Work-Play Integration: An Alternative Perspective on Play in Organizational Settings

Abstract

The current literature on play in work settings continues to be dominated by serious play and playful work studies. In this article, we seek to respond to recent calls for a more detailed examination of various manifestations of play in organizations by introducing the concept of social ludic activities as a specific form of playful practice which is spontaneous, pre-reflexive, and unintentional in nature and has a temporary existence. Drawing upon a practice-based perspective we explore how workers in the pursuit of their daily practices shape the emergent and situated use of social ludic activities as they interact and cope with the environment in which they are embedded. We attempt to contribute to the field by advancing a framework that revolves around several contextual factors that may influence the specific enactments that players make of the social ludic practice. Conceiving social ludic activities as a practice allows not only highlighting the value of play as a liminal space for the collective generation of productive knowledge, but also adequately dealing with claims that play may constitute an arena for diverting from job tasks and cynically resisting work and authority.