You wake up realising it is Friday. “Yippi!” Then it dawns on you: “Oh no!” It is time for the “voluntary” after-work. Or even worse: the excruciating Team Building day.
Have any such events ever led to a better work environment? If your answer is yes, then I would like to hear from you.
Perhaps you have enjoyed some of them, but you would have preferred to do something else. Or at least to have a real choice.
Forced fun is never fun.
Autonomy is part of Maturity. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, autonomy, at the personal level, is:
“The ability to make your own decisions without being controlled by anyone else.”
We who live in stable democracies often take our freedom as citizens for granted.
So, why do we accept being controlled in a way we would never dream of outside work?
“Otherwise I will be fired.” Or “I will be bypassed for that promotion” and so on.
Hence, you stand with a glass of lukewarm wine in your hand doing your best to look cheerful. After having taken part in a game where you were supposed to imagine what kind of dog you most resemble.
In other parts of the world, the scenario may look different, but your feelings would be the same.
Before the birth of democracy, people had little, if any, ability to make their own decisions. You could have your head chopped off, be tortured or face long prison sentences for defying authorities. Slowly, slowly people gained their freedom.
Yet, we have this huge discrepancy between autonomy as citizens and autonomy as employees.
The recent pandemic has sparked changes in people’s thinking. Many realised how much they had put up with and detested. And what they are no longer willing to put up with it. Such as a long commute. Or mandatory “fun.”
Employee-driven initiatives are quite another thing. Truly voluntary initiatives. People want to get together and have fun. They also want to have a choice. About When. And What.
I love the idea of a wine-and-whine Friday.
Read about it here: The death of ‘mandatory fun’ in the office.
And I am sure the employer will save a lot of money on sick leave. Let people vent, whine and have some good laughs. Without any guidance from above.
Here is an idea about why we put up with so little autonomy at work: Pluralistic Ignorance.
“What makes me believe that I am the only one feeling this way?” – Pluralistic Ignorance: Why Smart People Do Dumb Things.
Share this with all those who want some wine-and-whine.
Photo: Getty Images.