# Cake Day and Other Jokes By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-12-03 Many well-intentioned individuals want to build a strong culture of organizational comradery. Typically, these individuals work within Human Resources, but this only sometimes holds. These individuals could be the CEO, administrative assistant, project manager, or anyone with some level of organizational influence. These individuals desire to build a "good" company culture where people enjoy themselves and each other. So, they organize activities such as forced social gatherings via company parties, team-building events, and shared meals. The core belief is that gathering socially will encourage individuals to treat and work better with each other. However, even if these hours are deemed "fun" and generate new shared experiences, they rarely result in cultural or organizational changes. There are many reasons for this, but the primary one is these activities are not part of the daily work. Does one feel better about rolling a boulder up a hill if, once a quarter, one gets to stop for 60 minutes to eat some cake with their colleagues? No, the work is still the work. Short breaks for "social fun," while well-intentioned, are shallow understandings of organizational, human, and work realities. Organizational drudgery and culture do not change with a holiday party, cake day, or laser tag. These only bandage the problem. The bigger problem is that no one feels empowered or comfortable speaking the truth, as almost every organization always demands positive emotional labor. Put on a happy face, be a member of the team, and have fun damn it! Then, after the fun, get back in line. Those boulders don't roll themselves, but remember Cake Day? Only 364 more days until we do it again for 30 minutes. What a joke. #### Related Items [[Culture]] [[Work]] [[Organization]] [[Society]] [[Reflection]] [[Enjoyment]]