Ah, the trendy workplace. The place engagement is measured in beanbag density and the variety of foosball tables per sq. metre. Welcome to the phantasm manufacturing unit.
I name it The Foosball Fallacy—the misguided notion that plonking down a couple of shiny toys within the nook of your open-plan workplace will by some means spark genuine worker engagement.
You’ve heard the logic:
“Let’s make work enjoyable! We’ll add a video games room and a cereal bar. Individuals love cereal.”
What you get as a substitute is superficial fluff. A office that appears like a startup, feels like a pinball arcade, and nonetheless has an engagement rating flatter than your final quarterly evaluation.
Then comes The Beanbag Phantasm, which is even cosier. Fairly actually.
It’s the assumption that offering consolation—softer lighting, versatile seating, and sure, beanbags—interprets into significant tradition. However right here’s the factor:
Consolation isn’t tradition. You possibly can’t outsource goal to inside design.
Staff don’t keep as a result of they’re well-fed and barely reclined. They keep once they really feel valued. Once they can develop. Once they have autonomy. Mastery. Goal. (Sure, you’ve met RAMP. It’s best to actually name them extra typically.)
These illusions persist as a result of they’re straightforward. Shopping for a beanbag is less complicated than constructing a suggestions tradition. Putting in a foosball desk is faster than teaching line managers on belief.
However they’re additionally empty energy. Momentary boosts with zero dietary worth.
If you would like actual engagement, ditch the gimmicks and get critical about what drives individuals. Not perks. Not ping pong. Individuals.
