Can Work Be Fun?

Bree Groff’s book Today Was Fun explores how maximizing joy at work leads to a team culture that fosters intentionality, care, and courtesy.

Given Bree Groff’s resume — senior advisor at global consultancy SYPartners whose former clients include C-suite executives at Alphabet, Calvin Klein, Microsoft, NBCUniversal, Pfizer, and Target — it’s no surprise that she decided to write a book. Her working title was the same as her popular Substack newsletter: What Work Should Be. “It felt simple and profound to me, but ultimately lacked a little pizzazz,” she told Convene over email. In the end, she landed on the zippier Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously).

Although her book addresses workplace engagement head-on, Groff rejects the idea of making the “business case for joy” and thinks companies should instead make the human case for business. “I try to succeed in the world as it exists, even as I attempt to change it,” she said. “Have I sold the business case for [investing in] purpose and culture 10,000 times? Yes. It’s fine because it’s true. It’s fine because it wins the work and we can then go about making employees’ lives better. But do I like it? No. I’ve done it because no matter how senior the client is — even if they’re the CEO — they also feel the pressure to show ROI.”

Thankfully, many organizations Groff has worked with in her role as a consultant have been willing to shift their values given the right push. “Once we’re going, usually the clients and I share a perspective on what really matters. For example, I worked with Melisa Goldie — one of my all-time favorite clients — when she was the CMO of Calvin Klein. I remember her telling me, ‘Bree, we need more joy!’ and she meant it. She did not say, ‘We need more engagement so people will work weekends!’”

Bree Groff

Today Was Fun makes a unique — and urgent — case for adding more joy to the daily grind of business culture. “Understandably, consulting will often lag thought leadership. It’s in my writing that I can push the conversation a bit further and try to change the discourse around why we should care about employee engagement. I’m working to normalize companies caring about their people simply because they care about their people, and not because they’re trying to optimize their human resources,” Groff said.

Whether you’re in the job market, already have your so-called dream job, or you’re plugging away at a just-for-now job, you can follow Groff’s recommendations to experience more joy at work.

Find a Cozy Teammate

Groff coined the term “cozy team” to describe colleagues who prioritize each other’s psychological safety the same way they look out for their own mental well-being. “There’s this feeling of safety, of comfort, of ease — no matter what kind of blizzard is going on outside. The organization can be toxic, the market can be terrible, but if you can create the conditions for coziness at your local team level, you’re still having good days. You’ve protected yourselves from the elements.” The benefits of having even one “cozy” teammate go well beyond having a work bestie: feeling safe and seen enough to bring your whole self to work means increased creativity and trust. A cozy team will also accomplish more than a loosely affiliated one. “There’s knowledge of and appreciation for each person’s strengths — and the space, trust, and support for each person to be at their best. Like a team of sled dogs, if one person needs help, the others pull more weight,” Groff said.

Thin-Slice Your Joy

Years ago, before Today Was Fun was even an idea in her head, Groff landed on the concept of “thin-slicing” moments of joy during particularly tough times. She was sitting in the back of a taxi in New York City on a dreary February day, heading to the hospital to visit her terminally ill mother. Nothing was going right in her life that day, but then she noticed daffodils sprouting through the grass outside the car window. The unconscious reminder of spring was enough to fill her with joy, despite the circumstances, and she realized that in that single moment that things were fine.

“I’ve used thin-slicing nearly daily since that first moment in the taxi. Not because every day has been rough and I’ve needed to thin-slice my joy to find any at all, but because it’s also a strategy for appreciating more of the good — even on already great days,” Groff told Convene.

Check in With Kindred Spirits

Another easy-to-implement tactic from Today Was Fun is Groff’s daily check-in ritual, where team members hold up anywhere from zero to five fingers to signal how they’re feeling at the moment. The idea is to have a quick poll at the beginning of the day or as the kickoff to a longer meeting so that the leader can meet the team where they’re at. A daily check-in is also a great way for team members to connect with each other to get a sense of who might need a little extra time or space. “It’s the highest impact-to-effort ratio of any team practice I’ve ever shared,” Groff said. “The trick is that you have to get over the awkwardness of it (it’s essentially a formal way of asking ‘How are you?’ and then really listening) and you have to do it consistently. If you can do that, it pays dividends in fun, camaraderie, and psychological safety.”

Adopt Intentionality, Care, and Courtesy as Behavioral Norms

Although some workplace norms can feel stifling, Groff sees value in considering the reasoning behind the rituals. “For all my huffing and puffing about how performative professionalism manifests, there’s a lot about the original intent of workplace norms that’s worth preserving. While I dislike the business casual work uniform for the way it creates conformity, there’s a sweet notion of ‘I prepared for you’ that’s at the heart of dressing for work,” Groff said.

Along the same lines, preserving healthy boundaries with colleagues is ultimately about courtesy. “Although I am a big fan of friendship at work, the norm of not sharing TMI or asking personal questions is also born out of a respect for other people’s comfort. Work relationships are just human relationships with a paycheck involved, and therefore, the same rules of kindness, respect, care, give/take apply.” In other words, the extra layer of formality that distinguishes a workplace from our homes is about meeting a commonly held definition of courtesy.

“What I’m advocating for is that we expand our definition of what ‘I prepared for you’ or ‘I respect your comfort’ looks like,” Groff said. “Delivering thoughtful, brilliant work — even in stretchy pants — is also preparing for someone. Sharing laughs and friendship at work is another way of making someone feel comfortable.”

Kate Mulcrone is Convene’s digital managing editor.