By Oscar Berg, Future Office Evangelist
May 25, 2010 - 3:08 AM
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"
This famous line by Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in The Shining implies that without time off from work, a person becomes bored and boring - maybe even insane. It also implies that work, per definition, is boring. I know for sure that work doesn't have to be boring, and that it shouldn't be.
If we define work as proceeding "towards a goal or along a path or through an activity", I see no reason why it shouldn't be fun. Why else do we (at least in Sweden) have the saying "The journey is half the fun"?
If work is fun it probably not a big problem if we think of work and even do some work outside of office hours. But when work isn't fun - and sometimes it isn’t fun anymore because we have too much of it - we tend to get frustrated, stressed and unhappy, all of which affects our performance negatively.
In a sense, Enterprise 2.0 is about bringing the fun back to work. It is about increasing the fun factor at work so that people are empowered to be more creative, productive, willing to share what they know, and open to collaborating with other people. It is just as much about creating a culture and work environmnet that is fun to work in as it is to make sure the tasks and tools are fun to work with.
Think of it this way: if you take the fun out of Enterprise 2.0, all you will have is Enterprise 1.0 in 2.0-style clothing.
Consider the following opposites below and ask yourself which of each opposite is the most fun.
I personally think of Enterprise 2.0 as a more fun place to work at than Enterprise 1.0.
Here are a couple of recommended readings on the same or similar theme:
The power of fun is often forgotten. Perhaps it's because people still see work and fun as two separate things. After all, isn't the opposite of work, "play"?
Hutch Carpenter: "
The Future of Social Software"
We're naturally competitive, and achievements and recognition have always part of work life. Adding fun, social feedback and an achievement orientation becomes a key differentiator for companies. Integrating these dynamics into a collaborative, emergent, results-oriented culture is a clear winner.
People play games because games are thrilling, fun, challenging, rewarding, social, interactive, and so forth. Work should also have these kinds of qualities to attract and retain talented creative people and make them excel at what they do.
The people you surround yourself with are always important. There's a difference between work and private life here; you don't always get to choose your colleagues the same way you choose your friends. But for me, the people around me is the single most important fun factor.
Your everyday work WILL get more fun with E2.0. Not E2.0 alone, but it's a great start and/or a helper. And when we use similar behaviour and tools at work that we use off-work then things will get even better.
Rate Post
You need to log in to rate blog posts.
Click here to login.
Type the code shown below to submit your report
This post and comment(s) reflect the personal perspectives of community members, and not necessarily those of their employers or of AIIM International
