Of course it does not turn it into North Korea. For one thing, leaving North Korea is difficult, changing jobs is not. And nobody is starving.
But this "have fun! have fun!" attitude is not healthy at all. As others mentioned, it triggers unhealthy psychological mechanisms. (Or, said simply: raises the bullshit meter.)
I truly feel sorry for people who have this little sense of humor, and am glad that we haven't had much of that reaction (e.g. taking at all, even mildly seriously) to the signs and The Zone.
Forcing your sense of humor on your subordinates creates an unhealthy atmosphere. (My reaction would have been different if he had not been a top manager in the company.)
He didn't force anything. I did this. He asked for a zone, I put it up the day of that interview. The writer took artistic license, which I'm fine with - I liked the article.
When people see the zone for the first time, they laugh. People like funny things. People at LinkedIn like to laugh. Laughing is not compulsory, just incredibly common - and I have to say it sure feels healthy.
It's a suggestion. I'm fairly confident they would not get away with firing someone who did not give a high-five after walking through the box. That would never hold up in court. Some people overreact to rather benign issues.
Comments
Of course it does not turn it into North Korea. For one thing, leaving North Korea is difficult, changing jobs is not. And nobody is starving.
But this "have fun! have fun!" attitude is not healthy at all. As others mentioned, it triggers unhealthy psychological mechanisms. (Or, said simply: raises the bullshit meter.)
I truly feel sorry for people who have this little sense of humor, and am glad that we haven't had much of that reaction (e.g. taking at all, even mildly seriously) to the signs and The Zone.
Taking the High Five Zone seriously is like taking seriously a sign in the mens bathroom proclaiming "Please follow the International Choice of Urinal Protocol" (c.f. http://blog.xkcd.com/2009/09/02/urinal-protocol-vulnerabilit... ).
Forcing your sense of humor on your subordinates creates an unhealthy atmosphere. (My reaction would have been different if he had not been a top manager in the company.)
He didn't force anything. I did this. He asked for a zone, I put it up the day of that interview. The writer took artistic license, which I'm fine with - I liked the article.
So your reaction can become different now.
When people see the zone for the first time, they laugh. People like funny things. People at LinkedIn like to laugh. Laughing is not compulsory, just incredibly common - and I have to say it sure feels healthy.
What makes me laugh is the stuff that people post on their LinkedIn pages. I've never seen so much peacock strutting anywhere.
It's a suggestion. I'm fairly confident they would not get away with firing someone who did not give a high-five after walking through the box. That would never hold up in court. Some people overreact to rather benign issues.