Linda Naiman is a "Corporate Alchemist" who maintains a fascinating website titled Creativity at Work. In this article, Linda gives us the "Top Ten Reasons to Play" at work and sets out the benefits for doing so. They are:

1. Play is the path to fun and profit. Play opens up new channels of creativity and increases the level of satisfaction we experience at work. How employees feel about their company is directly related to their level of productivity and creativity. Research shows that highly motivated employees are up to 127% more productive than averagely motivated employees in high complexity jobs.-Fortune Magazine, January 1998.

2. "Fun is the new status symbol." Studies show, if you want to attract and keep talent, you need to have a fun, challenging and creative workplace environment. It's your talent that sets your business apart from the competition.

3. "Non-stop work is for losers" Play is as important as work. The quality of our work suffers if we don't take the time to play. We live in a workaholic society in North America. Being addicted to busyness is a product of low self-worth.

4. Even God rested on the 7th day! And universities have a tradition of offering sabbaticals.

5. We need time to be idle. Taking time to do nothing lets problems incubate and allows for creativity to flow. Children who are allowed to daydream develop a higher IQ.

6. Play helps us find our genius. Our childhood passions are the key to our genius. In the midst of play we experience unlimited possibilities.

7. Play is crucial to attaining a work/life balance. A work/life balance (not money) is the number one concern of employees at all levels, in Canada and the U.S. The ability to achieve this is the top determinant in whether they are happy on the job, and whether they stay or leave.

8. The bow kept forever taut will break. - Zen saying. Play helps us relax and let go. Play generates joy. Play replenishes and revitalizes our human spirit. It clears the mental cobwebs that keep us from thinking clearly.

9. Play is smart corporate strategy for solving problems. Play frees us from worry and stress, relaxing the brain and making it easier to be more creative. Solutions that seemed so evasive earlier now appear effortlessly in the midst of play.

10. Play keeps our passions alive in the workplace. Studies show, if you want to attract and keep talent, you need to have a fun, challenging and creative workplace environment. It's your talent that sets your business apart from the competition.

Thanks to Curt Rosengren at The Occupational Adventure for the link.