Perry's Pen

Yet another post triggered by a LinkedIn post.

In this case, I respond to a post about instilling play into the workplace. Ideas included meme-creating exercises, takes on The Play That Goes Wrong, and something to do with fairy tales.

I like to play at work. I can only be productive when I am having fun. But to me, these ideas are not fun. These ideas are micromanaging, setting up the people who conduct them as parents, and participants as children.

Below are my thoughts on forced fun.

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I like the intent and spirit of this, but not the implementation.

Telling people how to play instead of letting them choose how to play is probably worse than no play at all. It is mom telling us to do something. It is like forcing people who want to play basketball to play cricket.

“Why should I be invested in this ridiculous meme game? It serves me no purpose, and I get no reward. And the winner is chosen by the boss, so no doubt it will be the “teacher’s pet” once again.”

Forced fun is never fun.

One of the reasons why Grammarly is such a huge success is because it has a prize, and everyone who plays/uses it wins.

Trying to get your copy to 100 is great fun, and even if you do not, your reward is a better copy than when you started.

With Grammarly you can “Get the High Score” or “Finish a Level”. That is real, organic fun.

“A job well done is its own reward.”

Again, AI “gets me”:

“The author responds to the idea of incorporating play into the workplace, criticizing activities like meme creation and themed plays as forced and unproductive. They argue that genuine fun arises organically and can be incentivized, referencing the success of Grammarly’s engaging approach. The post emphasizes the importance of intrinsic rewards over prescribed enjoyment.“