Work is a massive part of our lives. It takes up our energy, our time, and in many ways, shapes our identity. So if we’re going to spend so much of our lives doing something, why not make it something we genuinely enjoy?

At Human, one of our core values is “Enjoy the ride.” It sounds lighthearted, and in many ways, it is. But beneath the surface, this value has profound implications for how we build software, how we communicate, and how we function as a team.

Step One: What, Where, Who

What

The first step in enjoying the ride is pretty straightforward: find work that actually interests you. For me, that’s building software. I thank my lucky stars every day that I don't have to force myself to write emails, or clean excel data, or stand on my feet (no standing desks for me please). This is by far the hardest problem to solve, but when you do find something you love doing, it's actually only the first step. Because the next step is just as important, if not more so.

Where

What I’m building matters. At Human, we’re not just writing code or shipping features; we’re creating tools that genuinely improve people’s health and wellbeing. Being part of something meaningful like that gives me a real sense of purpose.

When I’m excited about the product itself, it changes how I show up. The challenges feel worth tackling because I know the outcome matters. Even when things get messy or complicated, that sense of purpose keeps me motivated.

Building something that I believe in really does turn work from a checklist into a mission, and that’s a big part of what makes the ride enjoyable.

Who

This is the big one. You can love the work and have a great setup, but if you don’t like the people you’re working with, everything feels harder than it needs to. At Human, we’ve managed to create a workplace where we all feel safe to show up as ourselves. We joke around. We ask dumb questions. We admit when we’re stuck, even have disagreements, and we support each other through the chaos. That kind of trust doesn’t just make work more enjoyable, it makes it more effective. Because when things get tough (and they do), you need people you can be real with. No ego, no guessing games, just clear, human conversations.

Enjoyment → Trust → Communication → Team

Here’s the chain reaction I’ve seen over and over again:

• Enjoying the ride means people feel comfortable, relaxed, and like they belong. It means people can laugh together, poke fun at each other, and have non-work conversations without feeling guilty or out of place.
• That comfort builds trust. When I know my team has my back, and that they see me as a whole person, not just a role, I feel safe being vulnerable. I’m not afraid to say “I don’t know,” or “I messed up,” or “This approach isn’t working.”
• That vulnerability leads to authentic communication. And when communication is honest, direct, and unfiltered (but respectful), everything moves faster. We don’t waste time sugarcoating. We don’t misinterpret. We don’t play politics. We just talk like humans.
• That kind of communication creates a great team. One where people feel connected, aligned, and energised. One where big problems are tackled collaboratively instead of individually. One where feedback is shared with the goal of growth, not ego.

Why It Matters Even More at Startups

At a small company like Human, enjoying the ride isn’t optional, it’s essential.

In larger companies there’s often more structure, more buffers, more space to hide behind process. You can have a “bad day,” avoid hard conversations, or go silent for a while without the whole system breaking down.

Startups don’t have that luxury.

When you’re in a small team, every interaction matters. There’s less hierarchy, fewer filters, and everything moves faster, which means misalignment or poor communication shows up immediately in the work. You feel it in product delays, team friction, or just the general vibe.

That’s why at Human, the emphasis is on culture as much as code. If we’re going to move fast, face unknowns, and build ambitious things with limited resources, we need to be able to trust each other completely. That trust starts with a culture where people enjoy working together.

When the road gets bumpy, and it always does at startups, you don’t want a team that’s just “clocking in.” You want a team that’s excited to figure things out together, who can vent and laugh in the same sentence, who can say “this sucks” and still move forward with energy. That’s the team that wins. And more importantly, that’s the team that wants to keep riding together.

Fun Is Not a Distraction, It’s a Strategy

Too many companies treat fun as a Friday perk or an afterthought (a game of ping pong anyone?). But at Human,  fun is a core part of productivity. Why? Because it fuels the team.

Teams that laugh together, celebrate together, and genuinely like each other don’t just work better, they work smarter. They solve problems with more creativity, recover from setbacks faster, and support each other in ways that go beyond just shipping features.

When you’re in a place where you’re allowed to be your full self, where challenges are exciting, not scary, you don’t leave work feeling drained. You leave feeling energised.

Your Role in Enjoying the Ride

Enjoying the ride isn’t just something that happens to you, it’s something you help create.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about this came from my very first software engineering job. It was a classic corporate setup: you clocked in at 8:30am, clocked out at 5pm, and spent the time in between sitting quietly at your desk, writing code in near silence. Lunch usually meant eating a sandwich alone, counting down the hours until it was socially acceptable to leave. Sounds riveting, right?

Then one day, a new product manager named Bill joined the team.

Bill was… different. Loud, constantly cracking dad jokes, and had a habit of holding you in conversation longer than you might have wanted. But every morning, without fail, Bill would stand up and say, “I’m going out for coffee, anyone want to join?” At first, it was just polite nods or awkward refusals. But within a few days, people started saying yes. Within a few weeks, everyone was going.

Something shifted. Suddenly, the same group that sat silently for months was laughing, chatting, and yes, occasionally holding Bill verbally hostage. Bill was 100% himself, and that authenticity made it okay for the rest of us to loosen up and show up more fully, too.

That experience stuck with me. It taught me that energy is contagious. Being yourself genuinely, gives others permission to do the same. And that’s the foundation of any great team culture: people feeling comfortable enough to stop performing, and start connecting.

So if you want to enjoy the ride, don’t wait for someone else to make it enjoyable. Be the person who sets the tone. You never know when your bad jokes and morning coffee runs might be exactly what your team needs.

Enjoy the ride, seriously

Culture isn’t something you plan or enforce, it’s something that emerges. You can’t write it into a document or mandate it from the top. It’s the result of all the little things: how people talk to each other, how they handle pressure, how they show up when things go sideways.

It’s shaped by who’s in the room and how they interact. You bring in a new person, the culture shifts. Someone cracks a joke in a tense moment, and suddenly the room feels lighter. Someone’s honest about a mistake, and now others feel safe doing the same.

That’s why your presence matters more than you think. When you show up with authenticity, curiosity, and a willingness to enjoy the ride, it makes space for others to do the same. And that’s how the kind of culture you want to work in actually takes shape.

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