Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.

Colleen C. Barrett, long associated with Southwest Airlines’ people-first culture, is frequently quoted in business and leadership settings for emphasizing attitude and workplace morale. This line is typically presented as a succinct expression of the company’s ethos: that employees can experience demanding work as energizing when they approach it with the right mindset and when the organization supports a positive culture. The quote circulates widely in management talks, corporate training materials, and motivational compilations connected to Southwest’s reputation for humor and service, but it is often reproduced without a clear indication of the specific speech, interview, or publication in which Barrett originally said it.

Barrett frames work not as inherently joyful or miserable but as an experience shaped by mindset. By reducing the choice to “fun” versus “drudgery,” she highlights the power of attitude—both individual and cultural—to transform routine tasks into meaningful, even enjoyable, activity. The final sentence, “I like fun,” adds a personal, disarming directness that signals a leadership stance: levity is not frivolous but strategic, sustaining energy, resilience, and better service. In a broader organizational sense, the quote implies that leaders can design environments where positive attitudes are modeled, rewarded, and made contagious.