Health Care Management 2019 Style: Are We Having Fun Yet?

Abstract

Something important seems to have been lost that once made adversity in the health care workplace tolerable or even enjoyable. Many of the same tasks that used to be surrounded by fun no longer have that aura. This article explores eight structural factors that collectively explain why health care managers report having much less fun at work recently. It suggests redefining what having fun at work means in the first instance and proposes a new conception focused on pursuing worthwhile health care goals. Health care managers should abandon many former notions of fun, let fun evolve from the work itself, and trust staff members to determine what they consider to be fun at work.