Ducks in a Row: Cultural Fun
by Miki Saxon
It’s fairly well-established that, as Tony Hsieh keeps saying, happy employees are more productive and are less likely to leave.
Happy employees enjoy their work and feel like they are having fun.
In fact, an entire nitch business has arisen (as it always does) promising to show managers how to make work fun through gamification.
Surprise, surprise, it doesn’t work.
But this new study, a working paper from a pair of professors at the University of Pennsylvania, suggests there’s a big difference between workplace games employees may decide to play on their own and games that are mandated by management.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone for two reasons
- “Natural” doesn’t lend itself to being replicated.
- What comes naturally is very different from having something contrived and synthetic shoved down your throat.
Fun doesn’t just mean acting silly or playing games.
Fun includes overcoming challenges, making a difference and all kinds of subjective intangibles.
Bosses may provide the guiding values that create the skeleton of culture, but fleshing it out requires contributions from all levels and each person—especially when it comes to fun.
Flickr image credit: Wilson B
