Departmental Honors Thesis Proposal

An Examination of the Unanticipated Outcomes of Having a Fun Organizational Culture

Victoria Baltz

Fall 2017
Research Question

Are there unanticipated negative outcomes from having a fun organizational culture?

Scope of Thesis

When a person is looking for a place to start or advance their career, it is important to assess his

or her fit within the organizational culture. As a system of shared values or expectations among

a group of employees, organizational culture creates a sense of direction for social norms inside

the office (Robbins and Judge 528-530). The organizational culture helps identify a companys

unique traits to help it stand out against competitors (Robbins and Judge 529-530). Companies

use this competitive advantage as a source for recruiting talented employees. Since jobseekers

have easy access to modern day testimonies of a companys workplace environment, thanks to

online blogs and sites such as Glassdoor Inc., organizations are looking for innovative ways to

improve their organizational culture in order have good public relations, and to attract and retain

talented employees.

Starting about twenty years ago, peoples expectations of their workplace began to

change as people wanted their workplace to share their own values. More traditional workplaces

had less of a humanistic approach to their business decisions regarding the environment and their

employees. Businesses are now faced with the challenge to be conscious of their choices to

ensure they are nurturing employees souls (Neal 28). Some companies, especially startups, have

shifted some of their attention toward using culture as means to address employee satisfaction

(Migration 1). With this decision to go the extra mile for their employees, many companies have

created a fun organizational culture. For example, some companies have established unique

perks such as nap rooms, on site dentists, and Olympic sized pools (Miller A3). These unique

perks are to keep employees excited about their job, but the material perks are not the only
factors that define the fun culture. A fun work culture is also constructed by the shared values

and beliefs of the people within the company, including social norms. These fun work

environments boost morale as the culture encourages a work family setting. The team work

atmosphere encourages a sense of belonging through social, not solo, activities (Owler,

Morrison, and Plester 339). These fun culture companies project a friendly work environment

that most people dream of one-day becoming employed at, but as these companies receive praise

for their innovative thinking, one has to wonder if there are any unanticipated negative outcomes

that could arise from these fun organizational work cultures.

Fun organizational work culture is not defined by the companys size or budget. Not

every fun company can afford a basketball court or personal masseuse, but that does not mean

the company culture cannot be defined as fun. Leaders in fun corporate cultures see their

employees as humans with goals and aspirations and not simply contributors to the companys

success. Leaders in fun cultures do more than have general employee appreciation days. In fact,

they make sure their employees personal needs are met in order to keep a motivated workplace

(Haasen and Shea 51). However, companies that invest in a fun organizational culture, typically

attract to outsiders because of the unique work culture projected by its employees. Despite all

this attractiveness, having a fun organizational culture may have unanticipated negative

outcomes. This project will investigate three areas likely adversely affected by having a fun

organization: work-life balance, productivity, and employee relations.

Work-life balance is a tremendous issue for many modern-day employees. As companies

demand more from their employees, companies may need to cover up the fact that employees are

not able to regularly participate in everyday life, such as grocery shopping, getting their car oil

changed, or attending to family responsibilities (Chambliss 37). Although these fun work
cultures create a nice break to the average work environment, this type of culture has not been

well researched.

Productivity may become an issue as employees in a fun culture as some employees may

spend too much time enjoying some of the perks provided by the company to relax or reduce the

stress of employees. These employee perks may create an environment that is too relaxing to

stimulate a motivated return to work. Just because an employee produces product A and B does

not mean he/she did not have time to produce product C. Studies have shown that a fun work

environment can increase work productivity (Ford, Newstrom, and McLaughlin 117), but these

reports are only looking at the end result and not the process. Too much fun may lead to lost

productivity or inefficiencies. Fun organizational culture may have its perks, but with a closer

examination of the expectations and outcomes of this culture, these highly desired companies

may lose their sparkle.

Employee relations are also affected by organizational culture. A fun organizational

culture encourages employees participating in activities together. Being a part of the team at

work seems exciting to most people, but these fun, cool work environments may not always

encourage healthy socialization. Work cultures tend to be political, especially for those with

higher positions within the company (Pascale). Much like the political culture within

corporations, these fun work cultures could encourage cliques among peers. Every culture has

subcultures, but these fun cultures may encourage an atmosphere that is mainly for the cool kids,

this type of culture, may be full of fun seeking individuals, but this lack of diversity may

discourage innovation.
Method

This research will be conducted through case studies, practitioner reports, and academic

research of fun organizational company culture. Through business connections, interviews will

be conducted with managers and employees from companies who identify as a fun work culture.

This research will use human subjects, so IRB approval is needed before conducting any

interviews. IRB will need to identify if any interview questions could potentially adversely affect

the interview subjects. Practitioner reports will provide unique perspectives of the fun work

culture, as examples of management theories are represented. Academic research will provide

clarity of definitions and stronger understandings of the research being conducted. The positive

side of the fun organizational culture will be examined, but there will be a deeper analysis of the

negative outcomes that could arise. Work-life balance, productivity, and employee relations will

be examined. The challenge with this thesis is that there has not been a lot of research done on

fun work cultures, both qualitatively and quantitatively. Research must determine fact from

assumptions. This research will provide a review of the nature and function of organizational

culture and more particularly, a critical evaluation of the companies who strive to have strong,

fun work cultures. The final thesis will produce a 40-50 page paper.

References

Chambliss, Lauren. "Longer Hours for US Workers." Evening Standard: 37. May 28 1998.
ProQuest. Web. 19 Mar. 2017 .

Ford, Robert C., John W. Newstrom, and Frank S. McLaughlin. "Making Workplace Fun More
Functional." Industrial and Commercial Training, vol. 36, no. 2, 2004, pp. 117-120,
ProQuest Central

Haasen, Adolf, and Gordon F. Shea. New Corporate Cultures That Motivate. Westport, CT:
Praeger, 2003. Print.

Migration. "Employee-friendly workplace culture a key to company success." The Denver Post.
N.p., 30 Apr. 2016. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
Miller, Claire Cain. Silicon Valley: Perks for Some Worker, Struggle for Parents. The New
York Times. The New York Times, 7 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

Neal, C. (1999). A conscious change in the workplace. The Journal for Quality and
Participation, 22(2), 27-30.

Owler, Kathryn, Rachel Morrison, and Barbara Plester. "Does Fun Work? The Complexity of
Promoting Fun at Work." Journal of Management & Organization 16.3 (2010): 338-52.
Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Pascale, Richard. The Paradox of Corporate Culture: Reconciling Ourselves to Socialization.

California Management Review, Vol. 27 No. 2, Winter 1985: 26-41. Web 13 Mar. 2017.

Robbins, Stephen P., and Timothy A. Judge. "Organizational Culture." Organizational Behavior.
17th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2017. 528-50. Pearson. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.