April 23, 2006
Insane for Propane
Posted by Kevin | Print This Article
On King of the Hill tonight, they riffed on Cold Stone Creamery and similar “fun” workplaces. (They opened a Cold Stone down the street from me a year or two ago, and I’ve only been once — the ice cream is good but I’ve always found singing retail workers fall somewhere on the continuum between disconcerting and creepy.)
In the episode, Hank’s boss steals the operations manual for the “Frozen Cow Creamery” and applies it to the propane store, thus driving his employees crazy (and not just “Insane for Propane”). They’re so busy “having fun” that they never have time to get any work done.
Finding the balance between having fun and getting work done is hard, because it really does need to be a balance. We’ve all dealt with people who fall on opposite ends of the spectrum: the sour one who never wants to do anything except review numbers (which can make for some dull lunches), and the goofy one who thinks the secret to “building morale” is having a party for every conceivable reason (what I call “managing by serving cake”).
Thing is, “fun” is a relative term, and creating a workplace that people look forward to coming to — employees and customers — isn’t about staff parties, team-building exercises, and forcing people to socialize. It’s about putting the right people in the right positions, setting the right goals, and giving them the freedom to make mistakes.
Hmm, sounds simpler than it is …
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It’s a sad commentary when companies have to introduce irrelevant “fun” in order for employees to enjoy their job.
1. If some people hate their actual jobs that much, maybe you aren’t hiring the right people.
2. If EVERY employee hates their job, maybe something should be done to make the WORK more enjoyable.
Often times the satisfaction of knowing you did a job well, and that others noticed, is enough to add fun to any job.