Taking the fun out of work

Here's a cartoon and commentary from Shamus Young about Activision CEO Bobby Kotick's pledge that "We're going to take the fun out of making games." Young says:

I think most people understand that part of running a creative business is making sure your creative people are happy. Actually that's good advice for any business, but creative ones in particular. Most other businesses are trying to figure out ways to take their boring, tedious jobs and make them more fun. People are more likely to put up with low pay and crap hours if they feel like their work is rewarding and that people appreciate it. But even if you're a magnificent imbecile and you don't comprehend the relationship between morale and productivity, what exactly is there to be gained by removing fun from a job? This sort of hyperbole is funny when it's coming out of the mouth of a Dilbert character, but it's really disturbing to realize this is a very powerful man talking about making people unhappy. On purpose. For no damn reason.

If it was fun, they wouldn't call it "work," right?  Actually, it's to everyone's advantage - shareholders, management, customers, and employees - that people have fun at work. It's particularly shocking to hear the CEO of a game company express the reverse opinion, but it's true everywhere. This is an incredible insult to the employees of Activision, don't you think? How would you like to hear this from your boss? How motivating would that be?

In fact, a lot of people do enjoy their jobs. They might enjoy the socializing with co-workers or the feeling of doing a good job, being respected by their boss, or just being part of something that's important. You don't have to be unhappy to be professional. The fact is, managers would be far better off trying to put the fun into their businesses, not taking it out.