All work and no play hampers innovation

In an article published in March on CIO Magazine's Web site, Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute of Play in the US, explained why play in the workplace stimulates problem-solving and fosters innovation.

Make the time to think big... out of the box, and the more off the wall, the better.

He said that "because play is directed by the player and you're not anxious or grinding towards some outcome... there's a sense of exploration, a search for novelty, an engagement. From these outcomes, you see increased mastery and skill, increased perseverance and lots of good by-products."

According to Brown, play can incorporate any kind of downtime, from taking a nap, reading a novel, coding or volunteering, to any other enjoyable, non-work-related activity.

Brainstorm asked three South African CIOs if they think play in the workplace is important, and how they foster creativity and problem-solving in their environments.

Christie Olivier, CIO of Accenture Africa, agrees with Brown: "No innovation or creative thinking really ever comes from people burning the midnight oil all the time," he says. "People need time set aside to allow them to think freely without the pressure of responding to that next e-mail or handling the next crisis."

Guy Saville, director of IT and systems at SA Home Loans, believes Brown's view is an extreme position, written to be a little provocative. "All businesses fall onto a spectrum. On the one end, like the author says, employees can do whatever they like in their downtime, and at the other end is micromanagement, where managers clock-watch and staff have to account for every hour," he says. "Most companies fall somewhere in-between, probably closer to the micromanaging end."

While Rob Redaelli, CIO at TMFC, believes Brown's approach may work, depending on the type of industry and culture of the organisation, he also thinks it's possibly better to be able to play without thinking about work at all. "We need time to unwind and let off steam, and perhaps it's a good thing to have it entirely away from work and not be job-related," he says.

Olivier believes it's important to create time for people to innovate and then to reward them for their ideas.

"Our executives need to forcibly remove themselves from their notebooks and/or any e-mail-capable device for four hours a month where they only have a white board or smart board to write on," he says. "The objective for these four hours is to think ahead, think of what they need to do to stay ahead of their competition, or simply get their heads and minds around a problem they were made aware of in the last month."

He says it's also important that people feel comfortable presenting any idea. "Reward innovation and make sure it's included in everyone's performance appraisal, as this can then help an individual differentiate themselves from their peers," he says. "Make the time to 'think big'... out of the box, and the more off the wall, the better."

Saville feels that, in SA, where there's a shortage of IT skills, it's important for companies to hang on to their employees. Of course, he says, this can't be about creating a work environment that's totally permissive about play.

He says there's a perception out there that many IT departments are nothing short of sweatshops, churning out IT solutions at the cost of the wellbeing of their staff. "You don't get the best work out of people if they're at it night after night. Your staff has to go home and spend time with their friends and family - we encourage that emphatically at SA Home Loans."

There are real consequences at any stage in the human life cycle from play deprivation.

He says that while his organisation isn't in favour of downtime as an extreme, he doesn't insist that his staff work on business projects all the time. Instead, they attend developer forums and present their findings to the rest of the team. And he believes very strongly that the agile methodologies they adopt in the workplace create an environment that fosters creativity and innovation and obviates the need for downtime.

"My approach, as far as innovation is concerned, is to create an environment where each person finds him or herself in a fulfilling position and sees the potential to grow and contribute," says TMFC's Redaelli. "I believe we need to be challenged, as without challenge, there's no growth."

He agrees with Olivier that it's vital to encourage, create and maintain an environment where ideas can be raised and discussed. "Ideas raised... need to go through a process of healthy debate. Effective leadership is required to ensure that, during these debates, there's a 'safe environment', but, at the same time, there has to be critical debate to ensure idea progression and potential growth."

He adds that while downtime is important, he's seen great ideas emanating during times of crisis like budget cuts, competition or other pressures.

First published in May issue of Brainstorm magazine.