The recent CIO Magazine article No Fun Of Any Kind by Megan Santosus got me thinking: am I having fun at work? My days do zip by and every time I get stressed over a deadline, I remember that (1) I've been in this situation before and (2) the world will not end if I happen to miss it. Then I get on with my speed-writing and ultimately derive a sense of accomplishment from doing something that I deemed nearly impossible just a few hours ago. That, I realized from reading this article, is having fun at work.

One of the article's sources is Mike Veeck, president of the Goldklang Group, which operates six minor league baseball teams. Veeck has written a book called Fun Is Good that shows how a fun-loving attitude can drive business success. "By fun, Veeck doesn't mean being silly or having a laugh riot from 9 to 5. At its most basic, fun entails experiencing a deep enjoyment in what you're doing," writes Santosus.

In addition, it's about gaining the right perspective on your job. Our ancestors faced life-and-death situations, Santosus points out. Fortunately, the vast majority of us don't have to worry about encountering wild animals or falling boulders at work today. So there's no need for us to approach it with the same sense of dread or fear as our ancestors did. Yes, our ability to pay the mortgage and our children's financial well-being often hinge on our jobs, but infusing work with a sense of fun doesn't jeopardize performance, but actually enhances it.

At the very least, humor will help us cope with the challenges we'll inevitably face, says Joel Goodman, director of The Humor Project, a consulting firm that has shown organizations, ranging from GE to Time Warner, how to instill humor in the workplace and thus increase productivity and creativity. Studies show that when we laugh, we energize our immune system, reduce stress-related hormones and boost our respiratory systems, Goodman points out in the CIO Magazine article.

So how do we have fun at work? First, stop taking yourself too seriously, advises Veeck and Goodman. "We're all enamored with the idea that what we're doing is terribly important," says Veeck. Just let that go, they say. To that end, Goodman recommends that workplaces should applaud mistakes to reduce the fear of failure. He mentions Southwest Airlines as a great example of an organization that encourages employees to have fun and has reaped huge business benefits, including a reputation for great customer service, as a result.

So now I turn the discussion over to you, our readers...Is fun at work good? And most importantly, are you having fun?