Linked: The death of ‘mandatory fun’ in the office
I have written about how much I hate forced interactions and team-building events in the workplace, so this headline makes me happy. I hope that this is true and that more companies realize this as well:
“If the ultimate goal of office fun is to facilitate team bonding, it’ll work a lot better if nobody feels obliged to attend. “That kind of get-together has the most positive impact anyway. It’s team bonding that would happen naturally, as opposed to forcing it.”
Post-pandemic, people are craving a good time and each other’s company more than ever, says Gostick, “and yet the inane office ‘fun’ of yesteryear has wholly passed. We realise, maybe more than before, that every minute of our time is precious. If our bosses want it, they’ve got to use it wisely.” “
This has always been the key, but I suspect too many employees lacked the power to say it. Some of my best friends are people I met at work. I met my wife at work. Clearly, I am not against interacting with coworkers. I am, however, against anything that forces me to interact in a certain way with a group of people I didn’t choose to interact with.
That is just time spent doing a thing that isn’t important to me after we have spent the last couple of years learning how important it is to dedicate time to the important things.
Figure out what is important to your people and they will participate. Waste their time with frivolous nonsense, and they won’t. It’s really that simple.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220517-the-death-of-mandatory-fun-in-the-office
Follow these topics: Career
