WORK DAZE: Is Your Boss Playing With You? | Trade union

Am I right, or am I right?

When your boss calls you into his office, you never know what to expect.

Bob Goldman was an advertising executive at a Fortune 500 company. Offer a virtual shoulder to cry on at bob@bgplanning.com.

The boss might be angry. The boss might be laughing. The head could be crying, sleeping or singing. These and dozens of other examples of unexpected boss behavior are all possible, all but one: the boss could be playing with Legos.

“Why More Companies Are Putting Lego Bricks in the Office” is the title of a recent article by Daryl Austin in The Wall Street Journal. According to Austin’s report, companies are bringing Lego products into the office because it “helps with creativity, anxiety and communication.”

I can see the creativity aspect, and maybe even the communication part, as in “I always thought you had the brain of a 6-year-old, and now I sure do.” As for reducing anxiety, no way. Seeing an executive sitting at his desk playing with toys would surely make one question the competence of senior management. What happens next: A board meeting in a bounce house? Followed immediately by birthday cake and bankruptcy?

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(Of course, you could also argue that using Legos to build miniature beach houses and tiny Teslas would prevent your boss from engaging in potentially far more disruptive behavior, such as trying to use his tiny brain to make decisions business.)

One company that has benefited from putting Legos in the C-suite is Lego A/S. The Danish company that manufactures and markets the little pimp blocks even has a special division to promote corporate block building parties. It’s called Lego Serious Play — LSP to your friends. And LSP has many friends.

There are more than 13,000 certified LSP “facilitators” who conduct “training workshops (that) cost between $500 and $5,000, range from two hours to two days, and can involve a handful of employees or many dozens.”

Well worth the money, I think. If someone can’t learn to play with Legos after two days of $5,000 training, they should be fired. Or Promoted: Such a clueless manager is clearly the kind of leader every company needs.

One of the ways enlightened bosses use Lego in the office is to ask employees to “address concerns or aspirations of the company by first building a small Lego model from a handful of bricks and then describing what they built and why.”

This is an excellent way to draw out an employee’s true feelings when they may be hesitant to speak up. Building a colorful Lego pitchfork or a small Lego electric chair can suggest that an employee is not 100% sure about the future of the company or their own.

If you thought only the odd small business would integrate Legos into their corporate life, you’ll be surprised to learn that corporate giants like Microsoft, Visa, and Google have been playing with Legos, as has the US Naval Warfare Division, though I guess. the Navy would prefer water toys, such as Waddle Bobbers and Squirties. Take these admirals into a bathtub, and who knows what might happen!

Personally, I think playing with toys has a place in corporate life. I’m not sure Legos are the right choice. How about giving each manager a bunch of Transformers? A toy that transforms from a car into a mindless automaton perfectly demonstrates what most companies want their employees to become: a bunch of well-trained robots.

Alternatively, if the stress of today’s business environment is causing employees to feel on edge, think of all the counseling hours that could be avoided if the Human Resources Department distributed stuffed Squishmallows to all team members to grab during hectic staff meetings. A classic 46-inch Bozo Bop bag would also come in handy, teaching employees how to bounce back when their best ideas are unceremoniously shot down. The downside to this toy is that if someone asks for a Bozo, a manager will appear.

And let’s not forget Play-Doh. The gooey, gooey stuff can do more than make flowers, cookies, and unicorns. During difficult days at the office, employees can calm down by taking Xanax fake lashes. It’s much easier than getting a prescription and also cheaper than the real thing, so the company’s health insurance might pay for it.

Of course, if a company insists on using Legos, I recommend the Lego Minecraft game, in which players must fight hostile mobs and avoid hidden traps while desperately trying to blindly navigate a treacherous, multi-level battlefield.

If that’s not exactly what it’s like to work at your company, I don’t know what is.

Bob Goldman was an advertising executive at a Fortune 500 company. Offer a virtual shoulder to cry on at bob@bgplanning.com.

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