Back to: PLAYIFY Your Working Life
Transcript
How to Unleash the Playfulness
Having tackled play resistance, you’re ready to step it up a notch and fully embrace playfulness in your working life. Here’s how you can take it to the next level:\
1. Maximise the Value of Play Sessions -Debrief
After each play session, ask reflective questions about how it felt, what participants observed, how it relates to work, and what they learned. This helps the group connect the dots and extract valuable lessons from the activity.
2. Incorporate Playful Rituals
Introduce routines like a “joke of the day,” a weekly Pictionary challenge, or a meme competition that anyone who wants can join.
3. Design Playful Spaces:
Create areas, physical spaces that signal play is welcome, such as cozy corners, brainstorming zones with whiteboards, or a game room for quick breaks. Encourage creativity by displaying art, doodles, or outputs from team play activities.
4. Gamify Tasks
For example, use a spinning wheel to decide who will run the next meeting. Celebrate wins – Use badges or do something silly to celebrate milestones, like gaining 100 new users or meeting a deadline.
5. Utilise Breaks for Play
Have playful pauses by using breaks for quick, playful activities. These micro-moments can energise the day or a meeting.
6. Host Playful Events
Invite experts to run workshops on improv, storytelling, or creative thinking. Organise events like themed costume parties to promote team bonding and create lasting memories.
7. Foster an Inclusive Play Environment:
Embrace different types of play to cater to various tastes, such as physical games, puzzles, art, storytelling, or simply sharing a good laugh.
Remember, unleashing play in the workplace isn’t about turning it into a circus. It’s about creating an environment where people feel comfortable, engaged, and motivated. Implementing these strategies, you can help create a vibrant, playful atmosphere that enhances creativity, collaboration, and overall job satisfaction.