{"id":53634,"date":"2022-05-19T10:58:01","date_gmt":"2022-05-19T14:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=53634"},"modified":"2022-05-19T15:33:54","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T19:33:54","slug":"play-at-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/play-at-work\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Power of Play at Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know that \u201call work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.\u201d But, for centuries there have been businesses that don\u2019t much care if Jack is dull, so long as he gets his work done and profit is made. Now, though, there is greater awareness of the power of play at work. Jack (or Jill, for that matter) doesn\u2019t need to be dull any longer!<\/p>\n

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There are those that will trace the \u201cwork is work\u201d mentality back to the Puritans and their diligent work ethic. Protestants came to the Americas and emphasized the importance of hard work, discipline, frugality. These were not the type of people who were going to have virtual happy hours or play trivia together on Slack.<\/p>\n

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Yet today, the power of play at work is better understood by businesses. This series will discuss the benefits of incorporating play at work, offer practical examples of how to do so, and conclude with challenges and cautions. First, let\u2019s turn to the research on why play is so important at work.<\/p>\n

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What is play at work?<\/h2>\n

We\u2019re not talking about building a sandbox or giving work colleagues finger paints (at least not yet, that may be in part two\u2026 just wait for it!). Generally, play among children and adults is different. Of course, we can count on social scientists somewhere to have defined exactly how.<\/p>\n

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In Perspectives on Psychological Science<\/a><\/em>, Meredith Van Vleet and Brooke Feeney conclude that\u00a0adult play<\/a>\u00a0consists of the following:<\/p>\n

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