“Is fun even a value?”

Last summer, I was in a facilitation training and the instructor asked about values in the workplace.

I’m preparing for some big changes in my work this summer, and these questions are as alive to me as ever.

The questions from the session stayed with me through a long, sweaty commute home: Why is that value important to you? How do you live that value? How would you feel if that value was stepped on at work?

In the session, I had been grateful that a colleague volunteered to give an example. I had drawn a blank (and, to be honest, felt a bit embarrassed about not having a long list of firmly-held values rush to mind).

But as the streetcar rumbled along, the word "fun" floated into my mind.

I chewed on the idea for a bit. Is fun even a value?

Drawing as reflecting

When I got home, I started drawing out the conversation I'd had with myself.

If I value fun, especially at work, what does that say about me? Does that mean I don't take my work seriously or I'm not willing to work hard?

If I'm truly honest, I do try to live the value of fun everyday. And if it was stepped on or unappreciated in my work, I'd probably quit.

As I sketched ideas, the combative side of my brain was quick to conjure images of awful team building events and sad office birthday celebrations. Even as a fun-valuing, connection-craving person, these moments make me shudder.

And yet, when I think about the kind of fun that I value, I'm not thinking about annual events. Fun is broader and perhaps deeper than that. It is an orientation to life that embraces playfulness and connection.

By the time I finished my comic, I had settled into my answer.