Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-x5gtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-14T20:26:04.959Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘I always have fun at work’: How ‘remarkable workers’ employ agency and control in order to enjoy themselves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2019

Kathryn Owler  and
Rachel L. Morrison Open the ORCID record for Rachel L. Morrison [Opens in a new window]
Kathryn Owler*
Affiliation:
Joyworkz Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand
Rachel L. Morrison
Affiliation:
Management Department, Faculty of Business, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
*
*Corresponding author. Email: kathryn@joyworkz.co.nz
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Organisations and associated management practices are generally considered responsible for promoting employees' enjoyment of work. Our study, on the other hand, seeks to examine the capacity of individual workers to regulate their own experience of fun. We interviewed eight ‘remarkable’ workers who claimed to always (or nearly always) have fun at work. We utilised a critical realist approach in the analysis that enabled the consideration of both structure and agency in the experience of workplace fun. A key research finding was that participants possessed a strong sense of control over their own happiness at work, demonstrated in four ways: (1) a priority placed on fun, (2) a sense of responsibility for fun, (3) a positive orientation to the world and (4) a sense of mastery and challenge in work tasks. Research findings may inspire both individual workers and organisations to adopt an agentic outlook in the workplace, implementing strategies that enhance employee control.

Keywords

emotions and moodhealth and wellnesspositive organisational behaviourself-awarenessfun at work
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , March 2020 , pp. 135 - 151
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramis, D. (1999). Play in work: Childish hedonism or adult enthusiasm? The American, 33(3), 353–373.Google Scholar
Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P., & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned helplessness in humans: Critique and reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Agarwal, U. A., & Gupta, V. (2017). Relationships between job characteristics, work engagement, conscientiousness and managers’ turnover intentions: A moderated-mediation. Personnel Review, 47(2), 353–377. doi:10.1108/PR-09-2016-0229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arenas, A., Di Marco, D., Munduate, L., & Euwema, M. C. (Eds.). (2017). Shaping inclusive workplaces through social dialogue. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baldry, C., & Hallier, J. (2010). Welcome to the house of fun: Work space and social identity. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 31(1), 150–172. doi:10.1177/0143831X09351215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baptiste, N. R. (2009). Fun and well-being: Insights from senior managers in a local authority. Employee Relations, 31(6), 600–612. doi:10.1108/01425450910991758.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bardoel, E. A., Pettit, T. M., De Cieri, H., & McMillan, L. (2014). Employee resilience: An emerging challenge for HRM. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 52(3), 279–297. doi:10.1111/1744-7941.12033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, F. (2012). The impact of fun in the workplace on experienced fun, work engagement, constituent attachment, and turnover among entry-level service employees (Doctor of philosophy). The Pennsylvania State University.Google Scholar
Becker, F. W., & Tews, M. J. (2016). Fun activities at work: Do they matter to hospitality employees? Journal of Human Resources in Hospitality & Tourism, 15(3), 279–296. doi:10.1080/15332845.2016.1147938.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calitz, C. (2018). Are resilience programs effective? American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(3), 822–826. doi:10.1177/0890117118756180.Google Scholar
Chan, S. C. H., & Mak, W. (2016). Have you experienced fun in the workplace? Journal of Chinese Human Resources Management, 7(1), 27–38. doi:10.1108/JCHRM-03-2016-0002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheung, T. T. L., Gillebaart, M., Kroese, F., & De Ridder, D. (2014). Why are people with high self-control happier? The effect of trait self-control on happiness as mediated by regulatory focus. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1–6. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00722.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clancy, M., & Linehan, C. (2019). Modelling the subjective experience of fun at work. Employee Relations, 41(3), 520–537. doi:10.1108/ER-10-2017-0251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crane, M. F. (Ed.) (2017). Managing for resilience: A practical guide for employee wellbeing and organizational performance. London, UK: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1975). Beyond boredom and anxiety: Experiencing flow in work and play. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1991). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York, NY: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Beyond boredom and anxiety: Experiencing flow in work and play. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Curtis, R. (2014). Foucault beyond Fairclough: From transcendental to immanent critique in organization studies. Organization Studies, 35(12), 1753–1772. doi:10.1177/0170840614546150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De La Fabián, R., & Stetcher, A. (2017). Positive psychology's promise of happiness: A new form of human capital in contemporary neoliberal governmentality. Theory and Psychology, 27(5), 600–621. doi:10.1177/0959354317718970.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Ridder, D., & Gillebaart, M. (2017). Lessons learned from trait self-control in well-being: Making the case for routines and initiation as important components of trait self-control. Health Psychology Review, 11(1), 89–99. doi:10.1080/17437199.2016.1266275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ehrenreich, B. (2010). Bright-sided: How positive thinking is undermining America. New York, NY: Metropolitan Books.Google Scholar
Fairclough, N. (2005). Discourse analysis in organization studies: The case for critical realism. Organization Studies, 26(6), 915–939. doi:10.1177/0170840605054610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farrugia, D., Threadgold, S., & Coffey, J. (2017). Young subjectivities and affective labour in the service economy. Journal of Youth Studies, 21(3), 272–287. doi:10.1080/13676261.2017.1366015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fincham, B. (2016). The sociology of fun. Brighton, UK: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fine, G. A., & Corte, U. (2017). Group pleasures. Sociological Theory, 35(1), 64–86. doi:10.1177/0735275117692836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fingarette, H. (2004). Mapping responsibility: Explorations in mind, law, myth, and culture. Chicago, IL: Open Court.Google Scholar
Fleming, P. (2005). Workers’ playtime? Boundaries and cynicism in a ‘culture of fun’ program. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 41(3), 285–303. doi:10.1177/0021886305277033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleming, P., & Sturdy, A. (2009). “Just be yourself!” Towards neo-normative control in organisations? Employee Relations, 31(6), 569–583. doi:10.1108/01425450910991730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleming, P., & Sturdy, A. (2011). ‘Being yourself’ in the electronic sweatshop: New forms of normative control. Human Relations, 64(2), 177–200. doi:10.1177/0018726710375481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fletcher, A. J. (2016). Applying critical realism in qualitative research: Methodology meets method. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(2), 181–194. doi:10.1080/13645579.2016.1144401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fluegge, E. R. (2008). Who put the fun in functional? Fun at work and its effects on job performance (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Gainesville, FL, University of Florida.Google Scholar
Fluegge-Woolf, E. R. (2014). Play hard, work hard: Fun at work and job performance. Management Research Review, 37(8), 682–705. doi:10.1108/MRR-11-2012-0252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ford, R., Newstrom, J., & McLaughlin, F. (2004). Making workplace fun more functional. Industrial and Commercial Training, 36(2/3), 117–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallagher, M. W., & Lopez, S. J. (2009). Positive expectancies and mental health: Identifying the unique contributions of hope and optimism. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 548–556. doi:10.1080/17439760903157166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garrett, M. (2016). Questioning tales of ‘ordinary magic’: ‘Resilience’ and neo-liberal reasoning. British Journal of Social Work, 46(7), 1909–1925. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcv017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Georganta, K., & Montgomery, A. (2019). Workplace fun: A matter of context and not content. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 14(3), 317–336. doi:10.1108/QROM-06-2017-1541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gill, R., & Donaghue, N. (2016). Resilience, apps and reluctant individualism: Technologies of self in the neoliberal academy. Women's Studies International Forum, 54, 91–99. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2015.06.016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Han, H., Kim, W., & Jeong, C. (2016). Workplace fun for better team performance: Focus on frontline hotel employees. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 28(7), 1391–1416. doi:10.1108/IJCHM-11-2014-0555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Helliwell, J. F., Layard, R., & Sachs, J. D. (2019). World Happiness Report 2019. Retrieved from https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2019/Google Scholar
Herzberg, F. (1964). The motivation-hygiene concept and problems of manpower. Personnel Administrator, 27, 3–7.Google Scholar
Herzberg, F. (1966). Work and the nature of man. Cleveland, OH: World Publishing.Google Scholar
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. (1959). The motivation to work (2nd ed.). New Jersey, NY: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Hofmann, W., Luhmann, M., Fisher, R. R., Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (2013). Yes, but are they happy? Effects of trait self-control on affective well-being and life satisfaction. Journal of Personality, 82(4), 265–277. doi:10.1111/jopy.12050.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hunter, C., Jemielniak, D., & Postula, A. (2010). Temporal and spatial shifts within playful work. Journal of Organizational Change Management, 23(1), 87–102. doi:10.1108/09534811011017225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karl, K., Peluchette, J., & Harland, L. (2007). Is fun for everyone? Personality differences in healthcare providers’ attitudes toward fun. Journal of Health & Human Services Administration, 29(4), 409–447.Google ScholarPubMed
Karl, K. A., Harland, L. K., Peluchette, J. V., & Rodie, A. R. (2010). Perceptions of service quality: What's fun got to do with it? Health Marketing Quarterly, 27(2), 155–172. doi:10.1080/07359681003745097.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurz, T., Gardner, B., Verplanken, B., & Abraham, C. (2015). Habitual behaviors or patterns of practice? Explaining and changing repetitive climate-relevant actions. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 6(1), 113–128. doi:10.1002/wcc.327.Google Scholar
Lamb-Books, B. (2016). Angry abolitionists and the rhetoric of slavery: Moral emotions in social movements. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lamb-Books, B. (2017). Emotions and emergence in Sociology: The critical-realist alternative. Retrieved from http://criticalrealismnetwork.org/2017/03/08/emotions-and-emergence-in-sociology-the-critical-realist-alternative/CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leca, B., & Naccache, P. (2016). A critical realist approach to institutional entrepreneurship. Organization, 13(5), 627–651. doi:10.1177/1350508406067007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F., Avolio, B., Walumbwa, F., & Li, W. (2005). The psychological capital of Chinese workers: Exploring the relationship with performance. Management and Organization Review, 1(2), 247–269. doi:10.1111/j.1740-8784.2005.00011.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F., Avolio, B. J., Avey, J. B., & Norman, S. M. (2007). Psychological capital: Measurement and relationship with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 60(3), 541–572. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00083.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luthans, F., Norman, S. M., Avolio, B. J., & Avey, J. B. (2008). The mediating role of psychological capital in the supportive organizational climate–employee performance relationship. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29(2), 219–238. doi:10.1002/job.507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lykken, D., & Tellegen, A. (1996). Happiness is a stochastic phenomenon. Psychological Science, 7, 186–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyubomirsky, S. (2007). The how of happiness: A practical approach to getting the life you want. London, UK: Pistkus.Google Scholar
Lyobomirsky, S., Sheldon, K., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111–131. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGhee, P., & Grant, P. (2017). Applying critical realism in spirituality at work research. Management Research Review, 40(8), 845–869. doi:ttps://doi.org/10.1108/.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLean, E. R., Smits, S. J., & Tanner, J. R. (1996). The importance of salary on job and career attitudes of information systems professionals. Information and Management, 30, 291–299CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Michel, J. W., Tews, M. J., & Allen, D. G. (2019). Fun in the workplace: A review and expanded theoretical perspective. Human Resource Management Review, 29(1), 98–110. doi:10.1016/j.hrmr.2018.03.001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mingers, J. (2015). Helping business schools engage with real problems: The contribution of critical realism and systems thinking. European Journal of Operational Research, 242(1), 316–331. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2014.10.058.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, R. L., & Owler, K. (2018). Relishing competence or avoiding the stretch assignment? Gender differences in what makes employees “love” work. New Zealand Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(1), 3–24. Retrieved from http://www.nzjhrm.org.nzGoogle Scholar
Newton, T., Deetz, S., & Reed, M. (2011). Responses to social constructionism. Organization Studies, 32(1), 7–26. doi:10.1177/0170840610394289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owler, K., & Morrison, R. L. (2012). A place to be me, a place to belong: Defining fun at work in a New Zealand call-centre. New Zealand Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(1), 22–33. Retrieved from http://www.nzjhrm.org.nzGoogle Scholar
Owler, K., & Morrison, R. L. (2015). What makes work enjoyable and motivating for learning advisors in Aotearoa-New Zealand? Journal of the Association of Tertiary Learning Advisors Australia and New Zealand (ATLAANZ), 1(1), 1–33.Google Scholar
Owler, K., Morrison, R. M., & Plester, B. (2010). Does fun work? The complexity of promoting fun at work. Journal of Management & Organization, 16(3), 338–352. doi:10.1017/S1833367200002005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, C. (1991). Meaning and measurement of explanatory style. Psychological Inquiry, 2, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plester, B. (2009). Crossing the line: Boundaries of workplace humour and fun. Employee Relations, 31(6), 584–599. doi:10.1108/01425450910991749.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plester, B., Cooper-Thomas, H. D., & Winquist, J. (2015). The fun paradox. Employee Relations, 37(3), 380–398. doi:10.1108/ER-04-2013-0037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plester, B., & Hutchison, A. (2016). Fun times: The relationship between fun and workplace engagement. Employee Relations, 38(3), 332–350. doi:10.1108/ER-03-2014-0027.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pryor, M. G., Singleton, L. P., Taneja, S., & Humphreys, J. H. (2010). Workplace fun and its correlates: A conceptual inquiry. International Journal of Management, 27(2), 294–302.Google Scholar
Pykett, J., Jones, R., & Whitehead, M. (Eds.). (2016). Psychological governance and public policy : Governing the mind, brain and behaviour. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redman, T., & Mathews, B. (2002). Managing services: Should we be having fun? The Service Industries Journal, 22(3), 51–62. doi:10.1080/714005085.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schaufeli, W., Salanova, M., Gonzalellez-Roma, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness, 3, 71–92. doi:10.1023/A:1015630930326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheier, M. F., & Carber, C. S. (1993). On the power of positive thinking: The benefits of being optimistic. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2, 26–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seligman, M. (2006). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. New York, NY: Vintage Books.Google Scholar
Smits, S. J., Tanner, J. R., & McLenn, E. R. (1995). Herzberg revisited: The impact of salary on the job and career attitudes of I/S professionals. New York, NY: Paper presented at the ACM SIGCPR.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope: You can get there from here. New York, NY: Free Press.Google Scholar
Tang, J., Liu, M.-S., & Liu, W.-B. (2017). How workplace fun influences employees’ performance: The role of person-organization value congruence. Social Behavior and Personality, 45(11), 1787–1802. doi:10.2224/sbp.6240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tellegen, A., Lykken, D., Bouchard, T., Wilcos, K., Segal, N., & Rich, S. (1988). Personality similarity in twins reared apart and together. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1031–1039.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tews, M. J., Michel, J., Xu, S., & Drost, A. J. (2015). Workplace fun matters…but what else? Employee Relations, 37(2), 248–267. doi:10.1108/ER-10-2013-0152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tews, M. J., Michel, J. W., & Allen, D. G. (2014). Fun and friends: The impact of workplace fun and constituent attachment on turnover in a hospitality context. Human Relations, 67(8), 923–946. doi:10.1177/0018726713508143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tews, M. J., Michel, J. W., & Bartlett, A. (2012). The fundamental role of workplace fun in applicant attraction. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 19(1), 105–114. doi:10.1177/1548051811431828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tews, M. J., Michel, J. W., & Noe, R. A. (2017). Does fun promote learning? The relationship between fun in the workplace and informal learning. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 98, 46–55. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2016.09.006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tews, M. J., Michel, J. W., & Stafford, K. (2013). Does fun pay? The impact of workplace fun on employee turnover and performance. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 54(4), 370–382. doi:10.1177/1938965513505355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsaur, S.-H., Hsu, F.-S., & Lin, H. (2019) Workplace fun and work engagement in tourism and hospitality: The role of psychological capital. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 81, 131-140 doi:10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.03.016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vito, L. D., Brown, A., Bannister, B., Cianci, M., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2016). Employee motivation based on the hierarchy of needs, expectancy and the two-factor theories applied with higher education employees. International Journal of Advances in Management, Economics and Entrepreneurship, 3(1), 20–32.Google Scholar
Vorhies, V., Davis, K., Frounfelker, R., & Kaiser, S. (2012). Applying social and cultural capital frameworks: Understanding employment perspectives of transition age youth with serious mental health conditions. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 39(3), 257–270. doi:10.1007/s11414-012-9274-2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wandeler, C. A., Marques, S. C., & Lopez, S. J. (2016). Hope at work. In Oades, L. G., Steger, M., Delle Fave, A., & Passmore, J. (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of positivity and strengths-based approaches at work (pp. 48–59). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Wanous, J. P., Reichers, A. E., & Hudy, M. J. (1997). Overall job satisfaction: How good are single-item measures? Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(2), 247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asw.2016.11.001CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warren, S., & Fineman, S. (2007). ‘Don't get me wrong, it's fun here, but …’: Ambivalence and paradox in a ‘fun’ work environment. In Westwood, R. & Rhodes, C. (Eds.), Humour, work & organisation (pp. 92–112). London, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar