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Article
Publication date: 28 June 2024

Barbara Plester and Rhiannon Lloyd

Hybrid work is changing modern conceptions of work as workers move between their office space and alternate spaces such as a home office. Social aspects of work are therefore also…

484

Abstract

Purpose

Hybrid work is changing modern conceptions of work as workers move between their office space and alternate spaces such as a home office. Social aspects of work are therefore also changing, and this study aims to explore the implications arising for workplace fun when workspaces become dispersed.

Design/methodology/approach

We undertook ethnographic research into two different companies to explore in depth the concept of fun at work and how it is being adapted for hybrid work. Data were collected through full immersion into both companies and gathered using mixed qualitative methods comprising semi-structured interviews, participant observations and evidence from organizational online platforms. A structured coding system was used in the analysis with an interpretive approach.

Findings

Our themes include (1) artefacts, (2) organizing fun and space and (3) loss of fun and these provide the underpinning for our theoretical contribution.

Research limitations/implications

We had limited access to online channels and identified opportunities for future research to explore fun in online platforms including chat functions, meme, gifs and other places where workplace fun may be enacted.

Practical implications

Work has changed for workers and managers, and this impacts fun which needs to adapt to hybrid work models.

Social implications

Hybrid work is changing workplace social interactions, particularly, for fun and play. We depict how workers navigate the changing context of work and the significance of emerging elements of workplace fun and the implications for fun cultures.

Originality/value

Our contribution is in a re-theorization of workplace fun arguing that sharing and supporting the creation and promotion of fun among workers at all levels offers new opportunities for organizations that value a fun culture. Our theorization of workplace fun shows its adaptation to new hybrid work contexts that deemphasize co-location and physical presence. We outline the significance of artefacts and depict the variability of workplace fun in hybrid work.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 46 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 12 February 2018

Elena Obushenkova, Barbara Plester and Nigel Haworth

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how company-provided smartphones and user-device attachment influence the psychological contract between employees and managers in…

1899

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how company-provided smartphones and user-device attachment influence the psychological contract between employees and managers in terms of connectivity expectations and outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using qualitative semi-structured interviews with 28 participants from four organizations.

Findings

The study showed that when organizations provide smartphones to their employees, the smartphones become a part of the manager-employee relationship through user-device attachment and this can change connectivity expectations for both employees and managers.

Research limitations/implications

Due to participant numbers, these findings may not be generalizable to all employees and managers who receive company smartphones. However, the authors have important implications for theory. The smartphone influence on the psychological climate and its role as a signal for workplace expectations suggest that mobile information and communication technology devices must be considered in psychological contract formation, development, change and breach.

Practical implications

The perceived expectations can lead to hyper-connectivity which can have a number of negative performance and health outcomes such as technostress, burnout, absenteeism and work-life conflict.

Social implications

Smartphone usage and user-device attachment have the potential to redefine human relations by encouraging and normalizing hyper-connected relationships.

Originality/value

This study makes an original contribution to psychological contract theory by showing that smartphones and attachment to these devices create perceived expectations to stay connected to work and create negative outcomes, especially for managers.

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Article
Publication date: 23 April 2024

Raewyn Lesley Hills, Deborah Levy and Barbara Plester

Meetings with colleagues are an essential activity in workplace collaboration. The iterative nature of collaborative work demands spaces that team members can access quickly and…

112

Abstract

Purpose

Meetings with colleagues are an essential activity in workplace collaboration. The iterative nature of collaborative work demands spaces that team members can access quickly and easily. Creating suitable meeting spaces will become more critical if the hybrid work model continues and the workplace environment becomes the hub for face-to-face collaborative time, learning and training. Workspace and fit-out is expensive so it is crucial that the investment in meeting spaces supports employees’ collaboration activities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a case study of a corporate organisation undertaken in New Zealand to investigate how employees from two business units use their workspace to collaborate within their own team and across other teams in their organisation. The study uses ethnographic techniques, including participant observation and in-depth face-to-face interviews.

Findings

The findings show that the frequency and nature of small group work in collaboration was underestimated in the initial planning of the new workspace. Although participants found the design and fit-out of the formal meeting rooms supportive of collaborative work, the meeting rooms were in high demand, and it was difficult to find a room at short notice. The breakout spaces were confusing because they lacked key design attributes identified by the participants as conducive to small group work. Design shortfalls together with fit-out features perceived as supportive of collaborative work are identified.

Originality/value

The research reports on employees’ perceptions and experiences across two functionally diverse business units, reflecting their different needs and concerns.

Details

Property Management, vol. 42 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

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Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Barbara Plester and Ann Hutchison

The idea of workplace fun seems positive, straightforward and simple but emerging research suggests a surprising complexity and ambiguity to this concept. Drawing on recent…

9492

Abstract

Purpose

The idea of workplace fun seems positive, straightforward and simple but emerging research suggests a surprising complexity and ambiguity to this concept. Drawing on recent literature and empirical data, the purpose of this paper is to use three different forms of workplace fun: managed, organic and task fun to examine the relationship between fun and workplace engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an ethnographic approach, the qualitative data originated from four different New Zealand organizations, within different industries. Organizations included a law firm, a financial institution, an information technology company and a utility services provider. Data for this study were collected from semi-structured interviews with a range of participants in each company. In total 59 interviews were conducted with approximately 15 originating from each of the four organizations. One full-time month was spent within each company experiencing the everyday life and behaviours at all levels of each organization. The specific focus of the research is organizational culture and humour and during analysis findings emerged that linked to engagement, fun, disengagement and the concept of flow.

Findings

This paper offers exploratory findings that suggest some specific connections between the concepts of fun and engagement. Empirical connections between these concepts are not currently apparent in either engagement or fun research, yet the data suggest some firm associations between them. The exploratory findings suggest that some forms of workplace fun offer individual employees a refreshing break which creates positive affect. Participants perceive that such affect results in greater workplace and task engagement. Additionally the data show that some people experience their work tasks as a form of fun and the authors link this to a specific form of engagement known as “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975; Moneta, 2010). The authors suggest an organizational-level effect, where workplace fun creates enjoyment which stimulates greater overall engagement with the team, unit or organization itself. Conversely the data also suggest that for some people managed or organic fun (see Plester et al., 2015) creates distraction, disharmony or dissonance that disrupts their flow and can foster disengagement.

Practical implications

The ambiguity and complexity in the relationship between these concepts is an emerging topic for research that offers a variety of implications for scholars and practitioners of HRM and organizational behaviour. The authors contend that workplace fun potentially offers practitioners opportunities for fostering a climate of high engagement which may include most employees and thus create additional workplace benefits. Additionally through highlighting employee reactions to different types of fun we suggest ways of avoiding employee disengagement, disharmony and cynicism and the associated negative effects.

Originality/value

The concept of fun is not empirically linked with current engagement research and the authors assert that workplace fun is an important driver of employee engagement. The authors identity engagement at the individual task level and further extend engagement research by emphasizing that fun has the potential to create engagement at the team, unit or organizational level. These differing levels of engagement have not thus far been differentiated in the extant literature.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 7 April 2015

Barbara Plester, Helena Cooper-Thomas and Joanne Winquist

Fun means different things to different people and the purpose of this paper is to attempt to answer the question “what is fun at work?”. Given that perceptions of fun differ…

5613

Abstract

Purpose

Fun means different things to different people and the purpose of this paper is to attempt to answer the question “what is fun at work?”. Given that perceptions of fun differ among people, the answer is that a pluralistic concept of fun best captures different notions of what constitutes fun at work.

Design/methodology/approach

The research combines two separate studies. The first is an in-depth ethnographic project involving interviews, participant observations and document collection investigating fun and humour in four different New Zealand companies. The second study extends findings from the first by specifically asking participants to reply to survey questions asking “what is fun at work?”.

Findings

Currently fun is described in a variety of ways by researchers using different descriptors for similar concepts. Combining current conceptions of fun with the own research the authors categorize the complex notion of workplace fun into three clear categories: organic, managed and task fun. This tripartite conception of fun combines and extends current models of fun and collates earlier findings into a synthesized model of fun. The investigation found that fun is ambiguous and paradoxical which creates issues for both managers and employees. The authors recognize fun as a multifaceted concept and use paradox theory and the concept of flow to theorize the multilateral fun framework.

Practical implications

The authors find significant implications for managers in regards to creating and fostering fun in the organizational context. Differing perceptions of fun may result in misunderstandings that can negatively impact morale and workplace relationships. A wider conceptualization of fun offers potential for more harmonious and productive workplaces and creates a greater tolerance for competing and paradoxical perceptions of fun.

Originality/value

Current literature on workplace fun uses a variety of descriptors of fun and emphasizes a duality between managed and organic forms of fun. In suggesting a new term “task fun” the authors synthesize earlier conceptions of fun to create an integrated model of fun. The model clearly outlines three overlapping yet paradoxical categories of fun.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 37 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 2 October 2009

Barbara Plester

This paper aims to present exploratory, empirical data from an ethnographic study into workplace humour and fun. It explores the notion that workplace humour and fun are…

10183

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present exploratory, empirical data from an ethnographic study into workplace humour and fun. It explores the notion that workplace humour and fun are influenced by the creation of boundaries that either enable or constrain activities.

Design/methodology/approach

Qualitative data were gathered from four New Zealand companies within different industries. Mixed methods were used and included semi‐structured interviews, participant observation and document collection.

Findings

The findings suggest that organisational culture is influential in boundary creation. In three formal companies, boundaries for humour and fun activities were narrower, and this constrained humour activities. In an informal company, wider boundaries resulted in humour activities that were unrestrained which created an unusual and idiosyncratic company identity.

Research limitations/implications

It would be useful to replicate this exploratory research in different workplace sectors and environments.

Originality/value

Boundaries constructed through social processes are assuming greater importance in modern organisations. However, research has not investigated boundaries around workplace humour and fun. Understanding boundaries may assist work groups when creating (and promoting) fun. This original research considers both managerial and employee concerns, and findings extend theory on workplace fun and humour.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 2 October 2009

Sharon C. Bolton and Maeve Houlihan

This extended editorial to the Special Issue “Are we having fun yet? A consideration of workplace fun and engagement” aims to review the current debates on organised “fun at work”…

19932

Abstract

Purpose

This extended editorial to the Special Issue “Are we having fun yet? A consideration of workplace fun and engagement” aims to review the current debates on organised “fun at work” and to suggest a framework for understanding workplace fun and employee engagement. The papers included in the Special Issue are also to be introduced.

Design/methodology/approach

The editorial review asks for an approach that offers a critical appraisal and sets the latest move towards fun at work within the context of the material realties of work.

Findings

A review of contemporary debates on fun at work reveals a predominantly prescriptive focus on attempts to engage employees through fun activities that oversimplifies the human dynamism involved in the employment relationship. The editorial suggests that we need to consider the motivations, processes and outcomes of managed fun at work initiatives and to consider employees' reactions in terms of “shades of engagement” that detail how people variously engage, enjoy, endure, or escape managed fun.

Research limitations/implications

The suggested framework for understanding workplace fun and employee engagement offers opportunities for empirical testing.

Practical implications

Understanding workplace fun and the work that it does, and does not do, offers opportunities to improve relationships between employees and between employees and the organisation.

Originality/value

The editorial and Special Issue overall offers an important contribution to the ongoing fun at work and employee engagement debate and opens up avenues for further exploration and discussion.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 31 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

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Article
Publication date: 18 October 2018

Katerina Georganta and Anthony Montgomery

During the last years, workplace fun has emerged as a potential indicator of a healthy workplace. Congruently, organisations have become interested in enhancing positive…

1277

Abstract

Purpose

During the last years, workplace fun has emerged as a potential indicator of a healthy workplace. Congruently, organisations have become interested in enhancing positive experiences at work, such as joy in the workplace. While such trends have resulted in a growing literature on fun in the workplace, humour and play, academics and practitioners are still uncertain as to the nature of fun and its antecedents. The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of fun in the modern organisation and understand the underlying elements necessary for creating environments that valorise and promote fun.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted semi-structured individual interviews with open-ended questions with 34 employed individuals from a variety of professions. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

The analyses revealed organised fun as a distinct type of workplace fun that can have a significant impact through its social support function and psychological safety as the underlying element for promoting healthy positive fun interactions. The culture of the organisation and management attitudes towards fun emerged as key issues in promoting a fun workplace.

Originality/value

Organised fun emerged as a new type of workplace fun. The relational characteristic of fun and its function as a social support method are discussed. The study has delineated the contextual factors that should be addressed by researchers when studying workplace fun.

Details

Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5648

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 2016

Maria Kmita and Lynnette Mawhinney

With particular reference to qualitative humor research, this paper aims to look at fieldwork from a new angle. The purpose of this paper is to address humor research foci by…

267

Abstract

Purpose

With particular reference to qualitative humor research, this paper aims to look at fieldwork from a new angle. The purpose of this paper is to address humor research foci by completing a fusion autoethnographic analysis of how lead author used humor to interact with the participants. This analysis outlines the two examples of joke-ability; specifically self-deprecating humor and more generally attempts to blend in.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper draws on fusion autoethnography where Author 2 actively worked to help Author 1 push deeper into her use of humor and its historical context within her life. This created a dialogue to deepen the self-analysis on Author 1’s humor methodology.

Findings

The use of humor, by humor researchers, may be of particular importance if the researched groups, society, or nation values humor in both formal and informal contexts. Researcher’s humor can be a spontaneous and dynamic way of learning and engaging with the researched environment.

Originality/value

This paper aims to be a starting point for the discussion about the understudied issues of place and role of the use of humor by a humor researcher, and the challenges of conducting humor research within an educational context. The innovative fusion autoethnographic analysis helps to reflect upon researcher’s role and behavior. The study contributes to humor research methodology by exploring the effects of researcher’s use of humor on both the researcher-participant relationship and the data.

Details

Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

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