Week 10 - Work or Play

Response To This Weeks Reading

A physical work environment, as well as a company culture, can serve as a catalyst for productivity, creativity, and ingenuity. This week I watched the video License to Pursue Dreams. In it, Marissa Mayer details the effort Google has made to induce passion and momentum in their employees. Employees’ are allotted total control over 20% of their work week, the ability to work on anything they see fit. Data provided shows that incentives and liberties such as these have measurable positive outcomes.

This topic got me thinking of workspaces and policies that are indicative of such efforts. Google has taken great efforts to increase morale; to get their employees to love their jobs. I mean, look at their office!

There should be moderation in all things, however. Making your office into a jungle gym may be cool, but is it too much? According to Jeremy Myerson extreme efforts to boost morale and create a fun work environment can be "detrimental" to productivity.  He states that replicating Google’s efforts to induce productivity through high moral isn’t a sure fit for every company. In a majority of spaces, such efforts actually reduce productivity.

My intention is not to refute Mayer’s words. I am simply interested in other efforts that can be taken to boost productivity in the work place. What other stimuli are available? Creating a workspace which insights passion in its employees is a great goal. But the answers are not one size fits all.