Commitment to play creates rich working experience
By Kristina Mahoney, 8/7/05
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ILLUSTRATION/EMMANUEL KERNER |
After years of working as a preschool teacher, I became the office manager for a unique New England company. I wanted to explore life beyond the classroom and the play yard. My experience was very different from what I imagined a typical day at the office would be for most grown-ups. In fact, I found preschool and life at this business to be quite similar. My first clue was when my co-workers were introduced as "big kids" and it was no joke.
Our office building was an old fraternity house, which once belonged to a local university. Each day, the company's technology manager could not resist sliding down the banister, which was the centerpiece of the old frat house. Fortunately, most of his dismounts were successful and painless. Being a former teacher, I wanted to yell out, "No sliding on the banister!" But, I thought, why? Instead, I played the role of Olympic judge and rated each landing. It was fun.
During my third week, one of my co-workers pointed out the best place to stand and yell to get the coolest echo. This certainly came in handy one day, when I had to quickly find out who ordered 650 cases of potato chips.
Of course, there were the crank calls to the front desk with the random complaints about miscellaneous items found in our product. I had to treat each call with professionalism and sincerity, even though I knew the callers were sitting two floors above me. Their snickering usually gave them away - the same way it did with the children I use to teach. Instead of giving them a "time out," I laughed.
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Occasionally, during lunch, an employee would take a nap under the table, while others sat and ate around him. Nobody gave it too much thought. He was up late. He needed to refuel. When I was teaching, the kids took a nap every afternoon.
We had weekly and monthly celebrations. But unlike most offices, we never had your typical baby shower or birthday cake. We had special days like "Pork Wednesdays," when everyone signed up to bring in a pork dish for a potluck lunch.
We also had a "cube-crawl" rather than a pub-crawl. After work, employees went from cubicle to cubicle and sampled drinks. There was a martini lounge in the art department. The guys in the logistics department provided apple pie shots. Upside down margaritas in marketing. Imported wine from accounts payable. It was the most creative fun adults could even imagine.
Other perks included extremely casual dress displayed by flip-flops and shorts in the winter, dogs at the office, tricycle races, pie eating contests during staff meetings, listening to U2 and Kid Rock at your desk, and office golf. Our events, themes, and business philosophy generated the same kind of energy one would find within the walls of a preschool classroom, which any good teacher knows can be cultivated into productivity. My employers cleverly tapped into a resource forgotten by many adults in the working world.
In addition, this was the first time I worked directly with men. Teaching preschool is a typically female dominated profession. As a teacher, I was aware of gender roles in the classroom. I was less aware of gender differences in the workplace. In general, the men I worked with were very laid back. If the guys had a problem with another guy, they addressed it. Once the problem was resolved, it was dropped. They resumed joking around with each other and never looked back.
When I was teaching, the women were very rarely direct. Instead, the problem was gossiped about at length and feelings were easily hurt. At the office, I found the easygoing nature of the guys caused me to relax more during work hours. When I was more relaxed, I was less critical. When I was less critical, I learned more. It was the same kind of learning I tried to foster in my pupils.
If my company and my job sound amazing, they were. I often laughed so hard at work it was hard for me to believe someone was paying me. The soul of this incredible business was the people I worked with every Monday through Friday. It was there that I witnessed the greatest kindness among adults. One male co-worker helped me search, on his hands and knees, for a lost and very beloved earring. Others were eager to share chips and candy. We helped to organize events for charity, including one of the best parties I've been to since college.
As an adult, I often assumed we outgrew kindness. I was wrong. Some of us fell in love. Some even got married. Our appreciation of one another was never defined by our job titles.
Unfortunately, the doors to our company eventually closed and we lost our jobs. Not because we goofed around too much, just the opposite. We were so successful that we were purchased. Our owners made millions of dollars.
All of which got me thinking: The very principles nurtured in preschool can be applied to a business and make you very rich, in more ways than one. You can have a very rich life, regardless of whether you are wearing short pants in the sandbox or your favorite shorts to your job at the office. Life is about rich experiences at any age.
LIFE AT WORK:
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