“Never lose your inner child.” Sociologists have shown the importance of play, leisure and recreation to work-life balance.

Historically, holidays and special occasions create an opportunity for adults to play and pretend as they did as children, such as during Halloween or during shows or parades.

More recently, studies are focusing on the importance of employers giving staff time to literally play. That is, to unwind and take a break from the stress of work in the middle of the day. By building in this time for play – and paying workers to do it as part of work time – wellbeing is significantly improved.

Reducing stress

Anthropologist, Professor David Graeber, says that instead of making our working lives easier, ‘technology has been marshalled, if anything, to figure out ways to make us all work more’:

‘Huge swaths of people, in Europe and North America in particular, spend their entire working lives performing tasks they believe to be unnecessary. The moral and spiritual damage that comes from this situation is profound. It is a scar across our collective soul…’

Research finds that 40% of workplace absenteeism ‘could be attributed to stress at a cost of £4.2 billion a year.’

Cardiologist Sarah Speck says that workplace stress and ‘constant connectivity’ represent ‘the new tobacco. ‘ This leads to earlier onset of heart disease for people aged over 40. She says: ‘We need our downtime.’

Companies that maintain ‘an inclusive, flexible, fun environment‘ are more likely to retain staff:

‘Here we see companies providing bus service to work, free dry cleaning delivery, personalized workstations, unlimited vacation, and health and gym facilities on campus. This is a trend we cannot stop – it’s a humane and loving way to treat people.’

Creating space for play

Office planning should include collaboration through fun activities.

‘Provide social spaces to reinforce the importance of fun and social interactions and the company’s commitment to encourage these behaviors.’