your computer and store an energy drink, can of fizzy drink or your favourite chocolate bar. Promise yourself that you won’t open the fridge until 3pm strikes. Have your treat and you’ll soon feel inspired to work through that final stretch.   

      2.  Waste Paper Basketball

      If your office is anything many nowadays, you’ll have a boss who is anal about recycling. A great way to combine recycling with fun for all the office is with wastepaper basketball. Set up a score board and keep tally of how everyone in the office is doing. The looser at the end of the week has to do a forfeit, or bring in cakes.

            3. Moustache pencils

Pick up a pack of these pencils and share them around your colleagues. You’ll probably get a couple of minutes worth of laughing at them. They say that laughter relaxes the whole body and relives tension and stress for up to 45 minutes. Share out the pencils when you’re all feeling a little snowed under and stressed out.

       4.  Start a petition for a Scalextric track in the meeting room

This will really get everyone together and talking. Sometimes when you are in a boardroom meeting things get a little too serious and let’s face it, boring. Many who sit in interminable meetings find their minds start to wander to what they’re having for dinner. Why don’t you suggest to the big bosses that you get a car track for the board room to make your meetings less formal and more interesting?

            5. Like and Dislike stamps

Got to go through a massive pile of CVs to fill the latest position? Treat yourself to these fun stamps and you’ll be inspired to do the boring task. It is a great way to separate the good from the bad and not get them muddled up. Then, if you’ve got your wastepaper basketball on the go you can try and score some goals. 

            6. New Stationery

Who isn’t a sucker for fresh stationery? When you’ve got a pretty new notebook and a fancy pen you can’t wait to get writing down ideas – right? Splash out at the weekend ready for the start of a new week and be inspired to get your head down and do good work. 

 7. A photo of your loved one

Get everyone in the office to bring in a picture of their loved one doing something funny. You can then have a competition to see which picture is the one which gets the most laughs. Another benefit of having a picture of your loved on your desk is that it activates feelings of wellbeing and helps you to avoid getting stressed.  

           8. Get everyone to sign up for a race

      Getting the competitive juices flowing gives everyone something to talk about, besides work. Getting on with the people you work with is important as it makes your days so much more enjoyable, however sometimes it’s harder to find something to say that isn’t work related. Sign everyone up for a charity race and bond with your colleagues over a weekend run.

           9. Play a prank

Tell a newbie to go get you some stripy paint from the store, or give them the task of looking for a glass hammer. This will give everyone a good laugh and something to talk about. Make sure that you play your prank on someone who can take it as a joke though; you don’t want to be upsetting anyone! 

10. Paint

Are your walls a dull grey? Ask the big bosses if you can buy a tin of paint and decorate the walls in a colour that inspires creativity and invokes happiness. Consider the following colours.

Pink: Pink is said to calm and alleviate anger, I mean you couldn’t really be very angry standing in a pink room could you?

Yellow: Yellow is the colour of happiness. If your colleagues are looking pretty glum then think about brightening up their day with a splash of yellow. 

Black: I’m not suggesting that you paint all of the walls black, but maybe add in black furniture. Apparently employees who work in environments which are predominantly black feel stronger and tougher. Might be good if you work in a sales environment where you have to reach targets. 

Red: Red provides people with feelings of confidence and enthusiasm. When you are enthusiastic about your work you will feel inspired to carry on and will probably lift other people’s spirits too. 

If you aren’t feeling particularly inspired yourself, get an ideas round table going. You and your colleagues can pool inspiration and make plans to get some buzz in your workspace.