Our des ign team used play-based strategies for t he flagship office of TD Securities in Manhattan. Multisensory e ements, f romtexturesandpopsofcolortocutting-edgetoolsandamenities,enliventhe spaceandencourage e ngagement.Theoffice featuresdiverses pace typesa nd furni s hingstoinvite playful engage ment, promote collabo ra tion,andsupportthecompany'scultureofinnovation
THREE IDEAS ... about playful workplace design
PLAY, ~. YOURWAY
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Funforo ne isn'l(n ecessarily)funfor a ll.ReneProyer professorofpsychologyandplayresearcher,identifies fourdime ns ionsofpl ayfulness: othe r-directed L1ghthearted.lntelleclual andWhims1cal. other-<lirected play issocialinn ature,whi elighth ea rtedpla yref ersto seeinglifeasa ga me. "lntellectualp layinvofvesa me ntalcha ll enge.Q uirkyoroff-the-wa llhumorpointsto whims ca play Usethefourdimensionsofplayfulness t o nspire differen t kindsofp layinth eofficeForexa mple,a ga me roommighlinviteother-<l irecteda ndlight-heartedp lay, wh ile ad ispla yofqui r kymemora bitiaortongu e-in-cheek s ign age m ghtencourage whims icalplay
CatherinePrice,sciencejournalista ndauthorof The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Aga in ma kes a distinctionbetween fakefun and truefun. True fun, s hesays,happe nsat lhe intersectionofplayfu lness connection,andflow.Fakefun,ontheotherhand ,uses upteisure timebut is genera llypass ivean dun fulfitti ng lnthe office,ca rveoutspacesforactivitiesthatblend playfulness,connection,andflow.Playingcanhappen a lone,but moreofte nth an notthere san important socia lcomponent.Pri or tize playful,low-stakesactivities t hal bringpeopletogethe r and are justchaflenging e noughto exciteande ngage
Organized pl ay can fee hollow and burdensome whe n e mployeesa re overworked,wh en team bondsa re ackin&, orwhen acultureof lea rning a ndgrowlhis not supportedfromthe top.lt'sessentialtoletemployees ca llth eshots whenitcomestooffic e fun, especia lly w hen it encroacheso ntheirwork orleis urelime Thebestkindofplayisintrin sica llymotivated.To e ncourageplayw ithoutdrivingpeopleupthewa ll,ma ke s ureemp loyees know they ca nopt outif theychoose Recruit team members to come up w th activities that e mbodytheirownideaoffun, a ndprovideresources (includingtimel ) loplanandimplementthem