Working in Movement

Remember those word analogy questions from the college admission tests? Unhappiness is to happiness as Work is to -----? (fill in the blank) I'd have to go with the word (and concept) of Play as the answer most people would choose. But is play just the opposite of work? And is it something to be avoided in favor of working harder and being busier in these hectic times?

According to Scottish writer Pat Kane, the answer is an emphatic no! According to Kane, society's emphasis on work over play hurts more than helps us. Kane is big thinker in all this, hoping to sway society wide attitudes and practices of play, rather than just getting the boss to let you play golf on Fridays.

The Financial Times last week named Kane its Guru of the Week. According to Kane:

We should stop thinking of playing as a distraction and start celebrating its benefits, such as added creativity, flexibility and dynamism. We should also redefine the way we think of ourselves and label ourselves "players" not "workers".

I'd add that an exclusive emphasis on work doesn't leave much time for learning. To paraphrase an old hippie saying, "learning will get you through times of work better than work will get you through times of no learning.)

Kane chronicles his ideas on his website The Play Ethic, and his weblog The Play Journal. He has written a book about all this, The Play Ethic: A Manifesto for a Different Way of Living which will be released in June 2004. For a more immediate (and playfully entertaining) exposure to Kane's controversial idea, listen to his interview on U.S. public radio program The Connection. (You'll need the Realaudio player to listen.)