When I have been referring to fun in these little posts, I have been assuming the organic, spontaneous fun that most of us enjoy every day and in a myriad of contexts - home, work, etc.
But as I read more deeply into the literature, and which was brought out at a recent visit to University of San Francisco, there is a dark side to the fun force. I speak here of organized or, better, managed fun.
Here is a quote from "Benefits and Challenges of Fun in the Workplace" by April Everett from Library Leadership & Management, Volume 25, No 1: "Manufactured fun, that which is imposed or required, may create an environment of cubicle-decorating cynics."
And from Sharon Bolton and Maeve Houlihan's article in Employee Relations, Volume 35, No 6, 2009: "However worthy these ideas (fun at work), their translation into practice might be seen as cynical. Fun - official fun - is the order of the day. (The following citations can be found in full in the bibliography of their article.)
They proceed to quote J. Gordon: "Structured fun is fun for the whimsically impaired; fun with all the fun squeezed out; fun, hold the fun."
And one more cautionary quote they cite from J. Hamilton: "I am here today to speak for the victims. The poor downtrodden employees yearning to go home. The party-pooping, costume-hating working stiffs. Those who dream about letting certain colleagues flop straight to the floor in the trust-building, don't worry we'll catch you exercise."
The point is that while there is considerable literature that tells us that humor in the workplace is a good thing it is important to remember that you cannot make people have fun or participate in fun activities or anything else for that matter. And exercising such caution is imperative in developing a corporate culture that welcomes fun and a natural, organic byproduct of the work environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment