Accountants should have fun at work, says survey

Accountants should have more fun at work in order to improve their performance, according to research from BrightHR.

The company commissioned Robertson Cooper, a wellbeing specialist company, to carry out a survey to find out what types of activities in the workplace can help to boost productivity and reduce stress.

The report, which surveyed 2,000 employees throughout the UK, found that over 60 per cent of accountants were the least likely to think that fun activities at work would help to motivate them, compared to 86 per cent of employees working in HR and 80 per cent of legal workers.

Productivity

Robertson Cooper co-founder, Sir Cary Cooper, commented on the research, stating that laughing and fun will not negate all the hard work that employees do, and that it will help them to improve the great work that they are already doing and think differently about the challenges they face.

Sir Cary added that having fun in the workplace can help to “reduce absence, increase productivity and lower levels of stress.”

Employees working in professional services were found to have the highest levels of stress, with over 80 per cent stating that having fun in the workplace would help to tackle it.

Important

Dress-down Fridays, wellbeing days, a lottery syndicate, bake-offs, table tennis and computer consoles were just a few of the activities that employees listed as being ideal for bringing more fun into the workplace.

Sir Cary stated that the “winning formula for a happy, healthy and high-performing workforce” is to ensure that people feel connected to and interested in the things they do at work and for them to be provided with the opportunity to experience more positive emotions than negative ones.

“Fun in the workplace doesn’t have to cost a lot, but its value could be priceless,” he said.