[ Preview Intro Why play - the benefits P for Profit L for Learning A for Attention Y for You I for Innovation F for Fear buster Y for Yay! What is play Defining play Playification vs Gamification How it works - with a few examples Play & the Brain Learning & memory Attention & engagement You & your team Innovation & creativity Fear busting & bonding Yay factor & endorphin boost How to create a playful culture Why is there play resistance? How to deal with play resistance How to unleash the playfulness Let’s sum it up Play it forward Keep up the playfulness & spread the word Bonus Preview Who it is for What they will get What it is Who I am Think working life could be more rewarding and enjoyable? This course is for people who believe that Creativity, etc Or it is at least open to learn more.. Add value to both your own working life but also your team, your organisation. Understand the befits, such as profit, productivity, increased innovation In this way you will be able to tackle play resistance Understand how our brain juices.. Some examples on activities you could try out with your team. It will help you understand the benefits with play Why they should take the course - who they might be - what is in it for them Answer the question why. Talk to your leaders or your teams. Proven benefits. Understand the theory and science behind it. Tackle play resistance Taking your open team and organisation even further Better pick the right activity What you will learn What is included Who will take you thru this course Through the way you will get examples, extra resources, such as practical tips and instructions. It will also be sprinkled with quizzes to make sure keep feeling engaged and more likely to remember .. better investment of time. Including all those hours we spend a work. So, get ready to dive into a world where joy is your compass, curiosity is your guide, and playfulness is the key that unlocks your hidden potential. Me and my avatar me (who loves a camera a whole lot more) — Looking for a more rewarding working life? If you’re a facilitator, coach, leader or someone simply keen to spark fresh ideas, energise your team and bring joy to your workday.. this course is for you! [dull office] PLAYIFY Your Working Life is a one-hour, self-paced course that weaves solid theory with practical advice you can put to work immediately.. no slippery slides or ping-pong tables required. [playify puzzle] My trusty avatar (who loves the camera far more than I do) will guide you through bite-sized modules covering topics like * the benefits of play at work, * the science behind it, * ways to boost playfulness and overcome resistance. You’ll also get practical tips, links to step-by-step activity instructions, and quick, playful quizzes to lock in what you learn. [Avatar wave or thumb up, talk to the puzzle, the brain bar, boost clip, quiz] By the end, you’ll be able to show managers and sceptics why playfulness deserves a place in your organisation. You’ll walk away with a toolkit of tricks to ignite creativity, deepen team connections and deliver real outcomes.. making everyone's workday more rewarding. [permission slip, toolkit scene, ] Ready to mix a little play into your day and see what happens? Become a Playify member today.. because your work deserves a little ‘Yay! [Join in and play it forward] Intro When creating this course, I reflected on the many teams I’ve worked with in the past. Hindsight being 20 20 and all. The relationship between team health and performance, and openness to play was suddenly pretty obvious. I saw the higher levels of transparency, trust, authenticity and enjoyment in the play friendly culture. Also better flow and quality. And the opposite for teams that were struggling a bit more - the ones with little time or interest in play. But by creating a safer space for people to explore a more playful working life - you can see great shifts in mood and dynamics. This course was aimed to help you, your team and organisation on that journey. We will start off with the main reasons why we should take play seriously - look at real benefits such as profit, productivity and engagement, creativity. How play helps create a culture for positivity and better performance. We will have a quick look at play theory, and what it involves. And then jump into the science of play - check out the brain juices that make creates the magic. We will div in to how different types of play and how the can can help learning, attention, connections, and more, … adding a few examples of activities you could try out yourself. Lastly we had a look at why it might be tricky to get people onboard. Tips on how to try to shift the mindsets and ultimately create a highly playful, enjoyable, and better performing workplace. The course will be sprinkled with quizzes to make sure to keep feeling engaged and also more likely to remember what you learn here. Help you play it forward! [early quick value] Need some inspiration right now, check out resources for some links to some of my favourite games and archive sites. Why play - the benefits P for playify P for profit P for playify and profit P for Profit Let’s start with the Why. Why should we bother trying to add play into our working life? Isn’t it just for kids? Frivolous stuff that takes time from more productive activities at work. Even if there are stacks of studies and evidence of showing the opposite, many organisations and leaders still see play exactly like that. Non-productive. The first thing you cut out of the working day, often when it is needed the most. Because of this, it is important to understand and share the amazing outcomes you can get thru playfulness. And one way to remind you of those benefits is using the acronym PLAYIFY. Starting with P for profit Playfulness is actually a serious driver of profit and productivity. When teams and organisations embrace playfulness, they become more motivated, innovative, and willing to collaborate. It leads to better job satisfaction, and a culture that really attracts great,talented people. For example, looking at the top 100 organsations on list of the Greatplaces to work, they consistently outperform major indexes by a factor of 3. Happier and healthier companies make more money. Researchers have found that companies that were rated as more friendly to their people did better in terms of how much money they made. Not only that, they were also better at things like innovation and creating more patents. So, playfulness creates friendlier organisations with happier employees - Simply put it is a proven strategy to increase profit and productivity. [Investing in Play = good ROI.] CHANGE VIDEO??? L for Learning Through play we're more engaged, curious, and open to absorbing new information. Even back in the day , philosophers like Socrates and Plato, recognized that. They were strong believers that creative play and curiosity were key to learning. And it’s funny, how we can see how this works for kids. Like. how they quickly learn through playing pretend. Playing shop for example - learning about how to interact in a store. But then, we seem to struggle to see how it also applies to us adults. Truth is we get plenty of benefits by learning thru play. Just look at simulation games. Or serious games as we might call them. Not just for future pilots in an actual physical simulator, but also breaking down complex concepts and processes into simulation games. Sometimes using analogies and play thru scenarios. This makes it easier to understand these complex concepts and ideas. See them from a different angle and be able to absorb it in another way. Learning through play also has a unique way of helping what you learned stick. When you're playing, your release brain juices that help store and later on recall what you learned. Which often tends to be the whole purpose with learning right… In short - Play can help you learn quicker and then remember it longer. "Not just for future pilots in an actual physical simulator -- but simulation games can also help break down complex concepts and processes." "You can use analogies and play thru different scenarios." "This makes it easier to understand these complex concepts and ideas.. See them from a different angle... and be able to absorb it in another way. " A for Attention Playfulness is like a magnet for attention and engagement. By mixing in play into different activities, we're not just watching and listening. We are allowed join in and become active participants. I’m sure we all have been in those mind numbing meetings or training sessions, where you really try to keep listening.. But sooner or later your mind wanders to what to cook for dinner or check your emails. Now with more virtual meetings and Zoom fatigue, it is even harder to keep your attention in meetings. According to the Financial review unnecessary meetings cost companies in the US alone over 100 million dollars per year. A big unnecessary expense here is when the meeting itself could have been valuable, but there is simply no way to keep the attention and engagement up. Just wasting peoples time. Here playfulness is a pretty great remedy to stop losing people to all the possible distractions around us. When we play, we grab the focus and keep involvement, making us more invested. We can keep our attention span for longer. So playfulness grabs attention and really boosts engagement. Y for You Ever thought that play could be a mirror to your inner self? Well it can – play activities can bring out insights about your motivations, aspirations, and even your strengths and weaknesses. (cars background) A quick thing you can do to learn about yourself is to simply reflect on what types of games and activities that kind of resonate with you, or not. You can find clues in there about your passions, and preferences. But that's not all – play can also help you understand your team and workmates better. When you play with others, you're kind of peeking into their personalities, get a better idea of how they communicate, and how they handle challenges and more. It's a pretty powerful way to strengthen team dynamics and connections. Play can be a pathway to self-discovery and better team awareness. I for Innovation When we tackle challenges with a playful mindset, we open the door to fresh ideas, unusual solutions, and possibly brand new breakthroughs. In a world like today there the speed of change is constantly increasing… organisations need to be creative to survive and innovative to thrive. Professor Mark Dodgson, whose research has influenced innovation management across the world, has written papers and books on the subject. In "Think Play Do," he talks to how important play is for sparking innovation and creativity at work. That play is actually a key part of how us humans come up with new ideas and solve problems. The main point here being that when we play, we think in new and different ways. Dodgson suggests, and it is very hard not to agree here, that adding a playful touch to our work culture can make a big difference – it helps us come up with fresh ideas, handle change more easily, and create a more exciting and innovative workplace. So, play is not just fun – it's a serious way to boost creativity, think outside the box and be more okay dealing with the unknown. Links https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b4f4450f2e6b178164ff34e/t/5b50c84a352f53b1c1feac5b/1532020916885/%2B+Innovation+and+play.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Dodgson F for Fear buster So play activities make it safer to fail and learn from these failures. It's a space where failure is much easier to see as a way to learn and grow, rather something hugely scary and something that needs to be avoided at all cost. But it can bust fear in other ways too. It is also there to help create bonds and trust. It can change group dynamics. Create Psychological safety. Many of you have heard about the Google study by now. In a nutshell it showed that the key to “high performing teams' 'was the level of psychological safety. Not the creating a team of unicorns , superstars and super heros. Rather simply having an environment where people feel able to speak up — with quirky ideas, questions, or concerns.. even sharing their own mistakes — This without being shut down or punished. A place where you trust and respect each other. Gallup put some numbers to this. As an example, companies with double the number of employees who “strongly agree” that their opinions are important could see a 27% drop in people leaving, a 40% decrease in safety issues, and a 12% boost in productivity. Playfulness is one ingredient to add to build the right environments, increase safety and to bust those fears. LINKS https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/CME/documents/FY22LeadershipDevelopmentProgram/Edmondson-Amy-C.---How-Fearless-Organizations-Succeed.pdf https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?smid=pl-share Linda Ray Y for Yay! And the last one is for Yay! Cause you should never underestimate the value of laughter and silly types of play. There is indeed so much benefit through serious play NOT S. But so does the non-goal oriented type of play as well. The studies behind the book”The Happiness Advantage”, concluded that happiness is the single greatest advantage in the modern business world. Raising sales, productivity, lowering errors and turnover. Still many, hopefully not most, organisations do not realise its potential. A simple thing like laughing together has a great effect.. It helps us relax, destress. It makes it easier to experiment and learn together. Easier to feel safe and share quirky ideas. Feel connected with your workmates. I’m not suggesting that all leadership training should have mandatory clown classes.. But there is definitely an untapped potential here. Making Yay part of your working day and play your way to healthy performing teams, and ending in profit! LINKS https://www.forbes.com/sites/pavelkrapivin/2018/09/17/how-googles-strategy-for-happy-employees-boosts-its-bottom-line/?sh=78bd104d22fc https://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-workplaces?utm_medium=301&utm_source=direct&utm_campaign=/best-companies https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/new_study_shows/ https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/workplace/those-useless-meetings-cost-you-39-000-every-year-20220927-p5bl85 Lego serious play Yay links https://methodsof.com/assessing-work-happiness/ https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Advantage-Principles-Psychology-Performance/dp/0307591549 https://hbr.org/2011/06/the-happiness-dividend What is play Defining play Play theory is a funny thing. Actually a bit hard even to define. Play doesn't fit neatly into a single box – it's more like a mix of different qualities - the thoughts and reasons behind it that makes it play. In his classic book 'Homo Ludens,' the Dutch historian (apologies here to all dutch speakers in advance) Johan Huizinga. Anyway, he summed it up by saying something along the lines of : 'Play is an activity that stands apart from regular life, it shouldn’t be taken too seriously, however it is magic stuff that can fully absorb you. It's not about making money or getting something tangible out of it. It follows its own rules, within its own time and space.' (He also has a crack at defining it another way, into the 5 rules of play) He talks to the vital role that play plays in human culture and society. That humans aren’t just Homo Sapiens, the wise beings, but also Homo Ludens, the playful beings. That play is something deeply rooted in us, an essential part of our existence - how we interact with the world, how we learn, create things, and connect with one another. Playification vs Gamification So let’s start with what I mean by playification. It's a concept that takes the magic of play and kinda weaves it into everyday experiences and working life. Playification is about injecting a sense of play into tasks, interactions, and processes, creating a more engaging and enjoyable environment. Now, you might wonder how playification is different from gamification. Good question! While both share goals, like increasing engagement, they take slightly different paths to get there. Gamification generally involves using game elements, for example points, badges, and leaderboards. This to get a sense of reward and create motivation. It can, and very often is, there for tangible gains, even financial ones ultimately. On the other hand, playification is broader – it's about embracing the spirit of play itself, which can include using humor, creativity, and a sense of adventure to make tasks more interesting. So, whether it's turning a mundane meeting into a creative brainstorming session or physically engaging in activities Each form of playfulness helps creating a more dynamic, engaged, and creative work environment. It is there to make your professional life all the more enjoyable and rewarding. How it works - with a few examples Play & the Brain Okay curious minds! Let’s dive into the realm of neurons and the science behind why play isn't just for kids. To make this theory heavy topic a bit more fun, let’s picture your brain as a cocktail bar, with a few different rooms where we can hang out with our network of friends.. and enjoy a cocktail. Brain juices Let start with the bar where concoctions of brain juices are made to put you in a positive mood. These juices are Neurotransmitters - chemicals that help messages travel between nerve cells.. Neuron. It influences things like our attitude, memory, thoughts and reactions. When we engage in play, we create cocktails of neurotransmitters in our brain. Starting with the first ingredient - Dopamine - Dopamine gives you that fuzzy nice feeling when solve a puzzle, win a game. This one helps you with focus, motivation and confidence. Be aware though, it is somewhat addictive. It’s the ingredient that makes it hard to put Candy crush game down, or stop swiping on the Tinder game. Then we have Endorphins and Serotonin - The Mood Boosters. They can give us a range of positive feelings - from combating stress and depression to what’s called a “Runners high”. We add these through physical activity, but don’t worry. No need to start to train for a marathon just yet. Laughter also does the trick. There are many more neurotransmitters we get out of play, but the last one here is Oxytocin. This is the one that helps us create deep connections, bonds and trust. A key ingredient for psychological safety. We get this one thru play when we are sharing our stories, particularly vulnerable ones. But also through actual physical touch, for example holding hands in an activity. Depending on what kind of play activity get in to, you are likely to produce a mix of these awesome ingredients. The best part is that a play cocktail unlike most others cocktails, doesn’t just make you happier, it makes you remember things longer, makes more focused and smarter, helps with well-being rather than giving you a hangover [Neural network - Neuroplasticity] Now - Think of our networks of neurons in our brain like our network of friends. Imagen when you were a kid you were friends with pretty much everyone. As you grew older you only kept a few of those friends and grew deeper connections with them. (Pruning your connections back) Which is really nice to have those close friends, but now you have less “diverse” input.. mading it harder to be creative and coming up with novel ideas. Play helps both with getting your brain into lateral thinking, checking in with those lost friends. Also, it promotes neuroplasticity, adding both old and brand new friends into the closer group friends. Lastly, let's peek into the brain rooms and what might be happening in there. In the Prefrontal Cortex - Is there the creatives and problem solvers hang out. When play activates this part of the brain we improve creativity, problem-solving, strategic thinking and decision-making. Moving on to the The Hippocampus - this is the nostaglia room with our memory locker. Here we find the memory keepers and storytellers. Play helps this area grow by forming new connections and strengthening old ones. Helping retain and recall information better. Last stop is the The Amygdala - DJ box - this is where your mood is set. Sending out the signals - could beUpbeat happy tunes - or awful, scary sounds to make you freeze or want to leg it out of there, or maybe a chilled out tunes - telling you that it is okay to relax. Play can tone down the stress response of the amygdala, giving you a calmer and cooler outlook. Help you stay in the right chilled tune. So by releasing dopamine, serotonin, endorphins and oxytocin, Helping with neuroplasticity engaging the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala, play becomes your brain's best friend. Now let’s look at different types of play in more detail, adding some examples of what you could try yourself. Learning & memory Playfulness makes learning more engaging, memorable, and, dare I say, fun! Remember those trusty brain juices– dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin? Well, they're here to give your brain a boost for learning. Dopamine rewards you for mastering new concepts makes you focused and want to learn more, serotonin keeps stress levels low, creating a open mind, and oxytocin's social touch can make you feel safer and dare to ask those silly questions. Together, they create a brain environment that's primed for learning. There are even studies showing that new neurons can be created, so you could possibly grow new cells in your hippocampus, making that memory space larger. Let’s look at a practical way for you to incorporate play into your teaching moments. Using simulation games is simply a brilliant way to teach concepts, principles, processes.. To give you an example. And if ever worked in what we call ‘agile ways of working’ you might have come across this game before. The ball point game. This is an activity that teaches, and lets teams reflect on, things like flow, communication, retrospection and continuous improvements. In this game you physically move balls around. Which means you cannot not be fully engaged. If your focus wanders, you will literally drop the ball. It lets you try out some of these Agile concepts, see them from a slightly different angle. Then reflect on them. All this making it easier to understand, but also easier to remember and use later. GAMES BALL POINT Attention & engagement Adding playfulness into your sessions and daily work you're setting the stage for engaged open communication and a stronger sense of unity. Play creates an interest to participate and keeps attention up.The good old neurotransmitters are at play again, boosting engagement, positive mood, openess for discussions, trust and friendliness. Great ways to achieve this is by quick activities like Icebreakers, Energisers, Engagers. Starting out with that initial connection – even if it's just a chuckle shared over a quirky icebreaker activity – it lays the foundation for smoother, more meaningful collaboration throughout the meeting. Actually just making sure everyone says 1 thing to start with will make it easier for everyone to speak later.. And improve the collaboration later on in the session. You could up the game by a quick activity like the counting game. This ones helps us with awareness and listening to others. You can find the instructions in the resources link. After icebreakers, sprinkle higher energy activities, that ideally gets you off the chair and move. Giving your brain a boost of oxygen. Or if you are in a virtual meeting throw in a poll or question to answer in the chat, and keep them away from distractions. GAMES 1-21 counting Energiser - In (virtual) meetings, stop for a poll, thumbs up, quick game in the chat. energisers You & your team Play can be there for self-discovery, personal growth, and building better connections within your team. When you engage in playfulness, you're like a detective exploring the new territories of your personality. When you get into playful activities, and are able to let your guard down, you're kind of tapping into your authentic self. And guess what? This isn't just about you. Playfulness is also a way to understand your team members. Removing the tiles, changing up the dynamics you might see new sides. You get insights into their personalities, communication styles, how they like to solve problems. You might notice that a colleague is incredibly creative i or that another excels at strategic planning. One of the best personal goal setting experiences I’ve had at work, was a fair few years back. We ditched the standard boring forms to be filled out separately. Instead we decided to come together the whole team. We brought out lego and colourful pens. We build lego structures of where we wanted to be in 5 years. Drew our likes/dislikes, aspirations, and short term goals. It brought out surprises for most of us, both through our lego creations and what others shared. We were then able to discuss and give ideas on how these goals could be fulfilled, helping eachother and us as a team to be successful. Another practical way to infuse playfulness for self-discovery and understanding that springs to mind is the motivation cards. You might have come across them if you are into Management 3.0. Here you ranl and visulise what is import ant to you. I’ll pop links in Resources for you to check it out further. ME - not extreme extrovert. Challenging, confronting but oh so rewarding. Personal growth as well helping teams to improve… GAMES Rank your motivations (management 3.0) https://management30.com/practice/moving-motivators/ Lego serious play Innovation & creativity Embracing play is very much like giving your brain permission to stretch and explore. Play helps you break free from your usual thinking patterns, and allow new imaginative ideas. It encourages you to take risks, experiment, and find new ways of solving problems. Your neurotransmitter cocktails help light up the prefrontal cortex. Challenge you to lateral and divergent thinking. But also feeling more safe and able to share you left field ideas. Like with our “lego goal setting session” - In some activities you may be using more than your ears or your eyes. You're might be using your hands, your voice, even movement – you're activating multiple senses. And when you involve more senses, you're tapping into more areas of your brain. So down to some examples. You can try something like the Challenging assumptions puzzle. Warms up you brain for problemsolving and creativity. Another of my favorites is using the Alternate use psychology test. Sounds a bit boring, but actually a quick a fun way to learn about your limitations, spot creative geniuses and promote collaboration. As per usual, links are in the resources for you to give them a go. GAMES PAPER CLIP test PUZZLE BLACK STORIES IMPROV VIDEO FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS Fear busting & bonding Want to improve your team's connection and build stronger relationships? Adding play not only does it boost morale and reduce stress, but it also helps create a tight-knit group. Those playful activities with your team, you breaking down walls, creating shared experiences, and building a sense of togetherness. It can help to create that very important part - psychological safety. This time it is Oxytocin that is the main ingredient in your neurotransmitters cocktail. How do you practically add oxytocin to your team? Well you can use something like the Story cubes. Making it easier to sharing personal tales or interesting facts lets others glimpse who you are beyond work. And it's a perfect chance to learn about your coworkers too. If you are in person, you can try an activity that involves human touch, like holding hands in a human knot Check out the resources and remember, the power of play is not just in the activity itself, but in the connections it promotes. GAMES STORY CUBES Human knot Yay factor & endorphin boost Last but not least… That power of silliness. Laughing doesn’t just make things more fun - it also reduces stress and builds positive connections with your team. It increases the oxygen intake, stimulates your heart and releases endorphins and relieves your stress responses. Lots of good stuff! A touch of whimsy can have real benefits for you and your team. It makes me think of one lovely team I used to work with, where we every now and then popped out for a little walk, had a chat, maybe grabbed a coffee.. and if someone couldn’t join we did a silly group selfie to send to them. It was easy to see how this silliness allowed everyone to put the guard down and made transparency and collaboration easy for the team. So the tip here is to inject play into everyday moments - share jokes, even the bad dad jokes, celebrate small wins, set up a channel for sharing memes, or maybe design a "silly challenge of the week." There are also plenty of games that focuses on simply creating enjoyment. One of my favourites is the Scavenger hunt, which works great with remote teams as well. A bit of competition, running about, creativity, that always have ended in laughter. I’ll pop the instructions in the resources link. Remember, it's not about going overboard; it's about finding the right balance of silly playfulness that resonates with your team's culture. Where are they on the playfulness scale.. It's about finding moments to laugh, let loose, and create an atmosphere where positivity rules. GAMES Scavenger hunt https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2023.2227920 How to create a playful culture Why is there play resistance? It’s not always as simple as just starting to add playfulness into working life. So times you are met with play resistance. You know when some of your workmates, or even whole organizations, put up a bit of a wall when it comes to playful stuff. In my experience, working with many different organisations and teams, is that it is usually a mix of factors that makes it hard to break thru that wall. [Natural human fear] First up there is the very real human fear of looking silly. And there is nothing silly about being worried about being silly. It’s actually fear about being rejected. And that takes us back to our cave days, when being rejected by a group might make our life span a whole lot shorter. So doing something out of the normal, a bit unusual feels uncomfortable. It could make you stand out and be at a higher risk of being seen and rejected. This why we dread giving speeches. So even if our survival, or even image, is not really in any danger we tend to err on the safe side of things. The frivolous myth Then we have the idea of play being frivolous and not adding to the bottom line. This is particularly common in places with unrealistic timelines and productivity goals. You know, these kind of exceptionally short term thinking type of places. Working in a place like this easily conditions us to see playfulness as non-productive. Often coupled with the idea that play is childish. Here you might meet more of the old school leadership, who seem to care more that you sit in front of your computer for the full 8 hours, than looking at the actual outcomes of the work. [cultural differences] On top of this type of organisational culture, we need to add individual cultural norms to the mix. Depending on our cultural background, we are very likely to approach playfulness in different ways. I’ve been lucky to attend several events for a non-profit organization called play14. And I’ve done so in a few different continents and countries. This is an amazing event with very low levels of play resistance, it is rather the opposite.. a group of play enthusiasts coming together. However, in different countries I still saw patterns.. of what types of games we might gravitate towards.. Or not so keen on. Where some went for more serious games, simulations.. and others more to improv, free flow silliness. [previous experience] Lastly, some people might have been burned. Maybe they have been part of ‘forced fun’. Taking them so far out of their comfort zone that previous experiences have not been enjoyable or valuable at all. Or been maybe worked at a place with a fake playful culture. Like having ping pong tables, and games available, but if anyone who dares to use them are carefully watched and judged. Play resistance is real, but it's not set in stone. With a little shift in thinking and an environment that welcomes play, we can start to tear down those walls. In the next video we will go thru how to do just that.. How to deal with play resistance So now you might have some ideas of what stops us in our playful tracks, but how do we get moving? How can we tackle this resistance? It's often about changing the mindset, showing that play isn't a waste of time but an investment in happier, more creative minds. If you think you are unfortunate to work in a truly toxic environment.. Well first of all - I hope you find a new job! - And for the organisation with severe problems, they might need something else but play first. You do need be some what of a safe space for people to dare take a step of cultural norms. But if you in a more normal situation. Here are 5 tips on tackling play resistance 1. Role model If you are a lead or influencer of some sort, you are in a particular great place to rolemodel and help mindset shifts - Lead by Example. Be as vulnerable and silly as you feel safe to be, and make sure to celebrate positive, playful behaviour in the team. 2. Educate the benefits By now, you know a fair few of the benefits of play like profitability, productivity, upskilling. Share them with the leaders and teams. Focus on the benefits that you think would resonate most with your workmates. 3. Start with the why If you are about to run a game of some sort, start with explain why they are doing it. For example, “physical movements help us get more oxergyn to the brain. Think clearer. Stay engaged. Let’s stand up and… “ 4. Don’t force people. Work on the tipping point. This is from Social influence theory, when we see a certain number of people adopting a behaviour, others will feel it is acceptable, even desirable. Get a few play friendly workmates on board before a play activity to reach that point. , let people who are not keen to participate still have a role. They can be the time keeper, observer and take notes. 5 Start Small: Change doesn't happen overnight. Maybe it's introducing a quick icebreaker at the beginning of meetings, by asking a little unusual but make it really relevant to the session your are having. Like a somewhat unusual question for everyone to answer about the topic you are about to discuss. Then inject a bit of humour into your meeting. Remember, breaking through play resistance is about shifting mindsets. It's a journey, and every small step counts. LINK Playification infograph Adding humour link? How to unleash the playfulness If you feel like you tackled play resistance, and ready to step it up a notch. Let me give you about how to take it to the next level. Unleash the playfulness in your working life. First out - Make sure you get the most value out of your play sessions. Really lean into debriefing - with that I mean.. ask questions on how it felt, what they observed., how it relates to work, what they learned. Make the group reflect, connect the dots and learn from the activity. Get in to Playful Rituals: add playfulness into your daily routine. It could be a "joke of the day" that's shared, weekly pictionary challenge or silliest meme competition that everyone who wants can join in. Design Playful Spaces: Create physical spaces that send a clear message that play is a welcomed part of the work. Think cozy corners, brainstorming zones with whiteboards, or even a game room for quick breaks. You can also help encourage Creative Expression by putting up art and doodles, play activity output from the teams. Gamify things: Spin the wheel to decide who is going to run the next meeting. Use badges, do something silly when something positive happens - like 100 new users, reach a deadline. Use your Breaks: Rather than seeing breaks as time-wasters, use if for quick, playful pauses. These micro-moments of play can put energy into the day or meeting. [Host Playful Events]. Invite experts to run a workshops on improv, storytelling, or creative thinking. Or organise events that helps bring out a bit of silliness, like a themed costume party. These type of event can really help with team bonding and lasting memories. Which makes about think about how I and a colleague, many many moons ago, put together an Office olympics at work. It was a low budget gettogether, but turned out great. We had office chair relay, stapler throwing, and other silly competitions. When a few of us caught up 20 years later, all of us remembered the event and still had a good laugh reminiscing. But 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. We all have different tastes. It could be physical games, puzzles, art, storytelling, or even just a good laugh. So embrace a variety of playful activities to cater to different preferences. LINK Debrief cube Spin the wheel Energisers? Let’s sum it up Thanks for sticking with the course, taking a step to make the working world a more enjoyable place! We’ve gone through some of the main reasons why we should create space for playfulness as work -Profit, learning/remembering easier, keeping our attention spans longer, get better insights to You and Your team, boost creativity and ignite innovation, feel safer and remove fears that are blocking us from high performance, and acknowledge the benefits of enjoying working life more. We had a quick look at play theory, and what playification means. And then jumped into the science of play - the brain juices that makes it all happened. We looked at how different types of play can help learning, attention, insights, collections, innovation and more, with a few suggestion you can try out. Lastly we had a look at why it might be tricky to get people onboard. Tips on how to try to shift the mindsets and ultimately create a highly playful, enjoyable, and high performing work place. Love to hear your feedback and have a look at the next lesson for how you can help Play if forward. Play it forward Keep up the playfulness & spread the word So you probably signed up for this course with an already open mind to playfulness at work. Now I hope you feel better equipped to spread the message of the benefits of play and help create a more engaging and enjoyable life at work. First of all, you can share and learn with your fellow students here. What are your tips and things you learnt on the way? Or maybe you have a particular question that I or someone else here can try to answer. Drop it in the FAQ section, or send me a message. Other ways to stay connected is through linkedin groups and other social media. You can join [ link ] Then there are events to find, meet, share and learn from like minded people. I cannot recommend checking out play14 enough. They run amazing events in many parts of the world. I went to my first one in Madrid many years ago, and this energetic and mindopening event was one of the key reasons to lead me down the playful path. Also check out Eventbrite and Meetup groups for play, improv and creative activities in your area or online. Lastly, to find play ideas and instructions for activities to run, a simple Google search might work. There are also sites such as tastycupcake.com or try out my website on theworkshopper.com/play??