Study shows fun at work encourages employee withholding

Bosses, take a note! A latest study recommends permitting your workers to have fun at work may persuade them to glue around for longer.

Researchers said that in the hospitality industry, manager support for fun is involved in decreasing employee yield – the rate at which a company adds and losses employees – mainly for younger workers.

Though, manager backing for fun also lessens employee output, which can harmfully affect sales performance.

Reportedly, Michael J Tews, assistant professor of hospitality management, Penn State said “High employee turnover is consistently quoted as being one of the problems that keeps managers up at night because if you’re involved with recruiting and training constantly, then you can’t focus on effectively managing your existing staff and providing a high-quality service experience.”

In the study, the team comprised of researchers at Penn State, Loyola University of Maryland and Ohio State University, who surveyed 195 restaurant servers from a casual-theme restaurant chain in the US.

The survey comprised of items linked to various features of fun at work, counting ‘fun activities’ and ‘manager support for fun.’ The researchers then evaluated the survey reactions to sales performance and earnings statistics.

In the survey, questions linked to ‘fun activities’ stressed on social events, such as vacation parties and picnics; team-building activities, such as company-sponsored athletic teams; contests, such as sales contests; public parties of work accomplishments; and acknowledgment of individual targets, such as birthdays and weddings.

The study generated three vital results. First, manager support for fun diminishes employee turnover, predominantly among younger workers.

Second, fun activities boost sales performance, mainly among older workers.

Third, manager support for fun decreases sales performance regardless of age.

Tews said the take-home message is that fun can work, but it’s not a magic potion.

The study emerges in Cornell Hospitality Quarterly.