I had lunch today with my friend, Tim, who gave me a tour of his offices afterward. What struck me was 2 things:
- Everyone seemed genuinely engaged in what they were working on
- Everyone seemed genuinely happy and content
To some of you who read this, my examinations may be commonplace, yet to others of you this may be foreign and even a little bit envious. I would venture to guess that many of you fall into the second category. You have never experienced a work environment where you were genuinely engaged, believed in what you worked for everyday, and were happy and content to go to work.
Many people I talk to long for this kind of workplace. There are numerous studies that show the value of this kind of workplace. My friend Alex is on a crusade to promote “happy” workplaces. So, what can you do?
Well, you have a couple options. One of which is to look for this kind of organization that you can give yourself to — one that you appreciate and one that appreciates you! Another option is to attempt to create this kind of environment within your current workplace. Is it doable? It depends on the level of influence and determination you have. Explore all your options. Wouldn’t you rather get up excited about what you’re doing for work rather than dragging your rear into a dull lifeless job while waiting for retirement?
It’s possible. I have seen it. Granted, I have seen it in a handful of places, but those are becoming more frequent. Get started today! Bring a Foosball table into the office, have an afternoon that you take the staff to the movies, do something — anything to make work fun and engaging.
BTW- did I mention, Tim’s office was having a mandatory Ping Pong tournament? Everyone had to play singles or doubles. What do you think of that? Mandatory fun!
This is the way of the future – you can only push things so far before they naturally break down.
What you wrote about is indeed a basic necessity in the work place. That is if a company is truly interested in its people and the product they are developing.
Good post
peace
dAlen
so i played my singles game today with my bum leg and all… somehow i managed to advance to the next level and i think it was due to one of the following:
• i played a girl
• i have mad ping pong skills
• said female had pity on my me because i was in a near-death cycling accident a mere nine days ago
..i’m gonna go with number three!
Well, your article is current as the fresh news from the BBC tonight (here in Europe) is about Googles ‘playtime’, slides and all.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7290322.stm
peace
dAlen
Ha! Good to hear from you dAlen. It’s nice to be up to date and relevant. Met a guy yesterday you’d like. Check out his blog at http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com
Cheers,
-eb
We just finished our 2010 March (Ping Pong) Madness.. It came down to the same two players, with the same guy winning! Still fun.. wish I were a better player.
I’ll take a note of this page… Appreciate sharing.