The Serious Power of Play: Designing Learning and Work That Engages, Connects, and Creates - Kelsey Kates

Playfulness is often misunderstood as something informal or optional; a nice to have, but not essential. Yet research from neuroscience, psychology, and organisational science tells a very different story. Playfulness is a powerful driver of engagement, psychological safety, collaboration, and creative problem-solving at work and in learning.

In this session, Kelsey Kates explores what it really means to be playful in professional contexts and why playfulness is increasingly critical in environments shaped by complexity, pressure, and rapid change. Drawing on neuroscience findings and real-world examples, she introduces the five dimensions of playfulness and eight distinct play personalities, offering a more nuanced view of how people engage, experiment, and learn.

Rather than treating play as an activity, this session reframes it as a mindset, one that can be intentionally designed into learning experiences, meetings, and everyday work. Attendees will leave with practical ideas for infusing playfulness in ways that feel authentic, inclusive, and appropriate to their audience, whether through small shifts or more deliberate design choices.

Key Topics Include:

• What playfulness really means at work and why it’s often misunderstood
• The five dimensions of playfulness and eight play personalities
• Neuroscience insights on how playfulness supports engagement, safety, and creativity
• Practical ways to design playfulness into learning and everyday work
• How to make playfulness authentic: knowing your audience and using “just enough”