How (and Why) to Bring Play into Work

LinkedIn: [00:00:00] Linkedin presents.

Jonathan Fields: [00:00:08] You ever feel that nagging sense that work could be more fun? That little voice whispering this daily grind is sapping my joy. Or maybe you've tasted its delicious opposite those energizing flashes when your tasks just align perfectly with playfulness and your whole self showed up fully alive. If those contrasting experiences resonate well, listen up, because how you incorporate play shapes your motivation, your creativity and growth as a human being in powerful ways. Get it right and you'll unlock incredible engagement and joy. Get it wrong. And pretty much every workday can start feeling like drudgery. In today's episode of SPARKED, I'm joined by Shelley Adelle Bliss, one of our fabulous Spark Endeavors team members, and together we're diving into this often overlooked catalyst for unshackling your zest for work and life Play because you deserve more than just clock punching. You deserve work that lets you play and thrive. We'll explore the core elements of playful work countries and why creating more fun matters so much. You'll learn playful strategies to spark creativity, strengthen teams, and keep motivation soaring. And we'll troubleshoot the barriers to bringing more levity into your work so you can greenlight more smiles and laughter. So excited to share this conversation with you! I'm Jonathan Fields and this is SPARKED. Hey, and before we dive into today's episode, a quick share. So if you're a coach, a consultant or a leader, and you would just love to stand out more in 2024 and beyond, with a powerful new credential and a set of results driven superpowers, we have got something for you.

Jonathan Fields: [00:01:51] With nearly a million people now discovering their profiles, the Sparketypes have become a global phenomenon. People want their work to light them up, and oftentimes they would love some help along the way, which is why we developed our certified Sparketype advisor training. As a certified advisor, you will discover cutting edge tools that spark profound work life. Client transformations stand out with a highly unique credential and skill set in a crowded market. Find ease and flexibility with templated engagement flows, you'll become a part of a global network of change makers, and you'll rack up 40 ICF continuing education credits. Our fall cohort is enrolling now with visionaries just like you, and we would love to invite you to uplevel your capabilities as a coach or consultant or leader by becoming a certified Sparketype advisor. To learn more about the fall training and see if it's right for you, just click the link in the show notes now or visit sparketype.com. Slash pros. And we're excited to dive back into one of our topic focused episodes of SPARKED, a hot take today, where we pick one single topic and we kind of do a bit of an interactive deep dive into it here with Shelley Adelle from our fantastic SPARKED team. Shelly, what are we talking about today?

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:03:14] Today let's discuss how to make work more playful. How can we inject more fun and joy into our daily tasks to boost engagement and creativity?

Jonathan Fields: [00:03:25] So that sounds horrible. Who would want work to be play? I mean, doesn't it have to just be drudgery? Isn't work just the thing that you have to do so that you can go and live outside of work? You just put your head down and you suck it up. It's like boring. You check the boxes and then like, play happens afterwards. Like, am I missing something here?

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:03:47] Well, I.Would like to contend that work doesn't have to be serious all the time, that it can be fun and playful, and that being fun and playful is essential for creativity, problem solving, personal well-being. Um, yeah. By making small changes, can we make our work more enjoyable? And might that lead to an increase in engagement and better results?

Jonathan Fields: [00:04:11] Yeah, and in fact, the research backs you up. Not only is it just more fun, but it shows that play in the workplace fosters innovation and collaboration and even reduces burnout. You know, when work feels playful, it energizes us. It can transform mundane tasks into opportunities for joy and for flow and for play. You know, when you think about when you were a kid, you know, it's it's funny, like, I think a lot of people think about work and they feel like it's the fact that work includes work that makes it not not a fun experience. It's not true at all. You know, if you think about a lot of things that we did as kids when we were, quote, playing, when you're under that play category, we're actually exerting a ton of effort. We were running around, we were playing tag, we were playing board games. We were doing things that either created took a lot of cognitive effort, a lot of physical effort, sometimes a blend of those, sometimes emotional effort. There's a lot of outflow, a lot of exertion, a lot of work happening. And yet we experience them as play. So there's this confusion point that, you know, that the fact that effort is a part of it means that it can't be played. And that's just not true. It's how we do that thing. It's how we step into the effort that actually makes the difference between whether it's experience as play or as drudgery. Things that are really hard and take a ton of effort can actually be experienced as play. You know, this is the the story of so many artists and performers and athletes, you know, really hard, a lot of work, and it's one of the places that they love to be more than anything else, because there's this sense of play when they do it.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:05:49] So in this context, then play at work isn't just for kids or reserved for breaks. It's a mindset and a set of behaviors that you can integrate into everyday work activities, making the work day more enjoyable and more stimulating.

Jonathan Fields: [00:06:04] 100% so playful. Companies, we see this a lot. You know, it's funny because we see a lot of times if you think about a playful company, people think, oh, you know, it's the tech industry. It's it's, you know, the Facebooks and the Googles and the Instas and the TikToks and that, you know, they were known as, especially in the early 2000, as encouraging a playful atmosphere, integrating creative thinking games and providing game room spaces. Design. Right. Game rooms and playful interactions. Okay. Yes. You know, like many of them had kegs and, you know, like giant vending machines that were free and M&Ms all over the place. But, you know, we think about all these different things. But the approach is really how do we link high levels of innovation and employee satisfaction by changing the experience of what we're doing so that, yes, even when you're working hard, there's a sense of joy and playfulness in doing it. And we'll get into some of the ways, some of the sort of like what are the essential elements to make this happen. But maybe let's dive a little bit deeper into some of the benefits of actually making work more playful, because you may be listening to this and say, well, sure, that's cute, but isn't this a little bit frivolous?

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:07:14] I mean, you've already touched on the first one, which would be enhanced creativity, right? So play. Yeah, play would encourage out of the box thinking and problem solving. It would do this by reducing stress and allowing the brain to make creative connections.

Jonathan Fields: [00:07:28] Now 100%. So imagine, for example, a design team that incorporates brainstorming sessions with no restrictions on ideas. So this would include wild ideas. Silly ideas, often stumbles upon breakthrough innovations. I have been in experiences where, you know, a leader brings together a team and they're like, okay, so we need to come up with a whole bunch of new ideas, right? And we need everything, everything that you have, you know, it needs to be really creative and innovative. It needs to be game changing. We have big problems that we have to solve here, right? But they bring a level of seriousness to this that kind of makes people freak out and say, oh, I need to come up with serious ideas. This is a serious problem. I need to come up with really serious, big, bold ideas, right? Challenge is oftentimes our best ideas are the goofiest ideas or the most off the wall ideas. They're like the the things where you're like, this is going to sound really stupid, but dot, dot, dot, let me just throw it out there, you know? And when instead you're given permission to say, like, just get wild, get crazy, get playful, get silly. Everything is, is, is on the table here. You know, not only does it increase creativity and tends to generate much better, more innovative ideas, it's also just more fun. And then you're actually creating a culture and a context where people say like, oh, like I can actually do this. I can go to that place where I can do the goofy things, say the goofy thing. I can be a little silly and I'm not going to get punished for it. And in fact, I'm starting to realize that we're coming up with better ideas and solutions by doing this. So better outcomes. But at the same time, it's also just more enjoyable process.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:09:08] So you're talking about boosted engagement and motivation. Then when we sort of like take the the gas off the stakes and give employees room for that playful, silly energy.

Jonathan Fields: [00:09:19] Yeah, 100%. And that is, in fact, one of the other big benefits of bringing more play into what you're doing, the level of engagement and motivation. We're not thinking now about carrots and sticks for motivation anymore. We're not trying to think about, oh, how do I, you know, capital E engage my workforce or just as an individual? How do I feel more engaged? How do I get motivated? You know, when work literally feels like play like tasks that feel, you know, previously more tedious, often you experience almost the exact same thing as becoming energizing and fun and enjoyable.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:09:53] If I was going to tie that into the Sparketype body of work. I'm a performer maker anti-essentialist, so I have a lot more playful, silly energy when I'm really following that performer maker impulse and and a lot less a little heavier energy when I'm, when I'm really leaning into more of those anti-essentialist tasks. So if I could figure out a way to kind of crack the code and make those tasks a little more playful, I could see that my personal motivation and engagement would increase.

Jonathan Fields: [00:10:21] Yeah. And I do also think that our ability to access a state of play tends to go up when we feel like we're doing work that is just intrinsically aligned with who we are. You know, it is we just experience that as more joyful and that that it brings more of the experience of play into it. So it's not about trying to quote, you know, boost engagement and motivation from the outside in anymore. It's just that the fact that the more playful the work experience is, the more those things just innately get boosted. And I think that brings us probably to one of our third benefits of having more play and a work environment. And that's just improved collaboration. You know, we're constantly trying to figure out how to work better with other people. And if you're a leader, how do we get our teams to work better? You know, what we know is that play fosters stronger social bonds among team members, especially group play, and just makes collaboration more fluid, more dynamic and more fun, you know? And that means that not only are we going to have better retention, better morale, um, but also very likely better ideas and outcomes. Yeah.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:11:30] And I could see that it doesn't have to be like a really high bar here. It could be something as simple as, like a playful icebreaker in a slack channel, or sending out a group activity via email where each person gets like one component of a of a larger idea.

Jonathan Fields: [00:11:47] Yeah. I mean, there's so many different ways to get at this. I mean, you can literally like you're in a team slack channel in the morning or, you know, a project slack channel in the morning, you're like, hey, Happy Monday. I'm kind of curious, what animal are you feeling like today? Just things where it's like a little bit of a pattern interrupt and people are like, oh, like, this is a little bit goofy but a little bit fun. And maybe we're going to step into this day a little bit differently.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:12:11] Yeah, I could see that that would directly lead to the fourth benefit, which is increased job satisfaction. Right? That playful environment creates a more positive work culture. I as an employee, I'm going to feel happier, more valued, more connected to my work. And to answer your question, today I'm feeling like a fox. Jonathan.

Jonathan Fields: [00:12:34] I'm feeling, I think, a little bit like a like an elephant, but moving slowly and got my big floppy ears, which are hidden by my earphones right now. So, um, but I mean, if you think about this on a day to day level, you know, a customer service team that starts meetings with a the fun question of the day or prompts or games reports higher levels of satisfaction and lower stress. You know, these little things actually make a real difference. Which I think brings us to probably the big question here, which is, well, what are the core elements of playful work environments? And there are probably a lot of different ones that we can talk about, but maybe let's focus on a small set that that I think we feel are kind of core to the experience of bringing more play to the work experience. Yeah.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:13:23] Let's start with creativity and experimentation. So encouraging experimentation without feel of failure that cultivates a playful atmosphere. I think of teams that have time for hackathons or side projects that encourage experimentation and creativity, which would then lead to innovative solutions and products.

Jonathan Fields: [00:13:44] 100%. You know, and we've heard about different companies that set aside time are really encouraged. This and it's always been when I've heard it teed up, it's always been, well, this helps increase innovation. It helps increase breakthrough product ideas. And and very often it does, you know, like some of the some of the crazy ideas that that end up taking a company to the next level end up coming out of these types of experiences. But at the same time, like if you focus in on the experience of the individuals who are saying, hey, you have freedom to play here, take a certain amount of your time and literally just play. Don't worry about repercussions. Don't worry about being punished for being wrong. Don't worry about like this is your this is your play space. You literally have play space here. Just do whatever it is that you want to do. Who knows. Off the wall ideas. Moonshots, right? Not only does it help with the ideation process, but when you're able to actually function in that space just on an individual level, you experience it differently. You come more fully alive and again relating it more broadly to the Sparketype body of work. When you're able to actually step into that play space and then do work that feels really well aligned with that innate impulse. You know, for effort that makes you come alive. Now, I think the experience gets magnified even more.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:15:02] All right. So the next core element of playful work environments would be humor and light heartedness. Yeah. How can humor break the tension and kind of create an open, more relaxed atmosphere?

Jonathan Fields: [00:15:14] I mean, I think we've all experienced this. And granted, this depends on the culture of the organization. There are certain cultures and certain organizations where it is very intentionally not playful. You know, it's serious and you're doing serious work and the stakes are high. And this is not a laughing matter. This is not a joke. And what that does is it unintentionally ratchets up the stress to a level where it doesn't have to be there, you know? And what we find is that by bringing humor and light heartedness into a pursuit, even if the stakes are high and you're working on something that is really serious. That doesn't mean that you as an individual, you as a culture, have to actually be humorless and heavy hearted to get the result that you want to create really good outcomes. You know, very often I think that's the disconnect that we often see. It's like if the outcome has to be serious, then the process has to be humorless and heavy. You know, it doesn't work that way. And yet often that's what we think has to be the case. Oftentimes it's that bringing humor. And by the way, humor is about like it's also having a sense of humor about you. You know, this is like like, wow. Like I really messed that one up. And okay, so like, not in a way that tries to let you off the hook and like and gets you opting out of learning from experiences but actually saying, okay, you know, um, there's a way to actually be more lighthearted about this where we can grow from it.

Jonathan Fields: [00:16:41] We can play with it, and we can kind of look at it and realize that there are certain elements of this thing that are actually kind of funny. Oftentimes, we don't see the humor in things until we're past them, and then we look back and we tell the story of what happened and what we went through. And and everyone is sort of like laughing hysterically. And, and it's funny to me that, you know, we often we see the actual deep humor when we have hindsight, but we stop ourselves from feeling it when we're in the present experience. And I often think, what if we just allowed ourselves to go there while it's happening? How much more humane would that experience be? And I think as leaders, we have a great opportunity to actually model that, to set the tone and let people know it's okay to go to that space. We're doing a hard thing together. We're going to stumble, and yet we're still going to find a way to breathe a little bit of lightness into it along the way.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:17:36] All right. Let's talk then about the next core element gamification. It's a big buzzword, right? Turning tasks into games by adding elements of, let's say competition or challenge or reward System that gamification can make the work more engaging.

Jonathan Fields: [00:17:52] Yeah, and it can. But this can also be a bit of a double edged sword, you know, sometimes. Gamification creates a level of competitiveness that actually triggers. Perfectionism and anti collaboration. You know because you're like okay so this is a zero sum game. It's gamified. You know there's a leaderboard here and I want to win this thing. And also if I know that there are certain points for performing at X level, I want to make sure that I always get all of the points for all of the things. For some people they can go there. So I think gamification is this thing where we know there's a ton of research that shows that our minds are actually activated and triggered by saying, okay, let's turn this into a game by saying, okay, we're going to level up, we're going to gain points, we're going to have these fun little contests or competitions and challenges that can work really well. It can make things a lot more fun. It can add play to the experience. But I would also say be really careful about crossing that line and triggering a sense of anti cooperation and perfectionism along the way. So when you're thinking about it can be really effective, but always be paying attention to like are we getting a little close. Is somebody on the team or somebody who I'm working with, or am I getting triggered in a way where this is no longer fun, but it's actually kind of shutting me down or adding stress to my experience?

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:19:12] Yeah. When I think of gamification, what I'm hearing is that it has to also be bundled with that humor and light heartedness or bundled with our final core element, which is social connection and shared fun.

Jonathan Fields: [00:19:25] Yeah, I mean, playfulness is just so enhanced when people share moments of fun together. Strengthened relationships adds to team cohesion, but also it's just more fun. Like play is more play when you're doing it with other people. There's actually some some interesting research that shows that most people don't laugh when they're alone. You know, so you're watching a TV show, you're alone in your house or your apartment, you know, and it's a it's a sitcom, right? And they're all, you know, there's a joke every 30s and you're sitting alone in your house just kind of watching it with a glass of water, and you're kind of. That's funny. Yeah. That's funny. Then you're sitting on that same couch, you know, with a good friend of yours or a buddy who you know really well, and you're watching that exact same show, and you may be cracking up side by side next to each other. There is something about about experiencing something in, in a social way, in a shared way with other people that makes us feel like we just have easier access to levity, to joy, to playfulness. Plus the fact that, you know, it's sharing experiences that are joyful with other people makes everything better. We know more broadly that, you know, one of the most powerful indicators of a life well lived is the depth and quality of your relationship with other people, you know. So what are what are some of the things that deepen the depth of those relationships? It's when you're playing around with each other. So bring other people into the experience of play and in a work setting. There are so many opportunities to do this because we never work entirely alone.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:20:55] So how do we make our work more playful?

Jonathan Fields: [00:20:59] So a couple of ideas here. I think it starts with identifying opportunities for play. So, you know, we can take a little bit of time to reflect on which parts of your job might offer the most flexibility for incorporating fun. And if you're a leader manager, do this not just for you, but think about the team. Think about the people on your team also. So you know example here. Consider tasks like brainstorming or problem solving or daily routines. And this happens all day every day with individuals and within teams. Right. And oftentimes you just kind of go through the motions. Okay. It's time to brainstorm ideas like this is my half an hour that I've allocated for like ideation. Or there's this problem that I need to solve. Let me go into my like, what is the model that I'm using here to actually solve this problem? You know, I have my daily routine. Like what is the checklist of stuff that I need to do, right? Take those mundane things that we do on a regular basis and ask yourself, where can I add an element of play, like using more creative tools, adding challenges, or collaborating? Maybe in unexpected ways? Surprise is a huge way to add playfulness into different things. So like, how can I do something different, something novel? Something actually is not a normal part of the way that I do. The thing that I tend to do on a regular basis.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:22:25] So then how might we add more humor and levity to our day?

Jonathan Fields: [00:22:29] Yeah, that is one of the big questions because we, like we just identified humor and levity can be a big part of playfulness. Um, and it also helps to reduce stress along the way. And I think a lot of this is also just to me, this is more of an internal reframe, you know? So yes, you can use mechanisms like okay, so how can I share? How can I start every day with something that is a little bit goofy, a little bit silly, a little bit funny, a little bit lighthearted? Be careful always that you're doing it in a way that is appropriate and respectful. You're not crossing any lines and doing it or offending or causing harm to anyone else. But there are plenty of ways to be humorous and fun, often self-effacing ways that just add levity, that add lightness to the experience. I often ask myself some version of the question of how can I take myself a little bit less seriously in this particular moment in time? Like, what would I do? What would it take? What can I do to just break this pattern? And oftentimes it's a matter of like, you know, using prompts like that to just come up with things in the moment.

Jonathan Fields: [00:23:39] So, sir, you can start meetings with lighthearted jokes or share humorous things, but also like take those less conventional moments to think about your own approach. Um, as we're speaking, I have this weird visual that comes up in my head, like classic movie stripes that when I was a kid was this sort of like huge movie. And there's there's a line in there where, you know, like, like one person is taking this thing so seriously and so heavy. And the guy's name is Francis. And like the other person just says, lighten up, Francis. So for some reason, when I find myself taking myself too seriously, that line pops. I literally hear the person saying it in my head, and I kind of crack up internally because I have a reference point for it. And again, it's a pattern interrupt that makes me say, oh yeah, how can I shift the weight? I'm stepping into this because I have the ability to do that.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:24:29] I love that. So when we're talking about making our work more playful, another thing that comes up then would be the gamification of repetitive tasks. So we could turn tasks like answering emails or filing reports, or let's say, completing to do lists into games, let's say by setting up challenges or timers or maybe a reward system. You know, I get a I get a cookie if I finish my emails within an hour.

Jonathan Fields: [00:24:57] That might be for me. That would be dark chocolate. Dark chocolate.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:25:01] Um, and then another way might be to encourage team playfulness. Yeah, right. So how how might we foster a culture of playfulness within teams, which you have touched on a bit already? Yeah.

Jonathan Fields: [00:25:14] And I think a lot of that comes down to like, what are the team rituals or fun traditions, even things like casual dress up Fridays or themed Dress Up Fridays. And even if your team, this is actually a great thing to do. Even if you have like a hybrid team, you've got three people in the office on a Friday and like three people at home. Like, how do we create experiences that actually are bonding experiences no matter where you are? You know, it's like Pajamas Friday or it's like, whatever it is. And then it becomes this thing that coheres people, even if they're not in the same place and they're goofy and silly. So like, there's no way to fail at it because the idea is to be silly.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:25:50] I love that. I worked in an industrial costume shop in New York back in the day, and we would always have, like, silly hats. You could wear a silly hat on, like the last hour of every workday, when you're just feeling burned out from the repetitive tasks of whatever stitch that you've been working on for eight hours, and that always just made that last hour go so much more quickly and enjoyably.

Jonathan Fields: [00:26:15] Yeah.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:26:15] Okay, so then if we're talking about the sort of two, two more ways to make our workplace more playful would be to create play within the workspace and also taking playful breaks. What can you tell me about that?

Jonathan Fields: [00:26:29] Yeah. So play within the workspace I think is interesting because sometimes people say like, I can't do that. I don't have control over my workspace or I'm working in a cubicle. I get it, you know, I'm working in an office. It's very stuffy here. Okay, so maybe on a macro level that's true, but we pretty much all have the ability to control something about our workspace. You know, I have. It's funny. Years ago, my wife Stephanie gave me this tiny orange, um, laughing Buddha. And it's sort of like an orange gloss. This is, like, the exact opposite of, like, what a Buddha should be. But it kind of cracks me up because it's such a contradiction. Um, and I carry that around with me, and I keep it on my desk, kind of like looking at me so that even though I have this technology all around me and I have cameras and microphones and foam padding, that's all black, and I've got this little pop of orange that just kind of goofy. And every time I look at it, I'm just like, it makes me smile. There are often little tiny indicators that we can bring into our workspace. And if you do have the ability, if you're working in a home office and you can really control that environment, put a pop of color on a wall or an awesome, fun, playful poster on something you can really think about, how can I create a more playful feeling in the workspace that I'm in? You know, bright colors, fun desk toys, creative decor that sparks curiosity and imagination.

Jonathan Fields: [00:27:43] And as you mentioned, also like the final element that I think, you know, is to take some play breaks or playful breaks, step away from the work that you're doing with playful breaks to refresh your mind. Maybe it's something physical, maybe it's a creative thing. Maybe you know you're going to take five minutes and play Wordle or play something. Play an online game with friends just to kind of break things up and put you in more of a play, mind, whatever it may be, instead of, you know, just taking your breaks or instead of never taking breaks, which a lot of people do, they just push through the whole time. Or instead of taking a break and then scrolling through social media during the breaks, which often adds stress to what you're doing, just try to engage in more playful activities like doodling, puzzles, physical games, ping pong, go for a walk outside, whatever it is to really break the pattern and bring more play into the breaks as well.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:28:33] Okay then. So what might be some of the barriers to play at work?

Jonathan Fields: [00:28:37] So interestingly, one of the biggest things that I see is a fear of being seen as unprofessional. Um, I think so often we're so concerned about the perception of others in the workplace, whether it's our colleagues that we're working side by side with or our bosses. We don't want to be seen as unprofessional. And we think that if we're in any way playful, that, well, that will read as being unprofessional. And okay, maybe in some contexts, in some circumstances it will. Right. But bringing work or bringing fun into work, bringing playfulness into work, doesn't mean that you're also sacrificing quality or professionalism. Instead, it may well enhance the quality of what you're doing and your creativity and your innovation, your productivity. When you're doing it right, that will lead eventually to better collaborations, more joyful work, and better outcomes and deliverables. And at the end of the day, if you're worried about the perception of other people being seen as unprofessional, but you're constantly enjoying your work and helping other people enjoy their work.More.

Jonathan Fields: [00:29:41] And you're delivering a higher quality product, that is what you're going to be judged by. So so to me that reframe is really powerful.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:29:50] Okay. So then if we're feeling that stress and time pressure, I'm hearing that maybe just taking a ten minute break to be playful and kind of reset then actually helps us boost our focus and creativity and our performance in the long run.

Jonathan Fields: [00:30:06] Yeah.

Jonathan Fields: [00:30:06] And you'll sometimes hear this. I'm too stressed. Uh, I don't have time to play. And it's like, part of the reason that you're so stressed and you feel like you don't have time to play is because you're not playing. So it's sort of like, you know, like the chicken or the egg type of thing here.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:30:25] Okay. So then you've touched on it a little bit. What about that cultural resistance to play?

Jonathan Fields: [00:30:30] And I think this can be real in certain organizations in particular, like in a million past lives ago, I was a lawyer and working in a mega firm in New York City. And, you know, I became aware really quickly because we would collaborate. We would work on different projects with other lawyers from other mega firms in the city, that each one of these firms had a very distinct culture and personality. Ours was fairly open, fairly. We worked really hard. We did high stakes projects, but, you know, in a fairly like, you know, like open door easy conversational way, whereas we would partner with others and I would be, you know, like hours in a conference room with young lawyers from another mega firm, and they would talk to me about the environments where it's like very buttoned down. The doors in the office are an entire building of doors that are constantly closed. There's no sort of interaction. And it was the culture was intentionally serious. So I don't want to belittle the fact that sometimes that, in fact, is the very intentional and dominant and sometimes dominating culture of a particular organization. I think in those contexts, you sometimes have to ask yourself, is this a culture that is healthy for me? Is this a culture that allows me to thrive professionally, but also just as a human being and really just spend some time with that, sit with that. Now oftentimes that's not the case. Oftentimes there is a cultural resistance to play that is perceived and not real. You know, people aren't doing it because they don't realize they can do it. And when somebody actually decides, let me just, like, nudge the needle a little bit here and then maybe a little bit more, then people start to actually join along. Everyone's waiting for the first actor, and once somebody actually takes action, they're like, oh, we can actually do this. And it's not just that person who can do it, but I can kind of play along too here. And we're having more fun. And at the same time we're doing better work. And sometimes that's how it happens.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:32:16] Mhm. It reminds me of like being back in my 20s at the dance clubs. Like there'd be that maybe first person on the floor and you're like, I don't know if I'm really vibing here, but once that second and third person gets on the floor then you've got a party. Yeah.

Jonathan Fields: [00:32:29] It's the classic wedding entertainer. You know, it's sort of like their job is they know that nobody wants to be on the dance floor when there's an empty dance floor. So their job is to just get out there and be goofy and dance around and drag the first couple of people up there, or the people who are just like the ones who just don't care up there to start actually doing it, so that slowly people are like, oh, oh, this is a thing that people are doing. I guess I'm a person. Maybe I can do it too.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:32:52] So play just isn't just for kids or for after hours fun, right? We're hoping that the takeaway here is that by embracing play in the workplace, you can unlock higher levels of creativity, of joy engagement both in your work and your life. Whether it's adding humor, gamifying tasks, or simply creating moments of joy in your day, that's that's where we're headed. We want to be able to make work that's playful and that enhances our overall wellbeing and productivity.

Jonathan Fields: [00:33:23] Yeah. I mean, just imagine if you woke up in the morning and you thought about the work that you were about to go to or like go to in the room next door if you're working at home and you were as excited to do that work as you were to do the thing that you normally do after work and on the weekends that you see as play. You know, like we know that that just changes you. This is also one of the most joyful things about the Sparketypes and the entire body of work that we've been developing for years now is that people do tend to experience what they do as more play, the more that they actually do work that aligns with their Sparketypes it just innately becomes more joyful. They come more fully alive. If we can do that, not only is it good for us as human beings, as individuals, we flourish. It's also better for organizations. It's better for the people that we serve. It's better for the culture and society, and it's better for the world writ large. So go out there and play and do whatever you can to bring that sense of play into the work that you do on a regular basis. As always, Shelly, thanks so much. It's fun exploring ideas with you and to our listening community. We'll see you here next time. Take care.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:34:31] Bye y'all.

Jonathan Fields: [00:34:35] And remember, if you're at a moment of exploration, looking to find and do or even create work that makes you come more fully alive, that brings more meaning and purpose and joy into your life. Take the time to discover your own personal Sparketype for free at sparketype.com. It'll open your eyes to a deeper understanding of yourself and open the door to possibility like never before. And hey, if you're finding value in these conversations, please just take an extra second right now to follow and rate SPARKED in your favorite podcast app. This is so helpful in helping others find the show and growing our community so that we can all come alive and work in life together. This episode of SPARKED was produced by executive producers Lindsey Fox and Me, Jonathan Fields. Production and editing by Sarah Harney. Special thanks to Shelley Adelle for her research on this episode. Until next time. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is SPARKED.