UK companies have given a thumbs-down to the concept of contrived fun at work as a means of promoting creativity.

Those surveyed put fun 11th out of 12 in their list of priorities for getting the workforce to be more creative.

Harnessing Creativity to Improve the Bottom Line -- commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants -- found that working closely with suppliers and customers (65 per cent) was top of the list.

Second was communicating success (55 per cent) and third was giving a high profile to suggestions for new ideas (46 per cent).

Fun produced a 16 per cent response and the only priority to fare worse was "budgeting time for creative processes in every job" (nine per cent).

The Institute of Management notes that wacky ideas such as having punchbags of the boss (a practice in some Japanese companies), allowing pranks as part of corporate culture, introducing brain teasers and games to warm people up before a meeting and having "dress down days" are way down the scale in the UK.

So are home-made end-of-project rewards such as home videos and silly thank-you badges -- or doubling the budget for trivial items such as staff-designed team T-shirts and bags. The report suggests that the low priority for fun everywhere except Latin America reflects ever-rising work pressure.

Mary Chapman, Director General of the Institute of Management, said: "Given that work takes up at least a third of most people's working lives, it is important that they enjoy it.

"Contrived 'fun' that is imposed is not the answer.

"But having a sense of fun while getting on with the job in hand could be a way of lightening the load and staving off the blues -- as well as enhancing creativity."