Part of a philosophy that my company has - similar to many companies - is the idea of "Work Hard, Play Hard". The idea behind it is that we as workers give our all to work, and then we give our all to "play" (whatever that happens to mean).
It struck me this weekend - at an event, ironically, that was supposed to celebrate the "play hard" aspect - what a ridiculous phrase that is.
On any given week, I work in the realm of 40-50 hours, not counting occasional check-ins for individual items. That does not include my to and from work commute (thankfully, a scant 10 minutes now).
Imagine then, in this context, if we "played" at work as hard as we worked: 40-50 hours a week. Or, I suppose, we could divide it equitably and say 20 hours of work and 20 hours of play.
Any employee actually making this suggestion would initially be humored. If they pressed forward long enough, they would likely be quietly shuttled to a non-visible job, or simply dismissed.
The concept, more accurately phrased, is "Work hard and long, Play hard for short periods of time". Certainly it does not roll off the tongue quite as easily nor, I suspect, would it be the sort of thing that would encourage people to apply. It would, however, have the benefit of being an honest assessment.
Do I think this sort of radical honesty will come to the fore? Not really. Nor do I expect that companies will stop using the phrase: it sounds so good, so "right". "I work hard, so I should play hard" we say at the end of a long shift with the energy of a snail and the reality of all the "work" we have to do to run the rest of our lives.
I wonder - if just for fun - if I started reversing the phrase to "Play Hard, Work Hard", how that would go over?
"Play Hard, Work Hard"? What are you TB, some kind of agitator? Putting Play ahead of Work?!? Ohmigosh........thinking differently.....upsetting the norm......such wrongthink TB........:)
ReplyDeleteNylon12, I am a difficult employee at best.
Delete"Wrong think" indeed...
I hate to work. I like to have fun. If I can make work fun, then it isn't work. If I have fun, folks around me have fun. The mood is light, and creativity seems to flow. I have been places where they eat their own. I hit those places fast and ran out just as quick. That mentality kept me going when times were ugly. I guess now, it's become my way of life. And mom washed out my mouth with soap if I used a four letter word... and work is one of "those"!
ReplyDeleteSTxAR - I am the same as you.
DeleteSadly, the industry standard really seems to be leaning towards the "Eat your own" mentality, or at least "Heads down and ask no questions. It is a bit sad, really, but this is life.
Sounds like some gimmick to try to keep employees motivated. Something that's chanted at a department pep rally. I'm more of a "slow and steady wins the race" sort of person.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, it really is if you think about (as I have, apparently). We never, every, play as hard as we work.
DeleteI will say that I think at my employer once upon a time this was much more true than it is currently. Like many companies, they were bought by a larger entity that has been transforming them slowly into a smaller version of themselves.