Play At Work: Use Novelty Bias To Boost Employee Thriving

SUMMARY: A little bit of novelty can go a long way toward mitigating the monotony of the modern workplace. By helping employees learn, yearn, adapt, and feel safe, leaders can help their people feel energized and empowered to do meaningful work.

Regardless of industry, seniority, or occupation, I tend to assume the worst when interacting with any employee. This isn’t out of choice; I don’t want to assume that they feel neglected, miserable, or want to quit their job. And I don’t want to assume they’re verge of burnout.?

On any given day, there’s a good chance that most employees are having a bad day at work. While this might be hard to believe, the numbers don’t lie. According to some of the most comprehensive employee surveys ever conducted:

• 70% of employees don’t feel heard (and, therefore, don’t feel appreciated);
• 77% are disengaged or resentful (and, therefore, spend their days toiling or sabotaging);
• 80% don’t feel like they belong (and, therefore, are considering quitting);
• 94% feel stressed (and, therefore, are worsening their health and well-being).

Employee stress and burnout are at an all-time high , mental health is at an all-time low , and company longevity is disturbingly shrinking .?

For most of the world’s employees — including a growing number of leaders — work just isn’t working. And so, on the rare occasions that I encounter a thriving employee, it’s distracting. The contrast between them and the bleak status quo of the modern workplace is extraordinary.

It makes me want to reverse-engineer the circumstances that would attract, retain, and engage these playfully productive unicorns.

The Curious Case of Lulu

All evening, I struggled to formulate the perfect question for her.

Lulu, our waitress at Dai Lo — one of Toronto’s top-ranked restaurants — was expanding my paradigm of employee engagement.?

All the traits of a quality hosting experience came effortlessly to her: smiles, humor, conversation, recommendations, regular check-ins, and magically replenished beverages were her baseline. What was happening, however, was something you’d expect from only the owner of the restaurant or a dear friend hosting a dinner party.?

And Lulu was neither.?

Curating the evening’s experience for me and my friends, she gently guided us (even politely vetoing decisions in our best interest), improvised courses based on feedback, and excitedly explained her thought process. She underscored suggestions with personal anecdotes, generously engaged in meaningful conversation, and routinely delighted us with surprise courses.?

Playfully productive, Lulu put on a masterclass of hosting. Watching her work was like watching Steph “Chef” Curry get a hot hand. It was the worker as the player, and the player as the artist.?

What Do You Love About Your Job?

“So what should I ask her?”?

I challenged my friends, hoping to understand the real reason Lulu was so on-point (without making it weird for her). Zak, one of Canada’s most admired CEOs and a truly human-centric leader, proposed the perfect question:?

“What do you love about working here?”

Gallup defines employee engagement as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace. It’s a formidable baseline metric for the modern workplace. But Microsoft recently took it a step further by measuring employee thriving. Microsoft defines thriving as “to be energized and empowered to do meaningful work.”?

Zak’s question was perfect, given Lulu’s outstanding performance. Far from surviving and beyond engaged, Lulu was thriving.?

While settling the bill at the end of the night, I went for it:?

“What do you love about working here?” I asked Lulu

Without skipping a beat, Lulu replied: “Each day is a new day.”

I leaned forward. “Tell me more,” I beckoned.

Lulu’s eyes lit up — perhaps she wasn’t used to people digging further.?

“Okay! Every day, the chef creates a new menu. And so there are always new combinations to learn. And because each guest is different, we try to create a unique experience for each table. So I have to think on my feet. I have to be creative. No two days are the same, and I love that.”

And there it was. An 8.8 trillion dollar solution for the broken modern workplace: novelty.

A Recipe For Thriving

The secret ingredient in Lulu’s playful productivity was novelty bias, which is the psychological inclination towards new and novel experiences. A sense of novelty activates the dopamine system directly. As a result, it enhances mood, positive outlook, motivation, and goal setting. It was cleverly incorporated into Lulu’s daily routine in the form of a constantly changing menu.?

A later conversation with the ma?tre d' confirmed that this was not a pretentious gimmick but rather a strategic choice.?

For Lulu, novelty bias inspired unlocked an ethic of play — a potent force that can be harnessed in various ways to benefit employees across all workplaces, even in highly structured ones like a restaurant environment.

?This approach can be encapsulated by the acronym "P.L.A.Y."

1. Psychological Safety: Create an environment where employees feel safe to voice their ideas, take calculated risks, and suggest new approaches. When people know they won't face punitive measures for trying something different, they’re more likely to explore innovative solutions.
2. Learning Culture: Encourage a culture of continuous learning and skill development to infuse novelty into even the most routine tasks. Employees who are given opportunities to acquire new skills or expand their knowledge base tend to be more engaged and motivated.
3. Adaptability: Being adaptable in response to the changing needs of customers is key. This means not just tolerating change but actively seeking it out when necessary to keep the workplace dynamic and engaging.
4. Yearning Culture: Foster a culture that encourages employees to explore their interests and passions within the framework of their work to provide a continuous source of novelty. When people are encouraged to pursue what excites them, they naturally inject freshness into their daily tasks.

Driven by novelty bias, playful productivity is a powerful tool for transforming mundane workplaces into flourishing environments.

It’s The Little Things

Can play at work be used effectively in high-stakes workplaces with little room for deviation? The answer is a resounding yes. In such environments, the application of novelty bias can be subtle but impactful.

The key is to not make it patronizing, infantilizing, or distracting. The best way to achieve this is by empowering your employees with as much control over their work as possible . To optimize playful productivity in even the most seemingly counterintuitive workplaces:

• Introduce Micro-Challenges: In high-stress professions like healthcare or finance, where protocols are rigid, introducing micro-challenges can help. For instance, setting aside time for employees to find more efficient ways to execute a task within the existing protocols can be invigorating.
• Rotate Responsibilities: Even in industries with stringent processes, periodically rotating responsibilities among team members can offer a sense of novelty. It allows employees to gain new perspectives and insights into their roles.
• Encourage Cross-Training: Cross-training employees to perform tasks beyond their immediate responsibilities can be beneficial. Not only does this prepare the workforce for contingencies, but it also injects variety into their daily routines.
• Customize What You Can: Encourage employees to customize anything they can within reason. Whether it's personalizing their workspaces, adapting certain processes, or tailoring their approach to tasks, customization can provide a sense of ownership and creativity within established parameters.

Permission To Play

As I was reminded through the curious case of Lulu, even one randomized variable (a changing menu, and a reason to improvise around it) is enough to boost employee thriving significantly.?

While the adage "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" rings true (especially in light of recent findings ), it's equally true that "Some play in some work can make Lulu a thriving employee." And only thriving employees can influence the supreme business objective of customer loyalty. Everyone can win by infusing an ethic of play at work.?