The Role of Fun in Workplace Health and Well-being

The Role of Fun in Workplace Health and Well-being

The Role of Fun in Workplace Health and Well-being

Ying Zhang, Rachel Mosher Henke

Abstract

"I had been conducting research on burnout when I stumbled upon an article on the importance of fun.1 I had an “ah-ha” moment: perhaps the solution to employee burnout is to have more fun. Perhaps employers could encourage or enable fun in the workplace. On the surface of it, fun may seem inconsistent with productivity, but maybe it is not, if it relieves stress. Further, enabling fun in the workplace may be something employers can do in the shorter term given broader workplace reforms needed to reduce the risk of burnout may take years. In this overview, we review what is currently known about fun and health, with a particular focus on fun in the context of workplace health. Then, we introduce four contributors to this Knowing Well Being Well who each bring a unique perspective on the importance of fun and a call to action for this emerging field of study."

Reference

Zhang, Y., & Henke, R. M. (2024). The Role of Fun in Workplace Health and Well‑being. American Journal of Health Promotion, 38(2), 275–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171231215479

Keywords

Fun, Burnout, Workplace health