However, occasionally, the script is flipped. One example of this is using play, grounded in theories of how children create, learn, and grow, to improve adult work environments.
A growing body of work demonstrates that structured, play-inspired practices, such as games and experimental spaces, help to foster innovation, increase collaboration and improve organizations. In this article, we’ll look at some of the research, review examples, and consider how a playful mindset can be key to unlocking a more productive, effective, and healthy workspace.
Creating “Psychologically Safe” Spaces for Work
One of the most important factors that a playful mindset brings into the workplace is establishing a psychologically safe mindset. This, according to Amy Edmondson, PhD, of Harvard Business School and a leading voice on the subject, is a concept that cultivates “a culture of learning and innovation for team members to be comfortable speaking up, taking risks, and sharing information.” Edmondson adds, “When achieved, the result is a more creative, innovative, and successful team and organization.”
Play has a key role in establishing the psychological barrier of acceptance and safety in the workplace. The ability to embrace play (or a playful mindset, at least) encourages creativity, collaboration, and innovation by creating a psychologically safe space for employees to experiment, take risks, and generate new ideas.
As with so many culture-building concepts, this starts with leadership. ScholarWorks at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, released an article in 2023 that talked about frameworks for “introducing and sustaining play at work.” This talks about the importance of leadership in setting the tone for a playfully minded workspace, saying, “Getting the most senior person possible in the organization to set the example is critical to establishing permission and the psychological safety to be playful.”
Other Benefits of Play-Inspired Workplace Initiatives
Of course, psychological safety is a fairly general concept. Other, more specific advantages come from embracing play at work. For instance, play (and the creativity it sparks) can help with things like problem-solving and organizational change.
Playfulness is also important for social interactions. Playgroundequipment.com points out that cognitive evaluations have found that a state of playfulness can act as a “lubricant” that facilitates smoother interactions, decreases tensions, and helps with collective activities, such as brainstorming.
In the setting of a workplace environment, where the bottom line matters, it’s important to connect this increased creativity with productivity, as well. It isn’t difficult to draw a line from a creative mindset to a productive one. When someone is willing to think outside the box, they can infinitely improve their output.
This connection is becoming more important than ever in a world where the predictable and the mundane are being automated at warp speed. A recent report from Canva and HBR highlights the fact that the majority (62%) of leaders see new AI tools playing an important role in helping to automate repetitive tasks. This frees up employees to focus more fully on the creative — and by extension, become more productive.
Starting Playful Work Young
While play at work can be taught and encouraged, the best place to start is in childhood itself. In 2024, the RGUHS Journal of Allied Health Sciences published an article on the impact of childhood curiosity in adult development. In that piece, author Ms. Anchal Sharma explained, “Research supports the assertion that a curious disposition developed in childhood fosters a proclivity for continuous learning throughout adulthood.”
When children learn to embrace play in healthy ways in childhood and then maintain that mindset throughout adolescence, they are poised to offer unique contributions and perspectives at work. This is why companies like PlaygroundEquipment.com use thoughtful design in playgrounds for children. Including innovative play structures on a playground encourages exploration, creativity and engagement that can continue to have an impact much later in life.
Play is more than a fun team-building exercise. It has a critical role in successful workplaces. And this role will only increase in the AI-focused future. Whether it’s cultivating healthy play in children, maintaining a sense of playful wonder after puberty, or reigniting that passion for play as an adult, fostering playful perspectives is instrumental in unlocking creativity and, by extension, productivity in the workplace.
