The Game of Work

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The central idea in this book is that there is a better way of thinking about working and learning that comes down to giving more priority to our inner capacities and whishes and less to external expectations, norms and instructions. Learning to let go and trust is the greatest gifts that we can give to ourselves and each other. Scientists have often found a link between happiness and productivity. So it makes sense to try to encourage employees to keep a sense of fun while they work. We perform our best when we allow the Self 2 (think inner child) to perform and not let Self 1 (think overly critical coach) get in the way Code Names is a wonderful game for two teams, all about communication and clues. You must attempt to pass clues to your own team, without giving away clues to the opposing team.

If you’re looking for games to play at work which will boost creativity, then this next lot is for you. These games are exceptionally fun, and encourage your employees to really think outside the box, and get their creative juices flowing. 25 – The story game Not only does this game encourage you to get creative with the statements you choose, but it also helps you to find out interesting facts about your colleagues. 6 – Who Am I?

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I find these two concepts (mobility and redefining work) to be a difficult re-framing of the issues presented. I would imagine that a reader who finds themselves in a job with little freedom to become "mobile" or with little opportunity to learn or enjoy their work would find that these concepts are neither very applicable nor comforting. GENERALISTS: Increase cross-training and cross-department transfers that grow the team’s overall capabilities in various organizational disciplines.

These games are perfect for helping new colleagues – or even old colleagues! – to get to know each other better. They’re fun, light-hearted, and your employees will come away feeling like they’ve learned something about their co-workers. These work games are mostly very easy to adapt to a remote working environment, too. 1 – Guess That Baby The ideas of the triangle of Performance, Learning, and Enjoyment and bringing key variables to awareness were also fascinating and applicable. Outdoor or field sports lend themselves well to tournaments – think about sports like soccer, volleyball or even extreme frisbee! Of course, if you don’t have the space to play something like this, then you might prefer to consider a smaller sport that can be easily played indoors. 20 – Team Sports Challenge

Each time a player misses a shot, they sit out, until eventually only 2 people remain. You can declare these joint winners, or have a play-off to determine the champion.

There is also a chapter suggesting that one should redefine work. Essentially, one should realize that in addition to being paid for performing at work, they are also given the opportunity to learn and maybe even enjoy their work.

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Organising a sports tournament between teams is a great way to encourage a little bit of healthy competition, and get the blood pumping. You might want to book out a full day for this, or perhaps you’d prefer to run this over a period of time, during lunch breaks or on weekends. The author determines that "mobility" is a very important aspect of happiness in one's work life. For him, mobility means the ability to change or adapt. Not exactly a new concept. Certainly not among those providing advice to people in the modern workplace. Remember that as well as buying the ping pong table, you’ll need to keep your staff supplied with plenty of bats and balls. These can break, so make sure you have plenty spare. 22 – Run-Around (ping pong variation) In the businesses I used to run, I learned to several 'games' to increase the fun and productivity of my teams. Effective use of Game of Work concepts has allowed us to build a championship team here.” - Molina Healthcare

There is a saying in Japan that the lone nail gets hammered down. I find that to be ever so true in my twenty-five years of business experience. Seminars, workshops, on-the-job training, and countless other programs and processes are all geared toward improving our collective performance, while often pushing our individual identity further into obscurity. The net result of this process is that we begin to view ourselves through the lenses of what we do. Our business card soon no longer defines what we do, but who we are. I believe this conventional approach is the most difficult path to sustained corporate and individual performance because it conflicts with our human nature. Human nature is a powerful thing. Yet our lives seem to be littered with initiatives that encourage us to go against our nature—our human nature. We try to lose weight by eating the right foods and avoiding those foods that are not good for you. In our elementary schools we expect a ten-year-old boy, full of energy and curiosity, to sit still for hours performing repetitive tasks. In business, we all say that our people make the difference. The strategies we pursue talk of innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. Yet we reward predictability and those who get along.When a CFO in the last decade of his career and a director of marketing in her first decade of work from the same company both select scorecards that allow them to win at their jobs, and deliver double-digit improvement, I know we are touching fundamental human needs to achieve. This goes for both the coach and the pupil. This refers to the confidence that SELF-2 will be capable of fulfilling the task. The Game of Work works. Since its first press run in 1984, The Game of Work has helped thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of managers and employees experience increased job enjoyment while producing extraordinary results. It still works today. Perhaps a panel of judges could review the entries and give out prizes for the winners? What are your favourite games to play at work? Similar to the Human Snakes game, you’ll need to split your group into teams, who will stand in a line.