Mike has started a fascinating thread. A couple of thoughts from my
perspective:
First, I wrestled with this issue while at Novell. I would often work
late, and found it difficult to concentrate while others were playing
computer games. My peers had a sophisticated setup: They would conference
each other in on the phone line, and then play network games. The phone
allowed them to talk to each other while they played the game. It would
often get noisy.
I started out feeling like games should be banned. After all, it was
interrupting my work. Then, one night, after great coaxing, I joined in
the fun! Wow! What an experience. It wasn't just recreation; it was a
unique form of team unity. I got to know the people I worked with much
better because I played with them. And, frankly, they cooperated much more
with the work I was doing as Quality Manager because I played with them.
On my evaluation I was reprimanded for "joining the ranks" and playing
games _after work hours_. Well we were ISO 9002 Certified. . .which is
what I wanted in the first place. And if playing a few games with some
people who just needed to blow off stress helped, great!
Rules. What a word. In organizations of every kind I find the most
peculiar rules. A few years ago a friend and I went to a dance at Brigham
Young University. I was wearing shoes with no socks. . .we got to the door
and were turned away. You couldn't participate in a BYU sponsored function
without socks. . .you're kidding right? The guy at the door said, "We're
not imposing grooming standards tonight, just dress standards." (At BYU
you couldn't have facial hair and the like; this particular night men with
beards could dance, but people without socks couldn't.)
I left confused.What is the purpose of higher education? To teach logic?
Congruence? Apparently not at BYU!
And the rules I've found in business organizations! Wow! Wierd. And
government rules! Geez, I need a Ph.D. just to decipher what they're
trying to accomplish with some of the rules I've seen in government
agencies.
And so I'm left with the belief that these rules exist because someone,
who, for whatever reason, must "control" the world around them, can impose
their will on others. That seems to be a primal instinct with humans. And,
in a business environment, that amounts to losing competitive ground.
The Web and E-Mail are wonderful sources of new information, which, in my
opinion, organizations need to bring in to remain competitive. Sure there
will be personal E-Mail, and perhaps, some Adult XXX sites will get a few
hits. . .but hey, that comes with the territory. Especially since today's
work environment is incredibly stressful. There were times when I would go
to CNN's homepage in the middle of the day just to take a break. . .to let
things churn in the back of my mind. And I don't feel bad for it. I
regularly worked 80 - 90 hour weeks. So if I took an hour a day to read
the news, or read a few jokes. . .great, more power to me.
--Benjamin B. Compton bcompton@enol.com http://www.enol.com/~bcompton
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>