Innovation #2 When work becomes play, and play becomes work
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WeWork Euljiro
This is second in a series of articles on companies with innovative work cultures. — ED.
By Yun Suh-young
We’ve heard the phrase “work hard, play hard” which refers to working hard in the office and playing hard during off-hours.
But what if work becomes play and play becomes work? What if the boundaries between the two are so blurred that it is hard to tell what is work and what is play? What if work is so much fun that you can’t wait to get to work when you wake up Monday morning?
If there’s one company in the world that collectively celebrates the start of the week, it’s WeWork.
Grateful
At WeWork, employees celebrate the beginning of Monday every week in an internal event called “Thank God It’s Monday!”
It is that grateful and exciting to be at work for WeWork employees, so much so that they publicly share their thanks to God and to each other.
“We share the good news within the company, any compliments we have to say about each other, and the company’s vision every Monday, eating delicious food,” says Kim Soo-jin, director of community at WeWork Seoul. The co-working space opened its second office in the city, Feb. 2, in Euljiro, central Seoul, six months after opening its first in Gangnam, southern Seoul, Aug. 1.
“The company recognizes the employees’ achievements and even applauds those efforts that didn’t pan out. This makes employees feel as if they’re respected and valued in the company. And this happens globally. It can be small things such as ‘I found so-and-so working hard until late at night and because of that person we were able to do such-and-such.’”
WeWork community managers greet members at the front lobby of WeWork Euljiro.
Authentic
In fact, the minute anyone steps into a WeWork office, they will get an indescribable vibe — a positive one — that’s unique to the company. The vibe is consistent throughout any WeWork space across the world.
When asked what it means to “feel like WeWork,” Matthew Shampine, Asia Pacific managing director of WeWork, said, “I can’t put it into words. It’s just the vibe. The energy is part of what makes it feel special.”
It sure feels special. There’s something that’s hard to detect in many other companies— spaces full of energy and excitement. The minute you enter the co-working space, you’re greeted by smiling WeWork staff who seem genuinely happy to be there. They’ll be chatting and laughing with each other, almost constantly, confusing a newcomer as to whether the staff is actually working or slacking off.
“We get that question a lot. Whether we’re working or playing. It looks like we’re playing, but that’s actually part of work,” Kim said.
“It’s when we’re hanging out that great ideas are generated,” she says. “It’s so funny when we’re together. I think most of us come to work just because it’s so much fun to be around each other.”
Together
If that sounds surprising, wait to hear this. They go on trips on the weekends with colleagues, not for mandatory training, but voluntarily, for fun. WeWork staffers say colleagues are more like “friends and family.”
“We’re so close that we often meet after work and even on the weekends. We go on weekend trips together. Sometimes we get short on stamina because we hang out so much together,” said Kim.
“But even when we’re hanging out, we talk about work a lot. We try not to do that, but I guess it’s impossible to suppress because the employees are all so motivated and passionate that we constantly think of ways to make our service better.”
Since WeWork is a company that provides co-working spaces, it is home to 90,000 “members” — companies or individuals — to which they provide access to necessary services and equipment related to running a business or working individually. The company currently has 115 offices in 35 cities.
Many of the WeWork staff in Korea are “community managers” which is a position that oversees the WeWork community consisting of various memberships.
“Why people are more successful at WeWork is because you’re more likely to do something in terms of helping someone else — if they’re your friend. It’s all about the relationships with everyone,” says Shampine.
“It’s awesome that some of my friends work for or at WeWork and they celebrate their birthday parties in their office. The way relationships work is the way business works.”
The way WeWork works is to befriend everyone. The staff become friends not only with each other, but also with their members. That’s why twice a year the company brings all of their employees across the world to Los Angeles to “hang out.” The number is between 1,500 to 1,600 employees, and including members who join the event, sometimes it reaches up to 2,000.
“The point is to really hang out. We don’t work while we’re there. There are workshops from time to time, but we really have fun the whole day. Last year, the company rented the entire Universal Studios!” said Kim.
Members work inside WeWork's newly opened office in Euljiro, central Seoul. / Courtesy of WeWork
Entrepreneurial
Other than this collective “fun,” a reason why the employees at WeWork enjoy working there is because of the autonomy and empowerment given to them.
“The people who work here receive satisfaction from work itself, rather than peripheral incentives such as welfare. Rather than taking more holidays and being paid more, employees here want work they can enjoy and grow into. And the company encourages that,” said Kim.
“If someone wants to open a branch in Malaysia, for instance, they can volunteer and the company will approve. All opportunities are open and employees can take advantage of that.”
Kim, who previously worked at a big local corporation, said WeWork was “the most horizontal organization” she has ever experienced.
“We are not limited by authority here, unlike in many Korean companies. Each of us can work like entrepreneurs as if it’s their own company. That’s why there’s no boundaries between the work we share. Everyone helps out everyone. So the speed of things getting done is fast because collaboration is so effective,” she said.
Inspired
Since everyone is aligned with the mission of the company and the speed of growth of the organization is rapid, there is no room for competition or role demarcation, she says.
“People here really believe in the mission of the company, which is why they join. When I first read the company’s mission, I immediately thought this was where I wanted to work. Now that I’m here, I realized the company is really faithful to its mission,”said Kim.
The company has the catchphrase “Do what you love” on all of their cups and coasters, which is more or less their mission statement.
“We really try to help our members and companies in what they’re doing. To do that, we have an open dialogue (with the staff) to make sure it’s an environment where everyone is empowered to be able to do that,” says Shampine.
He said a worldwide trend he sees is that people “want to do something where they feel as if there’s meaning.”
“Even for an employee at a big company, they want to feel whatever they’re doing has some sort of impact. If you enable someone to do that, they’re going to do their best work.”