Close your eyes and think back to summers as a kid. Days spent outside, playing at the pool and exploring new worlds with neighborhood friends. Time seemed endless and worries and troubles were non-existent. No, that’s not just the nostalgia talking. Play as a child had immense benefits to your mental health and as an adult, it carries the same benefits. While you can’t spend all day by the pool or running through backyards, you can find a way to incorporate play into your day-to-day. Check out our favorite 5 benefits of play in the workplace.
1) Increased Productivity
We all need a brain break now and again. Play allows staff to mentally check out for a bit. Whether they play video games, goof around with stickers, or play-doh, play allows staff to take a moment to step out of their role and into their creative and fun state of mind. Being able to step away and unplug can have immense benefits to your physical therapy clinic and patients.
2) Relieve Stress
Remember how much fun you used to have playing alone or with friends when you were a kid? Your childhood was probably hallmarked by worry-free days and 0 problems. Well, play can have the same effect on your body and mind as an adult. While we’ll never be able to 100% go back to those carefree days as a child, you can provide brief moments of reprieve that allow your staff to be transported back to simpler times… even if only for a moment.
3) Encourages Collaboration
Play can be done alone or with a partner. Play encourages collaboration among your staff by placing them together in non-stressful situations that promote laughter and connectedness. During this playtime your staff will build camaraderie and rapport with each other in such a way that extends beyond the time frame of play.
4) Improves Transferable Skills
Play involves communication, collaboration, creative problem solving, and adaptability. These skills can be applied in other areas of life including with your patients. You may think adults are equipped with all the confidence one would need to be successful in life but the reality is that many adults still feel insecure in many areas including communication, collaboration, and adaptability. By allowing them time and space to utilize and develop these skills in greater understanding, you’re providing invaluable and impromptu training that will have profound effects inside and outside their professional life.
5) Inspires New Ideas
You know how you always seem to have the best ideas when you’re in the shower? That’s because you’re in a relaxed state of mind. Play offers the same setting which can help to inspire new and creative ideas to help improve your business, staff workspace, and patient experience. While you’re in active play your subconscious is busy working out the problem of the conscious mind without the overbearing, micromanaging conscious mind blocking simple solutions from coming through.