Page Title

Problem Playgrounds

March 27, 2000

"Create common areas (in halls or lobbies) in which there are play materials or structures.  Nerf basketball hoops.  A sandbox table with tools for building castles.  A dart board.  Try to pick games that are not likely to lead to injury, that are fun to do with a small group, and that don't usually occupy people's attention for more than a half hour (no elaborate video games please!)  Put a sign above the area saying Problem-Solving Area.  See how people end up using it.  (Idea: offer a selection of activities on a rotating basis to find out which work best.)

BENEFITS:  Allows people to separate from thinking tasks long enough to gain some creative insight.  Encourages interpersonal interactions among employees.  Great for idea sharing and development and shows employees that you trust them to make appropriate use of their time.  If you don't trust them, don't use this method because you will end up regulating how long people can play, which takes all the fun out of it, and then some (Hiam, 1999, p.284)."

Reference:  Hiam, A. (1999).  Motivating & rewarding employees: New and better ways to inspire your people.  Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation.

What do you do to encourage problem-solving in your organization?

* Motivating & Rewarding Employees is available on loan at the OSU Leadership Center.  A listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~leaders

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-01-12