In today's world of work, there are two types of key decision makers we see everyday: those key decision makers ready to make it happen and those who watch things happen. Rediscovering the joy of play at work is for those key decision makers who are ready to make it happen. Now's the right time. Through the sheer magic of playing together, create a feeling of community in which co-workers are truly connected, operating more effectively with each other and celebrating their achievements.

Play is permission for a time out from an all too busy world of work to feel engaged, manage stressors, open lines of communication, and foster employee relationship building through fun and laughter. Play achieves the goal of simply bringing people together in a most unique experience. Nothing else compares!

Raising Fun Levels
What if you could give your co-workers opportunities to interact, to laugh, and to engage in powerful play experiences that generates a buzz of excitement, tangible energy, and doesn’t fizzle out at the end of the session? Rediscovering the joy of play at work is your commitment to raising fun levels while empowering people to embrace a whole new attitude towards play at work.

I'm absolutely convinced that rediscovering the joy of play at work is a good thing. And without doubt, it's an innovative, and creative leading edge tool that factors into shaping your company's success. Take a look around and check out the number of companies and organizations committed to this whole new attitude towards play at work

Incorporating Play at Work...“What Do I Do?”
Many companies have recognized a power in this new attitude towards play at work and have totally integrated this attitude into their best practices model. This strategy is actually quite significant and paying huge dividends, whether you're responsible for training and development, staff retreats, conferences, team building sessions, or any other organizational effectiveness and employee wellness programs

1. When planning for the upcoming year the first step to best address Incorporating Play at Work is to organize a set of standards in your best practices model around the driving belief that we need to have more fun. Your ability to focus on enhancing the value of your department's services by totally integrating this attitude into your best practices model results in organizational learning opportunities, AGMs, meetings, staff appreciation events, etc., that are more appealing, invigorating and leading edge for staff and management.

2. Over the past couple of years, it's quite encouraging to see more and more companies wanting to rediscover the joy of play at work. They believe in the value of play as solutions to their problems. While there may be different reasons or objectives as to why they want to harness the power of play at work, there are common threads. We can streamline these common threads to nicely fit into one or more of the following intentions. In your planning meetings capture the true intent, gain clarity and then clearly communicate one or more of the following intentions across your organization.

• Create a Healthy Workplace Environment
  
• Keep Valued Employees
  
• Opportunities for Staff Training & Development
  
• Employee Communication & Participation
  
• Meaningful Staff Recognition & Rewards

3. Do your due diligence. Rediscovering the joy of play at work is a whole new attitude and a vehicle for positive change. Respect that if you're going to take this message to other staff, ultimately it starts with you. You need to embrace a refreshing, personal philosophy towards play. So, look at yourself in the mirror and repeat after me:

• I invite playfulness into the daily grind of life.
  
• I empower people to stretch their imaginations through creative play.
  
• The capacity exists within me to maintain play's momentum.
  
• I play, and feel good about playing.
  
• I don't need any special equipment. Heck, I don't even have to be in shape.

When it comes to rediscovering the joy of play at work, the range of service providers as well as the techniques they apply continues to grow in popularity. There's been a noticeable increase in adventure activities, extreme sports and creative variations on the deluge of reality shows we see on television. How complex does this have to be? The only limits are your imagination. My general rule of thumb is to involve a broad range of staff and management in the planning process, yet keep the process simple and filled with lightheartedness. Most significantly, rediscovering the joy of play at work means giving attention to people's concern for their own physical and emotional safety. A safe experience is played with a responsibility that nobody is hurt. After all, at the end of the day it's really all about a smile on everyones' faces.

Now, go ahead. Make it happen!

Next Steps
Robert is the Creator & Facilitator of Powerful Play Experiences. He leads organizations in Workplace Fun & Wellness Workshops and believes that each day and every day we must re-energize and ignite our spirit within through the power of play. Robert can be reached at www.powerfulplayexperiences.ca