Friendly workplaces make labor days easier

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More than a century has passed since the first Labor Day celebration in New York in 1882, and Americans remain fascinated with the mysteries of the workplace.

Should it be home away from home, impersonal fortress, torture chamber or amusement park? The workplace can be any or all these things, depending on which expert is doing the talking.

Some advocate the cuddly, chatty workplace.

"For a long time, the impersonal work ethic has been seen as essential to the success of Western business organization," said Jeffrey Sanchez-Burk, a University of Michigan psychologist who said a friendly workplace increases productivity.

Workers, he contends, should bring their emotions to the office, get cozy and thus become attuned to the nuances of communications.

"It's difficult to accept that staying on task may actually be a barrier to productivity in today's global environment," he continued, citing business practices in South Korea, Japan and Latin America, which place a premium on personal relationships between workers, bosses and clients.

Mr. Sanchez-Burk's research specifically cites the South Korean tradition of chaebol, or "company familialism," and simpatia, the Mexican custom of displaying charm, hospitality and graciousness -- particularly on the job.

These qualities are absent in the American workplace, he said, blaming "Protestant relational ideology," which, he said, discourages emotional entanglements on company time.

But the concept of a "friendly" workplace has become a political term as well.