My back would usually become sore and tired around the same time every day. I would get so caught up in my work that I wouldn’t make time to stay aware of my slowly tightening muscles. 3pm would arrive and I would always complain to my co-worker. When she pointed out my routine I knew I needed to make an adjustment. I began by watching my habits throughout the morning and early afternoon.

Now that I was paying attention to my posture and back I noticed that the tightening would begin an hour after I was back from lunch. I knew that I needed to circumvent this pain by being proactive, so I created a little schedule.

I stretched at the top of every hour for two minutes. I would stand up and gently twist back and forth, touch my toes, lean from side to side and reach my arms in the air. Some of my co-workers made some snide remarks, but I pushed on. After a few weeks I noticed a big difference. The stretching reduced my back ache by at least 50%. There are some days I don’t have any back pain at all.

If you have back pain because you sit in the same position all day long, try a little stretching at the top of every hour. You’ll probably notice that stretching also relaxes you. Taking the time to relax at work will help you relieve the stress that builds throughout the day.

Do you have a regular routine that helps keep you healthy and happy at your job?

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I’ve stumbled across an emotional tool that I’ve grown to love. It’s renewing on a scheduled basis. I’ve read about it in a few magazine articles, but never took the time to try it out. Once I did, it changed my life.

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Many psychiatrists believe that you need to find out what happened in your past to figure out the present. The method can help, but it can also damage the person’s ability to forgive and forget. It has taken me years to forgive myself for the thousands of mistakes I’ve made. I was very tough on myself and felt that it was the only way I would learn not to make a mistake again.

The Internal Struggle

I used to struggle to wake up and see the enjoyment in the upcoming day or a task at my job. When my old habits of negativity arise I stop, let out my breath, and renew my thoughts. Now I visualize myself getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom with a smile on my face and then I physically make myself do it even when I don’t want any part of smiling. The thoughts start to turn positive. They move toward the things that are easy to enjoy, such as the feel of the soft rug, then toward brushing my teeth. All of these enjoyable thoughts surface and feed off of each other, and before I know it I’m excited to be taking a shower or eating breakfast.

Schedule It In

Renewing my life on a schedule has been easier than doing it on a moment to moment basis. I make sure that I do it first thing in the morning, once before lunch, and one time at bed. One day I hope to reach the level of working happy in every moment, but as of right now I have to work with what I’ve got.

What do you struggle to enjoy?

• A specific part of your job?

• A pain in the butt co-worker?

• Your commute to work?

Practice renewing your feelings by letting go of your dislike toward that annoying co-worker and stay in the moment. You’ll notice things that make you feel happy instead of that co-worker that brings you down.

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We budget for office supplies, travel expenses, new computers, and everything else, but we don’t budget for a fun work environment. When people dislike working for a company they won’t stick around to help it succeed. If they leave that means more money must be put into interviewing and training a new hire. And no one knows if they will be a good fit until six months or a year down the line.

Budget for Work Fun

That’s why budgeting for a fun work environment should be implemented now. Whether you are the Mom and Pop grocery store or Whole Foods, you have to stay competitive in this global market in order to retain employees. I could get a job in Berlin, Hong Kong, or Sri Lanka. I don’t because I’m married, enjoy my current job, and I’m looking to build this website to great heights. Although, I’m always willing to listen to offers. If someone were to offer me three times what I’m making now and it was a great job, I would be asking my wife, very persuasively, if she would like to move.

It’s no longer the case that the company down the street might steal your company’s employees; it’s everyone. That’s why every company must set aside a small amount of resources to make sure that their employees know that they are dedicated to creating the best atmosphere possible.

Fun Plan

Your company should asses their finances before they implement a Fun Plan. If your company is healthy and prosperous then they ought to set aside a proportionate percentage. My suggestion is that each company should budget as much as they would spend on a Holiday/Christmas party. However a company chooses to implement their Fun Plan, it should be backed up by a small amount of money. In order to show their dedication to improving the work environment.

I’m not saying you need to break the bank to create a fun work environment, so if you can only spare $50 a month then so be it. There are a lot of things within each company’s culture that can create fun. Some employees love food, so maybe you can celebrate with a different type of food each month. Let the employees make suggestions and vote on what the food will be for the month. Other employees are a little more active, so maybe you can create an indoor putting challenge, and whoever wins gets to choose the next party’s theme and also decides what charity will get the $50. There are many ways to create a fun work environment. Gather your company’s employees together and have everyone brainstorm a few ideas.

The CEO and the rest of management may say that they are committed to creating a fun work environment, but are they putting their money where their mouth is? My guess is that most will be willing to say they want to create a fun atmosphere, but aren’t willing to sacrifice profits. If they aren’t willing to commit money to such a worthy cause then they need to commit something even more valuable - their time. I’ll discuss how we can make a Fun Plan on a budget of zero dollars next week.

Separate From the Competition

Your company has an opportunity to set itself apart from most of the other companies that don’t have a Fun Plan. I have actually wished that the companies that I’ve worked for had set aside some money to encourage a fun environment at my workplace.

Why do you think your company may or may not create a budget to a enhance the fun?

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Relevant articles to creating a fun working environment:

• Throw a Mini Party

• Opening Social Networks Within a Company

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