I contacted the Academy about the mismatch between what we’re doing in the research on establishing the Happiness in the Workplace Awards and my experience as their consultant – that the job was not meeting expectations.
In Danish there’s a word ‘Arbejdsglæde’ meaning the joy and satisfaction an employee can achieve in carrying out their work. I can’t think of a word in English. Anyway – to cut it short – I’m happy to say that we had an ‘aha!’ moment.
But I’m not a whistle-blower – there’s no way I’d go public on this. Mutual trust and loyalty are part of the contract between employer and employee, embedded in employment legislation.
I put my glad rags on and went to the Tivoli yesterday. Obviously a visual sociologist’s paradise. I got lots of material, including photos of the Tivoli Boys Guards with guns and uniforms parading through the gardens, and film of men who paid to hit a piece of metal with a sledgehammer that shot another piece of metal to the bell at the top. I felt bad for them when the bell didn’t ring.
I did a couple of time and motion studies – one of rubbish collection and another on the carousel. Comparative studies provide rigour. I have a study lined up in Christiania for tomorrow – of the tourist guide (the Danish one to ensure I don’t understand a word). Laban is famous for dance and community choirs, but he studied the movements of workers in the munitions factories during the war to help management understand how labour could be productive. Christiania was originally an abandoned military installation.
I’ve realised I worked eight hours overtime at the Tivoli. Did they know that would happen when they said a day off to enjoy myself was a good idea?
I met someone here the other day who was part of the Christiania theatre company Solvognen. In 1974 seventy of them formed a Santa Claus Army, committing good deeds and invading a store to give away books to children. They were arrested. The store said it was the best publicity they'd ever had. He's now a bus driver and an artist. He has a Tivoli season ticket so that he can walk through there each day on his commute to work. Recently he was involved in an action about Guantanamo, all of them in orange, black hoods and singing Amazing Grace.
I also met Henrik who's a painter who likes Picasso. But I’m running out of space so I’ll tell you about him tomorrow.
I’ve found a supply of handy bags in the DIY store used for herbs and medicine I think. I’ll use those to encourage feedback at Tuesday's exhibition. Positive thinking is very important in Utopia, so I've decided to get one bottle of wine and one (large) bag of crisps for the private view. If no one comes I will feast on the leftovers as I pack to leave the next day.
