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To start, a generalization about the state of work in 2023: people feel entitled to enjoy what they do. Work and life have become increasingly blended and the boundaries blurry in our enormously connected world.
Times have changed, and expectations are high — as evidenced by the Great Resignation, quiet quitting and the persistently hopeful idea that work can and should be enjoyable.
More and more, workers have interrogated the framework of modern work life and declared it unsatisfactory. They have looked askance at the agreements made by previous generations — and said a resounding “no, thank you.”
Those agreements shaped life for ages. A job meant work, in the most brutish sense of the word, and involved formalities like leaving your personal life at the door (and arguably, your personality). Work was certainly not where one went for fun. Fun was the stuff that happened after work. Ahem, happy hour.
What happened? Arguably, a moment where cultural factors collided with economic ones. An increased insistence on quality of life, combined with exceedingly low unemployment has allowed many workers the ability to be quite choosy with where and with whom they share their time, energy and talent.
Tech led the charge in many regards and institutionalized the ping pong table. They made fun at work — in the form of perks, flexibility, games, and outings — both an expectation and a right of the modern white-collar worker. (An aside: we would be remiss to not acknowledge that perhaps this was ever so slightly motivated by a desire to keep people at work as long as possible, and largely confined to the so-called “professional” class.)
What those organizations got right, however, is the premise that people’s creativity and trust flourish in a culture and environment where one can have fun and be themselves.
Many other companies took note of what at first may have seemed like a luxury of West Coast idealists and have followed suit.
My company, Item 9 Labs Corp. is, of course, one of them. Quality culture is a core value. The leadership team strives to bring a spirit of playfulness to even the most mundane of meetings, in a show of friendliness that we believe brings out our best ideas.
What about productivity, deadlines and deliverables, you might ask? Proponents of this ethos argue that they get better quality — if not more — work out of teams who are encouraged to enjoy themselves.
Time to play, both on and off the clock, breeds connection. And this atmosphere is often the birthplace of our most creative thinking. Freed from the constraints of a stiff boardroom, there’s a freewheeling attitude that pervades and allows people to think in more expansive ways.
This, in turn, leads to a sneaky productivity that is not the main point, but a happy by-product. In fact, researchers have recently demonstratedthat when we turn our attention away from active problem-solving and allow our brains to “rest,” different neural pathways are activated and unexpected solutions arise— explaining why some of life’s greatest ‘aha’ moments occur in the shower, for example. When one steps away from a tricky problem to focus on something else, solutions seem to arise organically, in a way that they don’t when sitting mired in struggle in front of a computer.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
In my experience, environments where play is encouraged allow creative thinking, connection and trust to flourish — all of the most lauded attributes of resilient workforces.
It creates not only good feelings all around but also organic productivity and more elegant solutions than those that tend to arise from the forced efforts driven by top-down management styles.
Work without fun is just work. Few employers that want to be truly innovative or agile will arrive at the level of engagement and ideas they need without the culture to support it.
So how does a modern employer create a culture of fun?
We believe the best ideas come from the team. At Item 9 Labs Corp., we have a culture committee that creates internal and external activities that aren’t driven by the leadership team.
Naysayers might contend that a young industry like cannabis allows liberties not embraced in more traditional, buttoned-up sectors. But times are changing, and more and more businesses are giving time, thought and attention to creating an atmosphere that people actually want to spend time in.
Although the concerns about time and meeting deadlines are real, we believe we work better when we’re relaxed and having a good time. Because we’re a cannabis company? Maybe. But more than our product’s association with good times, when breaking ground in a burgeoning industry, we need innovative thinking and approaches.
A core tenet of this management style is to make it environmental. Enjoyment at work can be an embedded principle. For example, if there is a two-hour strategic meeting on the calendar, why not sit outside and do it in a beautiful natural setting?
But here’s the rub — leaders need to set the tone if it’s going to permeate. An executive can come into a room and pound their fist on the table. Everyone in the room tightens up. Then those in the meeting head out and their direct reports feel the punch. And stress cascades outwards.
Alternatively, the same leader can come into a room with a spirit of good humor, tell a joke and lighten the mood. Regardless, the work doesn’t change. The deliverables are the deliverables. The only thing that has changed is the tone. And when building culture, tone is everything.
Leaders need to practice what they preach. It must be true. Otherwise, it’s not authentic and it doesn’t work.
But when applied from the heart, creating a culture of fun is the greatest relationship strengthener. And from connection flows creativity. And with creativity, we can take over the world. One ping pong match at a time.
