All Work and No Play? Think Again

We’ve all heard it before: “Get a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life”… Yeah we know, but even if you’re lucky enough to make a living doing what you love, it still involves work. For those who think they’re stuck doing something they no longer like to do, take a minute to look at yourself before searching for a new job.

What we mean is take a step back and examine your typical day. Do you spend all day in front of your computer grinding at the old grindstone? Do you take any breaks? Do you work in an enclosed area or cubicle? Changing a few of these factors could be just what you need in order to put the fun back in functional. Your work environment and routine play a big role in job satisfaction.

Let’s take Google for example; for those of you who don’t know, their office HQ in Mountainview, CA is unquestionably envied by all non-Google employees. The “Googleplex” as it’s called, is over 1 million square feet (16 buildings) filled with 18 different cafes, 4 full-size gyms, an in-house doctors office, sleeping/relaxation pods, Laundromat and many more entertaining things that aren’t found in your standard workplace. Google employees can even “check out” cars to run errands with during the day. Google’s reasoning for this is that healthier, happier employees make for more productive workers. In fact, some of Google’s best ideas came from employees in their “free” time.

Scientific research has shown that the human brain performs at its best when it’s stimulated. One of the best ways workers can do this is by taking breaks throughout the workday to avoid fatigue and enable alertness. If employees get fatigued and run-down, they are more likely to lose concentration, make mistakes, increase stress, become less productive and even cause physical harm. Eventually our minds become drained, or we become too bored or uninspired to go any further. Our physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual health are all connected and dependent on one another.

It’s obvious that our minds function better when we’re doing something that interests us. So naturally, focusing for too long on something that we think is boring is difficult to concentrate on and we will be less productive. That is why it is important to take breaks to regenerate and stimulate your brain. The best ideas are usually generated after walking away from a project to do something else or relax. That’s how Google reaps the benefits of and utilizes the ingenuity and creativity of its employees.

Although we’re nowhere near having the amenities that the Googleplex does, Ilfusion’s office is equipped with several activities that our employees can enjoy on their breaks. We know how to get inspired, from our arcade, to our checkers board, exercise balls and just the daily conversations we have with our unique coworkers. It wouldn’t hurt to install a slide someday!