Getting to know you!
- Justin H
- Dec 8, 2016
- 3 min read
Musical intro aside, one of the many opinions I have about workplace interactions is about socializing within the office. Many companies (most of them very large) discourage workplace interaction, thinking that socializing while in the office reduces productivity because while the employee is talking, they aren’t working (duh). Other companies encourage socialization and provide the means by which employees can form social bonds and even friendships, like beer (yay!) or game rooms (Yay!) or company sponsored social events (YAY! Side note, any time I can get out and be social, without having to pay for it, is the best time).
My own thoughts regarding this subject lean towards a happy medium. There’s a time to work, and a time to play. Too much allowance and encouragement towards employee friendships leads to employees gaming and taking advantage of the system. Too little encouragement towards social interaction leads to people saying things like “I’m here to work, not make friends”. Sometimes these things happen regardless of company culture, and that’s just a pure response of the personality of the person. There’s never going to be a perfect workplace where the amount of production is exactly the same every day, week after week. This statement is true regardless of the facilities and culture of the company, and is more a comment on human nature. Everyone reading this has had a lazy day during their working lives, where they just don’t feel like doing anything, or they have burn-out on a project. Just like there’s never going to be a company with low turnover where ALL you do is work and never have time to talk to your coworkers, at least not in American culture (I’m looking at you Amazon and UPS.)
What each company and reader needs to determine is what’s right for them, as a person, and company. A person needs to determine how much social interaction they need in order to not ‘go postal’ to use a phrase from the 80’s, find a company whose culture aligns with that amount and then honor and repay that company with your best efforts. A company needs to determine how much social interaction (which naturally raises morale, FYI (sub note, people with friends are happier than people without)) they feel they can allow and still achieve the goals of the company overall, then honor and repay its employees efforts by providing a means for the employees to bond during their social times, like a fun environment and free food. It’s up to management to enforce company policy regarding employee social time and camaraderie, enforcing when employees abuse it and relaxing enough to protect the culture of the company and thru it all remain fair to everyone.
In a social company, it’s imperative that your employees at the very least get along. This is the downfall of a social work environment. Not everyone likes everyone else, and the people with strong personalities elicit strong reactions of either like or dislike from their coworkers. They don’t have to all be friends, but without them getting along and being able to work side by side, the disruption any disagreements they may have is more damaging to business production than if the workplace didn’t allow socialization at all. I’m not saying it’s the business’ responsibility to ensure that people behave like adults, but it’s certainly the business’ problem when they don’t.
Justin Huereña Staff Blogger
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