WORK + FUN AT WORK = ?

       Over the years, having worked for and in different industries and positions, I have had fun working with a perfect balance of hard work.

      All that I understood after years of hard work, learning, fun, and experience; having an improper mix of work and fun at work for a career oriented personnel could probably end in this:

95 % Work      +     05 % Fun =     Steady, strong, and complete growth; resulting in everlasting fun.

75 % Work      +     25 % Fun =     Leading to a slow paced growth and a sure shot route for disappointments.

50 % Work      +     50 % Fun =     Rules out growth at all levels and leads to inevitable stagnancy. Such attitude leads to a frustrated career.

25 % Work      +     75 % Fun =     A road to unsuccessful, failed and a disastrous career.

05 % Work      +     95 % Fun =     A point where work is totally forgotten. A recipe for a total collapse for self and the organization.

     I maybe wrong in my perceptions about working and having fun at work, but until recently I found people taking-up jobs out of their vocation or what they have degrees in or may be they aren’t able to find one suiting their qualification, in this heavily competitive employment market.

      So, probably they take up a job where they find a bit of co-relation with the education they obtained in. Unfortunately, they take-up this job and construe it or treat it as a stop-gap arrangement till the time they find a job in their respective field. Or more badly, they treat it as a small source of income to meet their miscellaneous expenses. It makes me think, how come people easily find others with matching attitudes to convert a work-place into fun-place? I leave it unanswered, because, I couldn’t find a better answer to this for the last seventeen years. I let them bask.

      Also I did observe that people who have taken-up jobs with casual attitudes usually cannot or do not justify the work they do and the pay they receive. I wonder whether they really dedicate themselves to their work, to themselves or at least the organization. They actually maybe doing their best, but their actions always tell something else.

      Coming back to the point of having fun at work; I think having moderate fun at work sure does foster positive atmosphere at work, friendship, removes  monotony, refreshes moods, enhances both; quantity and quality of work, and other factors too. But, at the same time when merriment crosses its limit, the same work-place becomes a playground for games, conspiracy, chit-chatting, politics, and many more causes which influence negativity.

      All these negative elements ultimately affect the overall productivity of a team, a department, or more so the entire organization, which commonly results in demotivated dedicated employees, revenue loss, and losing projects to competitors, and other hidden troubles.

      I opine that, it is the responsibility of a manager to ensure appropriate balance of work and fun at work. The manager is required to remove unnecessary distractions which directly affect smooth flow of work, co-workers, and other departments, revenues, growth, and other factors. Lethargy in controlling this by the manager could probably end in he being removed from the job or he losing smart and dedicated employees for him to work on their behalf.

      When I started my career, it started with 95% fun, but it was gradual learning and realization that temporary fun won’t take me anywhere. I applied and worked on the English proverb; “Work while you work and play while you play” and that has helped me climb to the first slab of 95% work and 5% Fun = Steady, strong, and complete growth; resulting in everlasting fun.