Lego Nuts

The Absurdity of Playing Legos at Work: When Work Becomes a Farce

Let’s talk about something that’s been creeping into the corporate world lately—a bizarre phenomenon that seems to be gaining traction under the guise of "team building" and "creativity." Yes, I’m talking about the absurdity of playing with Legos at work. Now, I don’t know about you, but the idea that grown adults are being encouraged to take a day off to build little plastic structures and then have serious discussions about what they’ve created is, frankly, nuts. Work is work. It’s about tasks, deadlines, and getting things done. Creativity has its place, sure, but does that place really involve toys?

When Playtime Becomes Mandatory

Imagine this: the same people you struggle through meetings with every day—now imagine sitting in a group therapy session with them. Only instead of talking through problems, you’re all playing with Legos. Sounds fun, right? Wrong. It’s the kind of corporate nonsense that makes you question what’s happened to the serious business world we once knew. And here’s the kicker—this isn’t just some fringe activity; it’s a booming industry in itself. There’s even some pseudo-brain science being tossed around to justify it, talking about how it engages the frontal cortex and the limbic system. But let’s be real—it’s just not true.

Over 100,000 people have been forced into this nonsense at work, with no option to opt out. Yes, you heard that right. This has become so big that there’s even a schism within the community—old believers and new believers who can’t stand each other, each accusing the other of selling snake oil. If you’ve ever seen Life of Brian, it’s like the Judean People's Front versus the People's Front of Judea. And they really do hate each other.

The Madness of Corporate “Creativity”

But it doesn’t stop at Legos. There’s also something called “Six Thinking Hats,” where you wear different colored hats and role-play based on the color. Consultants will try to convince you it’s transformative, but look at the participants—they don’t look happy. They look miserable. And who can blame them? Another gem is passing tennis balls around like some sort of fire brigade. Then there’s massively multiplayer thumb wrestling. I kid you not—this is being done in companies across the country.

This is all part of a much larger, almost religious movement called Agile, which has swept the corporate world in the last decade. Originally, Agile was a one-page manifesto created by 17 software gurus who wanted to write software faster. It worked for that, and that’s where it should have stayed. But no—now we have Agile lawyers, Agile marketers, Agile sales teams. It’s like the blob—it just keeps growing and swallowing everything in its path.

The Rise and Fall of Agile

The problem with Agile is that it doesn’t work. Almost all Agile implementations fail, and when they do, it’s the employees who suffer. They’re the ones who get fired or who quit because they can’t stand the madness anymore. Some companies even use Agile as a tool to push out older workers. They can’t fire you for being over 50, but they can tell you, “Sorry, you’re just not Agile enough.”

IBM is putting 300,000 people through Agile training. GE is doing the same with Lean Startup training. Why? Because these companies are terrified. They feel like they’re facing an existential threat from Silicon Valley, and they think copying the disruptors is the only way to survive. Never mind that none of the original creators of Agile envisioned it being used this way.

The Corporate Experiment

We’re in an age of corporate experimentation, where companies try new things just to see what sticks. It’s all one big behavioral psychology experiment, and we’re the lab rats. Even the originators of these ideologies are often quacks, and what’s worse, the implementation is left to people who are far removed from the original concept.

Now, there’s a hybrid model where Agile meets Lean, and they call it a "scrum-ban." If that sounds confusing, it’s because it is. The result is a workplace where nothing is stable, everything keeps changing, and eventually, people just leave because they can’t take it anymore.

The Robotification of Work

This brings me to a favorite quote from 60 years ago: “The risk of the future is that we may become robots.” That’s exactly what’s happening. Even during these ridiculous Lego sessions, you’re being told to be a good robot—play with the Legos, don’t complain, just fit into the Agile machinery. There’s a power dynamic at play here too, one that reinforces control and compliance under the guise of creativity.

In the end, what we’re seeing is the absurdity of corporate culture run amok, where serious business is being replaced by child’s play and gimmicky ideologies. And let’s be honest—this isn’t about fostering creativity. It’s about control, fear of disruption, and a desperate attempt to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. But at what cost?