Are play and work opposites? In this invited keynote at the Control Systems 2016 conference in Stockholm, I argue that we hold three common misconceptions about work, play, and motivation that have us misjudge how work may be made more playful.
26. »a sense that one’s skills are adequate to cope with the
challenges at hand, in a goal-directed, rule-bound action
system that provides clear clues as to how well one is
performing. Concentration is so intense that there is no
attention left... to worry about problems. Self-
consciousness disappears, and the sense of time
becomes distorted. An activity that produces such
experiences is so gratifying that people are willing to do
it for its own sake«
flow (1990: 1542)
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
27. Question
have you had moments where
you were so engaged in work,
you forgot time and yourself?
31. »I need to be very routinized;
I mustn’t let myself drift.«
»I hammer it through.«
»Often, you have to force yourself to do it.«
»You’re under real pressure.«
»It’s extremely exhausting.«
»It wears you out.«
»My friends usually cannot comprehend how
stressful this is.«
32. »Sometimes, you have to play,
you have to get further –
and then, play is work.«
33. Good work is play:
something we enjoy doing
for its own sake.
42. Raph Koster
»Fun is just another word
for learning.«
a theory of fun for game design (2005)
43. »Fun from games arises out of mastery.
It arises out of comprehension. It is the
act of solving puzzles that makes games
fun. With games, learning is the drug.«
Raph Koster
a theory of fun for game design (2005)
44.
45.
46. Teresa M. Amabile
»This pattern is what we call the
progress principle: of all the positive
events that influence inner work life, the
single most powerful is progress in
meaningful work.«
the progress principle (2012: 76)
47. »Truly effective video game designers
know how to create a sense of progress
for players within all stages of the game.
Truly effective managers know how to do
the same for their subordinates.«
Teresa M. Amabile
the progress principle (2012: 88)
48. Edward Deci, Richard Ryan
»An understanding of human motivation
requires a consideration of innate
psychological needs for competence,
autonomy, and relatedness.«
the what and why of goal pursuit (2000)
49. Question
when you enjoyed work, did you
feel you accomplished some
thing, mastered something that
requires skill, achieved change
in the world?
50. Question
when you enjoyed work, did you
feel you were in tune with your
self, choosing and embracing
what you did?
62. »Mowing the lawn or waiting in a
dentist’s office can become enjoyable
provided one restructures the activity by
providing goals, rules, and the other
elements of enjoyment to be reviewed
below.«
flow (1990: 51)
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
79. Edward Deci, Richard Ryan
»An understanding of human
motivation requires a consideration of
innate psychological needs for
competence, autonomy, and
relatedness.«
the what and why of goal pursuit (2000)