I work as a contract software engineer and although I'm semi-retired (down to three hours a day four days a week) I still look forward to getting back to work every Monday.
Although my "boss" tells me what he needs in a program, I decide how to accomplish it, I work on my own computer, using my chosen language, and my own set of software tools. It's very creative work, structured by highly abstract rules, many of which I make up myself, and -- I think this is a key point -- nobody really understands what I'm doing, so nobody second-guesses my choices.
There were many times in my career when I would arrive at work at 7 am, work right through lunch eating over my keyboard, and look up in surprise at 5 o'clock when the other inmates were leaving. Oh, darn, is it that time already?
I recently opened my own private practice. When I go there after working my other job, it doesn't feel like work at all! I guess I created my own play space :)
I enjoy my work tremendously! I started my own business tutoring homeschooled children in English Language Arts. I mostly make my own rules, preferring to teach the creative process of writing. I have a few parents who value intensive phonics and grammar, but in those areas I'm learning a lot so it's not as bad as I thought it would be. When I was a teacher in the classroom long ago, I was burned out and frustrated much of the time, although I strongly wanted to be a teacher. These days I don't know how teachers can tolerate the over-control of the school system.
For my ex-husband and myself, the roles were just as you described. I was happy when my children were little and I was home to care for them. As they got older, more cooking and cleaning were expected - I'm not too fond of those activities. My ex definitely felt he had to support the family. He had no particular interests after high school, and ended up working in IT because it is lucrative. He liked elements of his job where he could learn new software and create new ways of tracking things for the company. However, many of his excellent ideas never came to fruition because of the corporate structure. If someone above him didn't like the idea, it would go no further. That kind of control is very frustrating.
Have you read "No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention" by Erin Meyer? I heard her speak about how they changed the culture at Netflix by hiring fewer more talented people and trusting them to work with very few rules. I was amazed, because it sounded like SDE goes to work!
My favourite job ever was running my own business as a face painter. It was the most wonderfully creative thing to do and brought such joy to people. I used glitter and colour. I physically made people pop and shine!
Thanks for this post. I want to be better at making work more like play, but it’s not always easy. It takes character, and it’s a work in progress for me. I’m still learning how to do it.
Your ideas are really important and I realize that you’re up against a monster. I sympathize with your viewpoint, and I don’t have it all figured out yet, but I’m really interested in your viewpoint.
I’m going to defend work in this comment. Feel free to respond.
This letter seems to imply that work, even mundane work such as mowing the lawn, or screwing wood sheeting to floor joists can be made less like toil and more like play. It seems to imply that even really hard physical labor like digging ditches can be made less like toil.
To a degree, yes this kind of work can be made more like play, but I’m thinking about an immigrant to America, who doesn’t speak very good English, and has bills to pay and a family to feed, and I’m not sure that your view is fair to that person. Or maybe I’m not being fair to your post?
That person may do this unpleasant work for months or years on end. Sure they can listen to music, or podcasts to pass the time, but their work is at best routine, and might be hard. They can improve their attitude to a degree, but for a number of months or years, they will have to WORK.
What keeps them at this work? Their goals I would think. Maybe they can do better. Maybe they should quit and find more fulfilling work? It’s hard to know though. I don’t understand them very well.
What would I do in their situation? I don’t know. I don’t understand their situation very well.
I have the luxury of quitting and changing jobs. I often have the luxury of choosing work that allows me to get paid to learn. I’m not sure that everyone wants to make their work more like play. Is this true? What would you say to this immigrant?
My motto is #PLAYwithYourFood, PLAY in your body, & PLAY in your life! In my work as a chef, yoga teacher, and business coach, I encourage my students to question all of the rules they think they *must* follow in favor of what they would like to do in the moment. Part of what makes my work such an absolute 💜JOY💜 is seeing my clients light up when they realize just how much more self direction and creativity they can apply to tasks they previously viewed as mundane chores in which they had no options. Thank you for helping to expand the definition of PLAY, so that more people may begin to broaden their understanding of work beyond that of toil toward something that can also be more optimistic and fulfilling!
My work is a musician used to feel like play and now I've burned out. Now I'm trying to renew that joy or replace it with something else. Not easy. Thanks for the essay with clues about how to get through this.
I like play so much that have made it my career. I started as a child care provider for school aged children and was very "teachery" in my style at first and noticed increased joy in children when I let them choose what to do. Now I run a Play Camp that operates mostly outside and all year long. I set the stage, so to speak, by designing a variety of play areas with pallets with moveable parts such as tables, chairs, baskets, crates and add materials(art supplies) and "props" and they are off and running. I designed a mud kitchen area and a covered hot glue and art station. Summer is my favorite time because they play from 9am- 4pm non stop. It is amazing what they decide to do. Given that sort of freedom to choose is rare these days. They go home with the craziest inventions and art and are covert in dirt. The joy surrounds me and I get a kick out of their process. I stay out of the way and help when needed. I respect their curiosity and abilities. The creativity for me is thinking outside the box. I follow their lead and interests and don't follow a curriculum. I curate materials and wonder what they will do with them. I am not bogged down with plans other than a field trip here and there. I plan those based on what they like too- and what I like!
I like how you said that you know your work is play if you would do it even if you won the lottery.
When I first started as a research assistant, I loved it so much that I told my boss that I would do it without pay (obviously I did still get paid, but I was so excited to be offered the position even though I was under qualified). In the work I do now, I am often slower at sending out invoices than I should be, simply because I'm not doing this work for the money. I genuinely enjoy the work I do.
Thank you for writing this. The aha moment for me reading your article was that we have some choice in how we experience work as play - by our attitude and our choice to focus on the process and 'enjoying the journey' rather than exclusively focused on the goal output. How to do that, if conditioned for only the outputs at school and home. Also that might explain why two people go the same meeting and one says 'that was fun' and the other is like 'goal achieved - tick, what do you mean fun?' ---- maybe perspective or attitude -- so then that might become a choice. OK, so if I wanted to experience work more as play in 2024, then what or how do I start? By noticing the processes (slow down to speed up?). Ideas welcome.
Thanks Peter for the well articulated article. Funnily enough so much of what your exhorting (making work play) is what I'm trying to achieve with sport. Make it play, provide the elements of Autonomy, Connectedness and Competence and watch the intrinsic motivation develop.
Playing sports and being active and part of a community for life is a beautiful and impactful thing to have.
Similarly we spend so much time at 'work', the more we can make it play, the higher our motivation will grow which then drives higher performance.
Both of which will lead to increased satisfaction and reduced likelihood of burnout, stress and other mental health impact.
Nice work!
In response to your question, for sure there are elements of my job that are low in autonomy and choice and are must do's. Other elements are 100% at my own pace and at my own discretion and timeline.
There is a definite productivity and success payoff to taking the time to reimagine tasks and roles so I am more intrinsically motivated to undertake them.
In my 80 plus years I have had numerous jobs and several very successful careers such as HVAC Technician/contractor, teacher, pastor, Realtor, author, and more. In each case I only continued as long as I enjoyed what I was doing. When I ceased to enjoy, I found something else that I felt I would enjoy. I found all of them creative and contributed to my over all goal of; making a difference in the world. There were times when I barely supported my family and times when we had all we needed and more. I have managed to learn other languages, travel the world visiting in 27 countries and always enjoying what I was doing. I feel that you have placed limits on people as many have placed limits upon themselves that were usually not necessary.
I am essentially retired tho I have a job since I do not have enough money to just retire and play all day. I found a good part time admin job at a CPA firm. The work is not onerous but is sometimes tedious. There are only a few times a year (around April 15 & October 15) when it is very busy and a bit stressful.
I have daily work load to finish but am not in the least bit micromanaged so the path and pace I pick are, more or less, my own. Any particular clients task may be negotiable by consulting with one of my bosses (I have 3). So my workload is never (much) overloaded. Only seldom does something have to take place today (send certified mail to the post office) but I am given plenty of resources to make that happen. I enjoy the feeling of finishing things and at the end of the day I can see how much I have accomplished.
Biggest plus is that I go in to work in the mornings with no foreboding, ever. I work with a good group of people and there is no one I dread to see at work. {Maybe work is more like play if your workplace does not feel like prison?} I also do not take any of my work home with me, so once I am out the door I am unburdened. Being part time I still have a lot of free time to have fun and pursue my own interests, such as reading blogs like this one.
I work a government paper pushing job, but our long established union and lax management means we are allowed to be human and the expected grind is something we are permitted to ease into. We have a quota that we know is just a wishlist for management, even so it is not hard to actually meet, and so many of us are quite unfocused for a lot of the day. Nobody is trying to whip us into shape, so the job is not horrible, its just that we are required to be there, but we are allowed to socialize and complain. The pay and benefits make it worth it, so people tend to hang around for a long time. My supervisor started in 1997. Retirement is an actual thing I might hang around for unless i get too antsy after my kids get older...
I work as a contract software engineer and although I'm semi-retired (down to three hours a day four days a week) I still look forward to getting back to work every Monday.
Although my "boss" tells me what he needs in a program, I decide how to accomplish it, I work on my own computer, using my chosen language, and my own set of software tools. It's very creative work, structured by highly abstract rules, many of which I make up myself, and -- I think this is a key point -- nobody really understands what I'm doing, so nobody second-guesses my choices.
There were many times in my career when I would arrive at work at 7 am, work right through lunch eating over my keyboard, and look up in surprise at 5 o'clock when the other inmates were leaving. Oh, darn, is it that time already?
I recently opened my own private practice. When I go there after working my other job, it doesn't feel like work at all! I guess I created my own play space :)
I enjoy my work tremendously! I started my own business tutoring homeschooled children in English Language Arts. I mostly make my own rules, preferring to teach the creative process of writing. I have a few parents who value intensive phonics and grammar, but in those areas I'm learning a lot so it's not as bad as I thought it would be. When I was a teacher in the classroom long ago, I was burned out and frustrated much of the time, although I strongly wanted to be a teacher. These days I don't know how teachers can tolerate the over-control of the school system.
For my ex-husband and myself, the roles were just as you described. I was happy when my children were little and I was home to care for them. As they got older, more cooking and cleaning were expected - I'm not too fond of those activities. My ex definitely felt he had to support the family. He had no particular interests after high school, and ended up working in IT because it is lucrative. He liked elements of his job where he could learn new software and create new ways of tracking things for the company. However, many of his excellent ideas never came to fruition because of the corporate structure. If someone above him didn't like the idea, it would go no further. That kind of control is very frustrating.
Have you read "No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention" by Erin Meyer? I heard her speak about how they changed the culture at Netflix by hiring fewer more talented people and trusting them to work with very few rules. I was amazed, because it sounded like SDE goes to work!
Some great points.
My favourite job ever was running my own business as a face painter. It was the most wonderfully creative thing to do and brought such joy to people. I used glitter and colour. I physically made people pop and shine!
Then the smiles….I would leave walking on air.
When work is play the world is a winner.
Peter,
Thanks for this post. I want to be better at making work more like play, but it’s not always easy. It takes character, and it’s a work in progress for me. I’m still learning how to do it.
Your ideas are really important and I realize that you’re up against a monster. I sympathize with your viewpoint, and I don’t have it all figured out yet, but I’m really interested in your viewpoint.
I’m going to defend work in this comment. Feel free to respond.
This letter seems to imply that work, even mundane work such as mowing the lawn, or screwing wood sheeting to floor joists can be made less like toil and more like play. It seems to imply that even really hard physical labor like digging ditches can be made less like toil.
To a degree, yes this kind of work can be made more like play, but I’m thinking about an immigrant to America, who doesn’t speak very good English, and has bills to pay and a family to feed, and I’m not sure that your view is fair to that person. Or maybe I’m not being fair to your post?
That person may do this unpleasant work for months or years on end. Sure they can listen to music, or podcasts to pass the time, but their work is at best routine, and might be hard. They can improve their attitude to a degree, but for a number of months or years, they will have to WORK.
What keeps them at this work? Their goals I would think. Maybe they can do better. Maybe they should quit and find more fulfilling work? It’s hard to know though. I don’t understand them very well.
What would I do in their situation? I don’t know. I don’t understand their situation very well.
I have the luxury of quitting and changing jobs. I often have the luxury of choosing work that allows me to get paid to learn. I’m not sure that everyone wants to make their work more like play. Is this true? What would you say to this immigrant?
My motto is #PLAYwithYourFood, PLAY in your body, & PLAY in your life! In my work as a chef, yoga teacher, and business coach, I encourage my students to question all of the rules they think they *must* follow in favor of what they would like to do in the moment. Part of what makes my work such an absolute 💜JOY💜 is seeing my clients light up when they realize just how much more self direction and creativity they can apply to tasks they previously viewed as mundane chores in which they had no options. Thank you for helping to expand the definition of PLAY, so that more people may begin to broaden their understanding of work beyond that of toil toward something that can also be more optimistic and fulfilling!
My work is a musician used to feel like play and now I've burned out. Now I'm trying to renew that joy or replace it with something else. Not easy. Thanks for the essay with clues about how to get through this.
I like play so much that have made it my career. I started as a child care provider for school aged children and was very "teachery" in my style at first and noticed increased joy in children when I let them choose what to do. Now I run a Play Camp that operates mostly outside and all year long. I set the stage, so to speak, by designing a variety of play areas with pallets with moveable parts such as tables, chairs, baskets, crates and add materials(art supplies) and "props" and they are off and running. I designed a mud kitchen area and a covered hot glue and art station. Summer is my favorite time because they play from 9am- 4pm non stop. It is amazing what they decide to do. Given that sort of freedom to choose is rare these days. They go home with the craziest inventions and art and are covert in dirt. The joy surrounds me and I get a kick out of their process. I stay out of the way and help when needed. I respect their curiosity and abilities. The creativity for me is thinking outside the box. I follow their lead and interests and don't follow a curriculum. I curate materials and wonder what they will do with them. I am not bogged down with plans other than a field trip here and there. I plan those based on what they like too- and what I like!
I like how you said that you know your work is play if you would do it even if you won the lottery.
When I first started as a research assistant, I loved it so much that I told my boss that I would do it without pay (obviously I did still get paid, but I was so excited to be offered the position even though I was under qualified). In the work I do now, I am often slower at sending out invoices than I should be, simply because I'm not doing this work for the money. I genuinely enjoy the work I do.
Thank you for writing this. The aha moment for me reading your article was that we have some choice in how we experience work as play - by our attitude and our choice to focus on the process and 'enjoying the journey' rather than exclusively focused on the goal output. How to do that, if conditioned for only the outputs at school and home. Also that might explain why two people go the same meeting and one says 'that was fun' and the other is like 'goal achieved - tick, what do you mean fun?' ---- maybe perspective or attitude -- so then that might become a choice. OK, so if I wanted to experience work more as play in 2024, then what or how do I start? By noticing the processes (slow down to speed up?). Ideas welcome.
Thanks Peter for the well articulated article. Funnily enough so much of what your exhorting (making work play) is what I'm trying to achieve with sport. Make it play, provide the elements of Autonomy, Connectedness and Competence and watch the intrinsic motivation develop.
Playing sports and being active and part of a community for life is a beautiful and impactful thing to have.
Similarly we spend so much time at 'work', the more we can make it play, the higher our motivation will grow which then drives higher performance.
Both of which will lead to increased satisfaction and reduced likelihood of burnout, stress and other mental health impact.
Nice work!
In response to your question, for sure there are elements of my job that are low in autonomy and choice and are must do's. Other elements are 100% at my own pace and at my own discretion and timeline.
There is a definite productivity and success payoff to taking the time to reimagine tasks and roles so I am more intrinsically motivated to undertake them.
In my 80 plus years I have had numerous jobs and several very successful careers such as HVAC Technician/contractor, teacher, pastor, Realtor, author, and more. In each case I only continued as long as I enjoyed what I was doing. When I ceased to enjoy, I found something else that I felt I would enjoy. I found all of them creative and contributed to my over all goal of; making a difference in the world. There were times when I barely supported my family and times when we had all we needed and more. I have managed to learn other languages, travel the world visiting in 27 countries and always enjoying what I was doing. I feel that you have placed limits on people as many have placed limits upon themselves that were usually not necessary.
I am essentially retired tho I have a job since I do not have enough money to just retire and play all day. I found a good part time admin job at a CPA firm. The work is not onerous but is sometimes tedious. There are only a few times a year (around April 15 & October 15) when it is very busy and a bit stressful.
I have daily work load to finish but am not in the least bit micromanaged so the path and pace I pick are, more or less, my own. Any particular clients task may be negotiable by consulting with one of my bosses (I have 3). So my workload is never (much) overloaded. Only seldom does something have to take place today (send certified mail to the post office) but I am given plenty of resources to make that happen. I enjoy the feeling of finishing things and at the end of the day I can see how much I have accomplished.
Biggest plus is that I go in to work in the mornings with no foreboding, ever. I work with a good group of people and there is no one I dread to see at work. {Maybe work is more like play if your workplace does not feel like prison?} I also do not take any of my work home with me, so once I am out the door I am unburdened. Being part time I still have a lot of free time to have fun and pursue my own interests, such as reading blogs like this one.
I work a government paper pushing job, but our long established union and lax management means we are allowed to be human and the expected grind is something we are permitted to ease into. We have a quota that we know is just a wishlist for management, even so it is not hard to actually meet, and so many of us are quite unfocused for a lot of the day. Nobody is trying to whip us into shape, so the job is not horrible, its just that we are required to be there, but we are allowed to socialize and complain. The pay and benefits make it worth it, so people tend to hang around for a long time. My supervisor started in 1997. Retirement is an actual thing I might hang around for unless i get too antsy after my kids get older...