How to Improve Company Culture: “Fun Work” Isn’t an Oxymoron

Does your office environment leave much to be desired?

For many companies, the workplace was and still is considered a very formal, quiet building full of cubicles, filing cabinets and bad carpet. While there’s nothing wrong with this, your small business or startup might benefit from a more relaxed, playful atmosphere.

Take Google for example.  Formed in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google’s company culture resembles a playground more than a workspace.  Google employees benefit from perks that include bike rides through the 26-acre campus, volleyball with co-workers, a conveniently located pool table, and a fully-functional slide that will promptly drop you off into the cafeteria.

Not a bad lunch break, eh?

Now, you’re company doesn’t necessarily have to go this far (if you’ve got the dough, all the power to you), but this is just a good example of how the workplace is being transformed into an experience that heightens creativity, increases morale and improves overall performance of the company.

Big Fish Offices

At Big Fish, we incorporate a few key elements into our company culture that have helped us thus far and we hope will help us to grow.  Our office, while small, allows our team to collaborate freely and share ideas seamlessly.  We are able to reach each other by literally turning around and saying, “Hey.”

So, I’d like to share with you a few things that we have learned and what works well for us. Here are five ways that you can improve your company culture:

1. Create an open workspace.

Instead of isolating your employees, tear down those cubical walls and let everyone interact.  This is essential if you want to foster teamwork because it allows for a more relaxed, spacious place to think and share ideas.  Do your company a favor and trade barriers for collaboration.  We purposely don’t have cubicles because we encourage interaction among our team members.