Have you really created a fun place to work?
It’s not cool to introduce yourself as a “fun guy” — even comedians cringe at that label. We know that when you start with “here’s a fun story” — the tale tends to lack a punchline. Telling people it’s “time to have fun” has eyes rolling. Somehow, something branded as fun seems to lack joy.
And yet we all seem to want to have a fun place to work. Get out the ping pong tables, bean bags and yoga mats. Fridays down the pub, free Michelin-wannabe quality lunches, and happy birthdays. All designed to make the workplace great and keep the people “engaged”. Fitter, happier, more productive.
I started my career in a “fun place”. Working in broadcasting was new, exciting, full of A-list parties … and completely dysfunctional. The company was known for being maverick and having a good time, which often included executives sneaking to the bathrooms to do a few lines of blow before disappearing for long lunches. At one infamous leaving do, an employee was observed being photocopied topless by one of the senior leaders. The evidence was pinned to a notice board in the office, and she was never seen again. While fun could have been a strength for a team to tackle a competitive and changing media landscape, it was wasted on childish behaviour in a leadership vacuum.
Our research with leaders around the world has showed that most see culture as creating a great place to work, and that culture is “how we do things around here”. Many use the words “fun” and “happy” to describe their business, but few leaders that we spoke with had a core value that reflected that energy.
Since values are how we uniquely deliver on our purpose and move towards our vision of growth, for fun to really be part of our culture, it has to be represented in our DNA. Most leaders confuse the working environment with the culture of the workplace — while our physical environment is reflective of our culture, the way we behave towards each other and deliver our work are the strongest indicators of the culture we are creating.
As a leader, what value are you really placing on fun?
If you understand how fun equals quality for your customer — then fun will help you grow
If the fun is just one of your workplace perks, the fun is contrived
Most of the senior leaders I have met would claim they try to create an enjoyable place to work — yet they cringe at having the word “fun” or its many synonyms appear in their values. “We don’t want people to have too much fun though, do we” they tend to say. I even heard one proclaim “this isn’t a daycare” — said as we walked by the video games and juice bar. “People just need to get to work”.
I have my doubts that most business leaders want people to have a good time: they want you to work hard, work late, be even more productive to make even more money — for them. Enjoy yourself — but only so you stay in line, get along with each other and don’t rock the boat.
“Make change fun” is one of the values of our partnership. When we set up Within People, we wanted to ensure that fun was part of how we worked with clients, not just a feature of our environment. Fun is lived in our rituals — like our twice annual partner retreat, our book club, and AlohaFriday (taking the afternoon to spend quality time connecting together, usually over a finely crafted cocktail). But most importantly, we are constantly questioning how we shape experiences for our clients that allow them to play and challenge their comfort zone in a way that unleashes their creativity.
Some businesses understand the importance of play in driving innovation to create new opportunities for change and growth. “Work hard, play hard” may have been the mantra of the past few decades — “play hard at work” could be the calling of 21st century business.
As business shifts to imagine our collective future and solve global challenges, we need to encourage cultures of creativity. One indicator I have for how much play is in a business is when I meet executives. If the fun, playful environment ends at the door of the board room, there’s a problem. Fun isn’t for the “kids” in your business. If it’s a driver of success, it should be in the soul of your leadership.
Happiness is also a word that leaders wrestle with. Is it a leaders job to make their people happy? Or is it our responsibility to help people discover their own happiness — and in doing so, create places of wellbeing where people grow. Thriving people, thriving business.
“I believe that the very purpose of life is to be happy. From the very core of our being, we desire contentment. In my own limited experience I have found that the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being.” — Dalai Lama
1/3 of our lives is spent working. Our quality of life is influenced by our jobs — from who we work with, to our working environment, and crucially in our connection to the value of what we create every day. Ensuring we give our talents to something we are passionate about, in service of others, is essential to a great life.
I believe that work is a place where people should love who they are and what they do. So to me, creativity, fun, happiness and joy are all critical to a well-run business and a well-lived life.
Joy at work comes in both the doing, and the being.
Our work should be enjoyable.
We Create Joy is the award winning service philosophy we developed with One&Only Resorts. It outlines how to create joy for guests of the ultra-luxury hospitality brand. It’s a formula for exceptional service — how to bring fun and creativity into work to make amazing experiences for others. The philosophy enshrines joy into the culture — demonstrating that it is essential to the success of the business. One&Only understands that luxury is no longer about high priced goods, but found in a rare emotional connection. This is what guests pay for; joy is the critical currency of the brand.
Others trade on this commodity. Based on the words of its founder, Disney’s original mission was making people happy — which applied as much to their entertainment production as it did to theme parks and stores. Fun and happiness was their North Star to creating experiences and innovating their offer to the world.
Retail brands are learning that in order to get customers offline and through their doors they need to understand how to create emotional experiences. The death of Toys R Us was a tragedy for a company that previously traded on play. Their vision was to put joy in kids’ hearts and a smile on parents’ faces. Had they lived a set of values which helped them to understand how they inspired joy they might have known how to continue to do so in an ever challenging commercial environment.
Compare to Vans — where fun is one of their values, driving their purpose of enabling creative expression and expressing your true self. Their London branch includes a skate school and hosts album launches, putting them at the centre of youth culture.
Our workplace should be joyful
One&Only’s We Create Joy philosophy also sets out how colleagues are expected to behave with each other to create the conditions for joy. Caring for each other, communicating openly, championing diversity, and encouraging everyone to develop their skills are all core features of the One&Only philosophy. The rituals of the workplace, from how resorts celebrate the national days and religious observances of all employees, to recognising colleagues who live the promises of the philosophy, are part of keeping the culture alive. For joy to be in the soul it must be lived every day.
This doesn’t mean we create a “nice” culture where the hard conversations aren’t had or problems addressed. We know that transparency builds trust, trust builds connection, and connection shapes more enjoyable places to work. Honesty is essential to living a culture of joy because it ensures that we can be ourselves while committing to the feedback that is needed for growth.
I’m not sure we need more data or studies to help us see that positive work cultures help businesses grow (if you do, try here) but as leaders we need to be clearer around what makes a great place to work and how to foster happiness. Zappos is one of the best known examples of a business where workplace happiness is baked in to the DNA. Their values all point to how joy is lived in their culture — from fun and weirdness to positive team spirit — all translating into a distinct brand of customer service.
While Glassdoor offers up a predictable and debatable countdown of “best places to work” that includes Facebook, Google and Lululemon (and a few surprises with Bain & Co topping the chart), creating joyful workplaces isn’t the domain of today’s most popular brands. It’s up to every leader to focus on how work can be enjoyable and create cultures of creativity. Whether you’re a business that employs thousands, or a solopreneur just getting started, fun can be fuel for your growth.
As funny man Grouch Marx said — if you’re not having fun, you’re doing something wrong.
