Compulsory fun in the workplace is not always fun

As the festive season rolls in with its plethora of office parties, team lunches, secret Santas and end-of-year drinks, it’s worth remembering that not everyone feels the same about these events, so making opting out easy and pressure-free goes a long way.

While some employees relish the social buzz, others would rather disappear into the nearest fire exit than unwrap a novelty mug in front of their colleagues. The truth is fun is intensely personal. And once fun becomes compulsory, it’s no longer fun at all.

In my research, I explore humour, fun and happiness in hybrid work, and my new book, Hybrid Happiness: Fun and Freedom in Flexible Work, takes a deep dive into what makes modern employees happy at work.

Through immersing myself in some New Zealand businesses, where I interviewed workers of all levels and was allowed access to team chats, the value of offering social get-togethers was apparent, but it became clear that managers need to offer a pressure-free opt-out.

Being happy at work is important to most people. Happiness at work can foster wellbeing, and happy workers are important for ensuring a positive workplace culture.

Hybrid work in itself is, for many people, a major source of happiness. When a role allows employees to split their time between home and the office, it can offer the best of both worlds: freedom and autonomy alongside the chance to connect with colleagues both online and in person.

While I’ve been a workplace humour and fun researcher for a long time, the research for my book centres on how people experience happiness when they work in a hybrid setting. I asked workers about humour and fun, and they emphasised the aspects of work that made them feel happy.

Every worker I interviewed said they wanted to keep working in hybrid mode as this offered many benefits.

The most important advantage is the autonomy to work in a blended way that lets workers manage their personal lives around work commitments. Hybrid work achieves an effective blend because employees usually work from home for two or three days and spend the remainder of the week in the office. This way of working reduces time lost commuting, freeing up more time for family or personal activities on the days people work from home.

Hybrid work creates many different emotions for workers, but the most significant, according to my research, was the idea that working in hybrid mode implies that the worker is trusted by the company and management.

Feeling trusted, combined with being given the freedom to choose working from home or in the office made workers feel happier. This is important because happy workers are more likely to stay with a company and contribute to a positive workplace culture. Positive workplace culture is linked to success for companies and their workers.

Of course, there are some downsides and problems in hybrid work that were clearly defined by the employees I interviewed.

Understanding the implied tone in messages and emails or deciphering GIFs and emojis are new communication strategies that workers must manage, and this can be tricky. Online communication can create confusion and miscommunication, and it requires empathy, understanding and sensitivity.

Watercooler chats were once considered useful and the mainstay of workplace culture, but are now less common when half of the workforce is online. Informal talks may now occur in messaging platforms and chat functions.

Social events have changed and now often straddle both in-office and online connection and participation, and this too can be complicated.

Another issue concerns people who work from home worrying that they might get overlooked for promotions or plum assignments.

To help offset some of these issues, the companies I studied insisted on check-in days where most, if not all, workers came into the office for a team meeting or an all-company get-together. This reignited social behaviour, increasing chatting, laughing and teasing, and provided a focal point to the working week that was both social and productive.

On the whole, happiness in hybrid work isn’t about constant check-ins, keyboard monitoring or emoji-peppered chats. It’s about trust, psychological safety, and acknowledging the fact that we're all human.

While we appreciate being able to hang out the washing at lunchtime, save money on our commute or attend a school performance, we can still be effective in our job and a committed and collegial team member. Blending work and home life effectively can create hybrid happiness.