More fun at work
NOTE: This essay is more effective as 🎧 audio or 📺 video for reasons that will be obvious.
How to have more fun at work, and everywhere else
I was recently treated to an unexpected but very effective lesson in having fun at work.
Here’s the scene…
Me, my wife, and our 2 teenaged kids were flying west to visit family and we were facing a 3 hour flight. We had just driven from Central Wisconsin to the Twin Cities and left our car with in-laws to avoid paying for parking. The flight was late at night.
Ever since a travel snafu on our honeymoon my wife has had a neurosis about getting to airports with plenty of time to spare, so we had some time to kill, which included finding dinner.
My oldest eats heartier than the youngest, so I took him on an excursion to find something substantial, which ended up being a Panda Express halfway across the airport. We got a little quality time together.
Upon returning my youngest decided he was hungry now (he wasn’t before) and wanted to eat. I told him we weren’t traversing all over the airport as our flight was coming up. But, there was a very slick-looking restaurant by the gate that served salads and smoothie bowls. I think it was called something like “Crisp and Fresh” or “Fresh and Green”. Could have been either. Minimalistic logo and decor which I’m sure you can picture.
He LOVES salads, so this was actually a very exciting offer for him. We approached the kiosk and he decided on a straightforward, no-frills caesar salad. Sometimes the simple classics are all that’s needed.
I was interested to watch the assembly line process, a bit like a Subway, but much longer, and with different stuff. The salad was prepared by two young, not particularly clean-cut people, one stocky male, the other a nondescript female. Both had a bit of unkempt goth look about them.
It was late at night, so not many people were eating, or even around. Airports are made to be just comfortable enough to pass a few hours, but not more comfortable than they have to be, and everything is a little bland and unstimulating.
This track was playing on the audio system. I actually “Shazamed” it and am listening to it right now 🙂
Can you feel the vibe? Sleepy, low-key, a little miserable, and with this benign, chill, hypnotic groove enveloping it all.
I watched the two people behind the counter prepare the salad. It seemed like the male was training the female. And in between the handfuls of lettuce and squirts of dressing…they danced. He led, modeling the understated (almost disaffected) moves, and she followed suit. Then they both smiled and chuckled, revealing their mutual delight.
I could have been annoyed, but it was entertaining to watch them. There weren’t many people in line, we weren’t in that big of a hurry, and this clearly made their work more enjoyable. Plus, it got me to listen to and appreciate the track myself, which has since entered my personal audio rotation.
Everything is more fun with friends. Our human condition is a difficult one that we are all navigating subjectively, and that’s often lonely; friends lessen that burden considerably. And friends are not guaranteed. Some people find friends in their parents, others don’t. Some find it in their siblings, others don’t. Some find it in their cousins, others don’t. Some find it in their spouse, others don’t. Some find it in their team members, others don’t. Some find it in their clients, others don’t.
But what if you had friends everywhere you went? Life would seem much more fun and worthwhile, wouldn’t it?
I think of friends as the leavening of life. Everything is lighter and more vital with friends in the mix. There’s something about friendship, and nothing else like it.
It can be complicated, because it’s harder to keep decisions and evaluations objective when friends are involved, although some might argue the best friends manage to do that too. Some professions even have regulations that prevent forming friendships between certain kinds of people, so you’ll have to conform to the ethical and legal standards of your industry.
But watching these two dance and assemble the salad brought my memory back to the menial work I did at K-Mart as a teenager, and how much faster the time went when I was at work with friends. My coaching clients become friends too, so every call is like a chat with a friend. Because of this the time passes very quickly and we both leave feeling great. I don’t think I can remember a single exception to this, and it shows me I am doing the right thing with my life.
Reflecting on friendship serves to reinforce to me the fact that, while life is made of services and products, and it must be so because society is full of different jobs that must be done, all pale in comparison to the importance of the people in our lives. (Still, the career counselor in me says that we must choose our industries carefully in accordance with our natures, but that’s another topic for another time!)
That’s how to have more fun - do things with friends. Paraphrasing David Allen, author of Getting Things Done, life is just a big series of jobs to do, tasks to complete. We have teams all over our lives, and not just at work, and all these teams can be full of friends.
Friendship is just one of those little (or maybe not-so-little) things that makes everything better.
May you enjoy deep, rich friendships in all areas of your life.