Importance of Humor and Play in Construction Management
Spending time with my five-year-old granddaughter, I laughed at her jokes, including one she came up with all by herself.
She asked, “How do I know my stuffed animals are not feeling well?” She joyfully answered, “They are all stuffy.”
I laughed and was quite impressed with all of her jokes, those she memorized from others and this one she came up with all on her own. Her daddy was trying to convince her to change her original joke from “my stuffed animals” to “my teddy bear” so she did not use the word stuffed that was in the answer. She had no part in that as the joke was an original of hers and got the response she sought.
We adults laughed again—this time at her steadfastness and confidence in her own creativity. She smiled. Children automatically bring play, laughter, and humor to our lives, yet in the workplace for construction management, children only come by to visit on occasion or for special events, such as Take Your Child to Work Day.
The Need for Humor, Play, and Laughter
Last week, on the list of human needs, we covered Physical Needs, Safety and Security, Wisdom and Understanding, A Sense of Belonging, Self-Esteem and Self-Respect. This week, topping the list is Play, Laughter, and Humor. Yes, in the workplace!
The study I read to inspire this blog used the quote, “You are too serious—lighten up!” Have you ever worked with someone at one extreme or the other? We once had a co-worker who was so much fun in the office, yet he made light of everything, including when being reminded for not doing their job. The lack of restraint left us no choice but to part ways, as his constantly having to be roped in was no joke. Have you ever worked with someone who was the opposite extreme, locked in their stringency and not finding humor in anything?
The ability to find humor in workplace situations or when others share personal stories that call for a laugh in response is important to build relationships in the workplace. Team-building activities, attending outside industry events, and celebrating together are all ways to feel the human need for play, laughter, and humor in the workplace. Keeping it professional, balanced, and all-inclusive is key.
The Need for Information/Knowledge
Business leader and author Peter Drucker said, “Today, knowledge has power. It controls access to opportunity and advancement.” He also said, “The purpose of information is not knowledge. It is being able to take the right action.”
In the workplace, to do your job, almost everyone requires information from others or to give it to another. When you need information to perform the best at your job and it is withheld from you, the relationships around you can be impacted negatively. Likewise, if you gather information with a persistent need to learn yet do not apply it, your human need will not be wholeheartedly fulfilled.
The human need for information and knowledge becomes fulfilled in the workplace with communication and collaboration with those around you to foster relationships through information about one another, your work, and the company you work for. Our individual coaching programs help construction management professionals to better understand their tendencies and develop the right communication skills that lead to better satisfaction in the workplace.
The Need for Beauty/Aesthetics
We were created to not only enjoy the beauty of the world around us—people, places, and things—we have a human need to feel attractive, and we are attracted to beautiful things.
Many people enter the construction industry to participate in building projects that bring beauty to our world. The attractiveness that fills our human need is not demonstrated through a resume and project list or fancy clothes and make-up but an attractiveness where others are comfortable approaching and working with you. In the workplace, the team is attracted to your ability to love and to be loved—not in a romantic way but in a way that is patient and kind, not jealous or rude or crude, irritable, or resentful to those around you. The ability in the workplace to maintain proper hygiene and demonstrate organizational skills can also go a long way.
The Need for Self-Actualization—Success!
Self-actualization is the realization or fulfillment of one’s talents and capabilities, especially considered as a drive or need present in everyone. Utilizing your talents and capabilities in the workplace typically will fill the need for success and make you feel successful.
Often, we have individuals come to us who feel underutilized or unappreciated, and they have a need to attain more, succeed, or accomplish more, and they are not in the right company allowing them to feel fulfilled.
Meeting Human Needs in the Construction Management Workplace
When your overall human needs are not being met in your life, and those that specifically matter in business are not being fulfilled, emotions can surface, such as hate, anger, fear, anxiety, envy, jealousy, and more.
When your needs are being met, you feel happier overall, contented, and at peace, bringing on a sense of well-being.
Are your needs being met in the workplace? If yes, then you are in a great place right now. If they are not, then consider coaching to help you identify what is stealing your peace or what you are craving to experience in the workplace.
The most basic of all human needs is to understand and to be understood. If you need someone to guide you to construction management workplace fulfillment, text or call us at 305-361-0094. Sometimes just someone to listen helps you figure it out.
To Your Human Needs Fulfilled in the Workplace,
Suzanne Breistol
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