Work Should Be Fun, Not Just Productive | Bree Groff

7 snips

Aug 5, 2025

Bree Groff, a former partner at SYPartners and author of 'Today Was Fun', advocates for a workplace where joy supersedes productivity. She argues that many work-related stresses are self-imposed and challenges the idea that professionalism stifles creativity. Bree emphasizes the need for 'cozy teams' that foster trust and camaraderie, alongside building systems that encourage emotional well-being. She also advocates for reshaping work KPIs to include fun and asserts that enjoying work can lead to better outcomes.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Purpose Misused to Justify Burnout

Organizational purpose can be misused to justify burnout by overvaluing output over employee experience.
Employees contribute a large portion of their lives, so their daily work experience deserves priority.

ANECDOTE

From Joyful School Days to Stressful Consulting

Bree's parents made work seem fun; her mom a teacher and dad a principal enjoying their days.
Moving into consulting, she found many stressed and unhappy, contrasting her childhood experience.

INSIGHT

Why Fun Over Lofty Words

Fun is accessible, visceral, and easy to identify, unlike lofty concepts like joy or meaning.
Fun at work is about daily experience, like laughing, not just output or purpose-derived significance.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Bree Groff’s new book, Today Was Fun, pushes the reset button on expectations about work. There is no reason work can’t be fun. About half of the things that make it un-fun are self-inflicted—we can just stop doing them. Take off the serious-people costume. Stop all performative work. Take a nap that is for you, not just to recharge for more work. Stop suppressing emotions. Have fun with work friends, and keep work in its place—a good part of life, but not your whole life.

Bree Groff is a former partner at SYPartners and a transformation expert who helps organizations lead through change. With a background in systems thinking and behavioral science, she works at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and culture.

In this episode, Bree and Dart discuss:
- Why most transformation efforts fail
- The role of rituals in driving behavior change
- What leaders often get wrong about resistance
- Why relationships matter more than strategy
- How to build “cozy teams” and why that matters
- Designing systems that reinforce cultural shifts
- The emotional and ethical case for fun at work
- Why professionalism often kills creativity
- How to know if it’s time to leave your job
- What it means to “shoot straight with love”
- What Bree means by putting “laughing” on your KPIs
- And other topics…

Bree Groff is a transformation expert who helps leaders and organizations navigate complex change. A partner at SYPartners, she works at the intersection of strategy, culture, and human behavior, bringing together systems thinking, design, and behavioral science to shape workplaces that actually work for people. She’s also the author of Today Was Fun, a book that rethinks our relationship with work and makes the case for putting joy and humanity at the center of it. Bree is a frequent speaker on the future of work and teaches graduate courses on innovation and organizational change at Northwestern University.

Resources Mentioned:

Today Was Fun: A Book About Work (Seriously), by Bree Groff: https://www.amazon.com/Today-Was-Fun-About-Seriously/dp/1774585596

Connect with Bree:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bree-groff/
Website: https://www.breegroff.com/home

Work with Dart:
Dart is the CEO and co-founder of the work design firm 11fold. Build work that makes employees feel alive, connected to their work, and focused on what’s most important to the business. Book a call at 11fold.com.