Eliminating fun and positive workplace rituals is a self-defeating strategy; the piece shows how joy, hack weeks, and slack time actually boost morale, knowledge sharing, and business outcomes, contrary to toxic leadership.
Mike Funley argues that treating workplace joy as a distraction is a strategic mistake. He points to recent toxic leadership moves and shows that eradicating fun creates misery without delivering better results. The core insight is that positive culture is not a waste of time but an engine for sustainable performance.
He recounts the origins of hack weeks, bootcamps, and 20% slack time in the mid-2000s, explaining they were designed to stretch headcount, create new edges in relationship graphs, and spread knowledge. Those practices still generate serendipitous product ideas and organizational efficiency when applied with the right intent, rather than as mere gimmicks.
Fun and DE&I are presented as moral imperatives that also serve business goals. By allowing engineers to pursue joyful projects, teams build trust, share expertise, and stay motivated, which directly supports higher-quality output and retention of under-represented talent.
Fun-depriving policies, like the misguided belief that any positive activity wastes time, ultimately harm morale and increase burnout. Fun is a lever for winning, not a precondition; removing it erodes the very foundation of a high-performing tech workforce.
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