I'm wondering about 'fun at work' which implies having fun while you work. Good. Nothing wrong with that. Then there is 'work itself as fun' which is great.
I had both for most of my working life.
Was it the era? Was it the team? Was it the industry? Was it the leadership I worked with? I grew up professionally in food retailing. It's a tough industry with a tiny profit margin and it takes hardy people to work in it because the work is strenuous physically with long active days.
All I know is we laughed a lot at work and not just during good times. There was an optimism that the job could be done--the store would be open on time, the goals would be met, the challenge would make us stronger, failure was irritating but not lethal. Everything could be laughed at.
Am I nuts? Was there really a Camelot? What's different now? I think there are many things at play now. Exhaustion is one of the things at play that we refuse to see. (Read Arianna Huffington's book on sleep.) People live in the continuous state of the last moments in a race right before the finish line. Another factor and fun killer is the fatigue of size and the push to squeeze out growth where there is no real market. And we both obsess about and forget that we live in a global state of fear and anxiety because of random acts of terror, nature. Optimism takes work and determination and is not so innocently come by.
Dire? A little. But as a CEO or top leader you can create an atmosphere that is light, energetic and hopeful, even during the tougher moments. Try fair, realistic, nice, light-hearted and connected. You'll grow an optimistic, energetic work force.
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