Expert Perspective

Work/Life: April Fool's--One Day Of Idiocy Is Simply Not Enough

BY Tom Stern | 03-31-2008 | 8:45 PM

This article is written by a member of our expert contributor community.

Apparently it is very difficult to trace the origins of April Fool’s Day, although several theories abound. The most popular involves the switch to the Gregorian calendar in the 1500’s, in which holdouts who insisted upon honoring the old Julian calendar (which had its new year in the week culminating in the first of April) had practical jokes played upon them. Days set aside for foolery go back to the Middle Ages, and some say this day evolved from the Saturnalia, a Roman winter festival in which ridiculous behavior was encouraged, including the election of a mock king for the day. Now, there’s an idea for a workplace team-building exercise.
Anyone seeking work/life harmony knows the importance of cutting loose and behaving foolishly. It’s a great tonic, it keeps things in perspective, and it often allows you to stick your finger up your nose when you otherwise might decide not to do so. Those of us with kids know how they can be silly at the drop of a hat; we also know how much fun it is to join them in the sheer joy of making growling noises while on all fours with a stuffed animal clenched between your teeth. Hm. Perhaps that was too much information.
In any case, the issue here is that somehow human society got into the habit of setting aside one single day on which to act out of the ordinary in some way. On Valentine’s Day, we are meant to take a break from our hectic schedules and remind the person we love how much we care. Halloween is the day to play dress up and honor the spirit world. Thanksgiving is the day to be thankful, and so on. Someone usually points out that of course we should be thankful or loving 365 days a year, and some are able to, but maybe we can slip into complacency because we have these days set aside and can simply stand by and wait for them to come around again. Think about Black History Month, another commemoration that only serves to point up that any block of time other than “constantly” can call attention to the shortcomings of the system.
Well, it’s not enough, I say! And April Fool’s is the perfect day to drive that point home. Why limit lunatic behavior to one day? Why, one source claims that our Fool’s Day may have roots in India’s festival of Holi, during which celebrants throw tinted powders at each other. How about that at the next quarterly performance review? Still another European tradition found servants swapping places with their masters for 24 hours. That sounds like a great idea to encourage that “outside the box” thinking the higher-ups are always blabbing on about. Nothing keeps us in balance like a good step back to give us some distance on our own supposed importance. And, if we’re all going to stay sane and healthy while we’re trying to out-achieve our competitors, we need a lot more than one day to honor our inner idiot.