Re: Levity (very long--but requires no certification to read)

[Jill Burgchardt <jburgcha -at- PESTILENCE -dot- FTC -dot- NRCS -dot- USDA -dot- GOV>]

I can appreciate that nerf balls might help reduce stress and help productivity.  However, I'm not
convinced that such an environment is inherently more productive than workplaces were in
the days of the three martini lunch.  Why?  Because nerf balls and business lunches are areas where
some people will handle it just fine while others will overdo it.

I, too, remember business lunches back when companies paid for alcohol.  What I remember is this:
Smart male employees usually had one drink to show they were sociable,  smart women had none.
The people who had three (because that's what the company would pay for) were viewed as abusers--
both of themselves and of the company budget.

It seems to me the same rule would apply to nerf balls.  If a person can practice a little levity--when
they really need it--and then get back to work, fine.  But we all know the person who needs a
"stress break" or mental health day just when we're depending upon them.  I had a boss and
colleague who would head to the golf course right before deadlines.  Usually with the comment
"We did our part, now the girls can finish up."  We (the "girls") had been there busting our butts all
along, there was still plenty left they needed to do, and we were stuck figuring out how to get the
work of five people done by three people.  And, of course, if it was late because they weren't back
in time to sign the written-for-them cover letter, who do you think got in trouble?  (Sorry, I refuse
to forge someone else's name.)

These days, I don't see such a sexist pattern, but I still see a lot of slackers (any age group),  who use
stress breaks, coffee breaks, cigarette breaks, helping with the employee's group, whatever else that
isn't work, as an excuse to let someone else carry their load.

I'm not saying that applies to any of the people who wrote in to say they enjoy levity in their
workplace.  But, there are two sides.  A small company with high accountability to the group--
it can work.  Also, as companies get larger and teams are more diverse (very wide meaning intended),
it may not work.

For example, I like my coworkers, I enjoy talking to them, but I would feel stressed if I thought I
had to play Nerf ball to fit in.  Tolerance is a two-way street.  I have seen employees discussed as
"out-of-date, obsolete, etc.," based more on personal style than skills.  A 62 year old friend of mine
was outsourced from her secretarial job because the new manager decided he wanted someone with up-to-date computer skills  (he hired someone about 40 years younger with less computer skills).

Fortunately, she found a better job--as a database  manager.  In fact, her new boss is so thrilled with
her work , he's asked her to reassure him that she'll work another 10 years, minimum.

My point?  Social interactions can be productive, but they can also set up an environment where they
become the criteria for judging people.  Granted, companies want employees who are comfortable
with their corporate culture.  But when a corporate culture is a highly social culture,  it becomes
exclusionary.  Personally, I want my work to be judged on its merit, not on whether I have a martini
at lunch, golf, or play nerf ball.  Familiarity may not breed contempt, but if as a result of familiarity,
an incompetent coworker becomes the boss's best friend and I'm (younger, older, wrong color,
female, male) and the boss isn't as comfortable with me, then what?

As a woman, I feel that I'm treated as a professional in today's workworld.  Personally, I hate to
see subtle discrimination creeping in under the guise of corporate culture.  We fought that battle
too long.

Jill Burgchardt

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