"Fun" working environment? | Hacker News Reader

"Fun" working environment?

6 pointsbendmorris4 comments

I recently left a job at an advertising agency where there's a Wii, a dart board, and a big comfy chair in the office; there are lots of employee contests; and basically, people are encouraged to screw around when they feel like it. The job posting described what a fun place to work it would be and how cool everyone was, and listed Wii skills as a job requirement (should've been a warning sign I guess.) Employees other than higher up management work in one big, open room with little division or personal space to encourage chatting and "blowing off steam."

Call me boring, but I'm a young guy just starting a family. I like to have fun, but I'd much rather spend my time at work getting work done so I can get home to my family, than play a spur of the moment 2 hour Mario Kart tournament. And in this kind of environment I felt like no one, including me, was getting anything done. People would pull 10-12 hour days and not have anything to show for it.

I know it's kind of a trend these days to have "toys" and relaxation at work - but what are your thoughts? It may make people happy but what does it do to productivity?

I'm in the same boat as you. I like to have fun at work, but that's mostly because I want to work where my tasks are rewarding. Fun people also add to the mix of course. But there is a limit; sometimes you have to get stuff done. That's when I enjoy the job the most.

You say that this office regularly pulls long hours, but doesn't progress. To what extent is this true? If its literally 100% fun with no progress (ie nothing that will later lead to cash inflow), then something will have to change very soon. People are the biggest cost in most companies, and if they don't justify their expense, it's a matter of time before the inevitable.

The work eventually has to get done, and it generally happens in 14-hour-day crunch sessions right before a deadline, where people basically live at their desk and food is brought to them. There were a couple projects I wasn't even told about until the day before they were due, and was basically told I'd be working all day.

The company is the biggest of its kind in the region, so they get a lot of clients and charge a lot - but I also think they're ripe for being picked off by smart competition.

It's just a matter of cultural fit.

For some people being at work is more enjoyable than being with their family, and 12 hours at the office for five hours of productive time is seen as a benefit.

Keep in mind that adherence to the puritan work ethic is not always a great way to measure productivity. For an enterprise like an ad agency, one really good idea can be worth an employee's entire salary.

And high holy creative time is what pays the bills. If that's at four in the afternoon then dinner will be late.

I would find that big open space very distracting. I'm all for letting employees walk away from a hard problem and play some Wii Bowling to clear their head and decompress. I like that kind of environment and culture.

However, for those periods of super-productivity when I'm "in the zone", I don't want to be interrupted by an impromptu Nerf Blaster war.

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