Latest / The Burnout Podcast with Fexingo: Workplace Exhaustion, Recovery, and Sustainable Careers / Burnout and the Loss of Your Workday Play
Transcript
- Lucas: So Luna, I was reading something the other day that just stuck with me. It was a study on how people who are burned out stop doing the small, playful things they used to enjoy at work — the little experiments, the doodling in meetings, the pointless coding projects. And it made me think of that engineer I know who used to build these tiny web apps just for fun, and now he says he can't even look at his side project folder. Luna: Oh, that's a real thing. I've noticed it in myself, honestly. There was a time when I would open a blank document and just write a silly poem or a fake product review to warm up. Now I look at a blank page and think, 'what's the point?' Lucas: Exactly. And that's the angle I want to dig into today — how burnout quietly steals your workday play. Not just your motivation or creativity, which we've touched on before, but the almost invisible loss of that playful impulse. The urge to try something just because it's interesting, not because it's productive. Luna: And why does that matter? I mean, is play at work actually important, or is it just a nice to have? Lucas: It matters more than we think. There's research by Stuart Brown, who's sort of the godfather of play studies — he ran this big, years-long project on play across different species and humans. And one of his big conclusions is that play deprivation is linked to depression, anxiety, and a kind of narrowed thinking. For adults, play isn't about games — it's about the mindset of exploration, of not knowing the outcome and being okay with that. Luna: So it's like the opposite of the relentless 'must be productive' drive that burns us out in the first place. Lucas: Right. And I think that's what we're losing. I remember reading this piece by Anne Lamott about how she has this 'shitty first draft' concept — she gives herself permission to write terribly, just to get the words flowing. That's play. That's the freedom to be bad at something for a moment. And when you're burned out, you lose that permission. Every draft has to be final. Every experiment has to work. Luna: And that pressure just feeds the exhaustion loop. But let's get concrete — what does this look like in the day-to-day? Like, what's a specific example you've seen or heard about? Lucas: Sure. So there's this designer I used to work with, and she had a habit of doing 'wrong fonts' Fridays — she'd pick the ugliest font she could find and design a poster with it, just to laugh at it. She told me that after a really intense quarter, she stopped doing it because she thought it was a waste of time. And she said she felt a little more hollow at work, but she couldn't put her finger on why. It wasn't until she started doing it again that she realized how much she'd missed that tiny rebellion. Luna: That's such a perfect image. And it's not about the font — it's about the act of doing something that has no pressure attached to it. Something you can't fail at. Lucas: Exactly. And I think there's a neurological story here too. When you're chronically stressed, your brain's reward system kind of goes dull — the dopamine response to novel or fun stimuli gets flattened. So even if you do try to play, it might not feel as good at first. Which makes it even easier to give up on it. But the research suggests that if you push through that initial flatness, the pleasure comes back. Luna: So it's like a muscle that atrophies but can be rebuilt. That's hopeful. But also, I'm wondering — isn't there a risk that we're romanticizing play at work? I mean, some jobs are just not that playful. Like, if you're a compliance officer or a surgeon, you don't want someone doodling during a procedure. Lucas: That's a fair point. But I'd argue that even in high-stakes roles, there's room for play in the margins — in how you approach problems, in the 'what if' questions you ask in your own head. The surgeon might not doodle, but they might play with a better way to position the lights or rehearse a tricky move in their mind. The key is the mindset, not the specific activity. And it's about giving yourself a little permission to be curious, even if the job itself is serious. Luna: Hmm, okay. So what's the actual cost when we lose that? Like, beyond just feeling sad at work — is there a measurable impact on performance or career? Lucas: Yeah, there is. There's some research that links play deprivation with reduced problem-solving ability and even a drop in what psychologists call 'divergent thinking' — that's the ability to generate multiple solutions to a problem. And in a knowledge economy, that's kind of everything. If you can't think divergently, you're just grinding through the same solutions you've always used, which is a fast track to obsolescence. Luna: So it's not just a nice to have. It's actually a competitive advantage that we're burning away. Lucas: Right. And there's a specific story I think about a lot — it's about how Google's original '20 percent time' policy, where engineers got to spend a fifth of their time on side projects, was meant to institutionalize play. And it produced things like Gmail and Adsense. But over the years, that policy kind of faded away, and it's become more of a legend than a reality. And I think part of why it faded is that as companies scale, they get more obsessed with efficiency and metrics — which is the opposite of play. But the point is, play had real economic value. Luna: That's a solid example. But I want to circle back to the personal side. Like, if I'm a listener who's burned out and I realize I've lost my play, what do I actually do about it? I don't want to just hear 'doodle more.' Lucas: Right, fair. So here's a concrete thing I've tried, and it's borrowed from a writer named Neil Gaiman. He said he always keeps a 'sacred notebook' for ideas that are just for him, not for any project. And the rule is, you can't show it to anyone. It's a place for bad ideas, half-thoughts, silly sketches. The act of writing something that has zero audience pressure can be a small way to reconnect with that playful part of your brain. Luna: I like that. And I'd add — maybe it's not about doing something 'creative' in the traditional sense. Like, for me, playing Tetris for fifteen minutes is actually a form of play that resets my brain. It's low-stakes, it's pattern-y, and it doesn't feel like a waste of time because it's, you know, a game. Lucas: That's a great point. Play can be anything that has an element of exploration without a defined outcome. And I think the key is to be mindful about it — like, set a timer for ten minutes and say, 'I'm going to do this and it doesn't have to lead anywhere.' If it does, great. If it doesn't, that's fine too. Luna: So we're not saying you have to turn your job into a playground. It's more about carving out these tiny moments of freedom. Lucas: Exactly. And I think managers have a role here too. There's this concept from the research on 'playful work design' — it's about how employees themselves can reframe their tasks to be more engaging, like turning a boring data entry task into a game of speed or accuracy. It's a real thing, and it can help with burnout, but it requires a certain mindset that's hard when you're exhausted. So maybe the first step is just acknowledging that play is a legitimate need, not a luxury. Luna: That reminds me of something I read from a psychologist who said that burnout is often the result of a gap between your values and your actions. And one of those values might be curiosity or creativity. If you're not honoring that, it's like a slow leak in your energy. Lucas: Yeah, and that leak is hard to notice day-to-day. But you do notice it in the rearview mirror. I think about that engineer again — he said he didn't realize how much he missed tinkering until he deleted his side project folder and felt a weird sense of relief. That's not a good sign. Luna: And that's the thing — it's not that he didn't enjoy the side projects anymore, it's that the energy to start them was gone. The desire was still there, but the activation energy was too high. Lucas: Right. And that's where the 'two-minute rule' comes in. The idea is that you lower the barrier to entry so much that starting feels almost frictionless. If you want to write, just write one sentence. If you want to code, just open a file and write a comment. The goal is not the output, it's the act of engaging. And once you start, the play often takes over. Luna: I'm going to try that. But I also want to ask — is there a risk that this becomes another 'should'? Like, 'I should be playing more' becomes another thing to feel guilty about? Lucas: That's a really good point. And I think the antidote is to approach it with self-compassion, not discipline. If you're burned out, you're not going to be playful overnight. It's like recovering from an illness — you don't run a marathon the day after the flu. You start with a walk around the block. And some days, the walk doesn't happen. That's okay. Luna: Yeah. And I think it also helps to remember what play actually feels like — it's not performance, it's flow. And flow is one of the things that burnout robs you of, because it requires a certain level of engagement and energy. Lucas: Absolutely. And this is actually a nice moment to mention something that's been on my mind. You know, we do this show ad-free, and it's because of listeners like you. If today's episode helped you think about your own relationship with play, and you'd like to support the show, you can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's the smallest thing, but it genuinely keeps us going. Luna: And honestly, that link is also a good reminder to buy yourself a coffee and take a real break — not just a scrolling break. Lucas: Ha, true. But back to the science for a second — I want to bring up one more study that I think is really relevant. There was a 2021 paper in the journal 'Organizational Dynamics' that looked at how playful work design actually reduces emotional exhaustion. The researchers found that when employees reframed their tasks as more playful — like by adding an element of competition or curiosity — they reported lower burnout levels six months later. It wasn't just a mood boost; it was a lasting effect. Luna: So it's not just about reclaiming play for its own sake — it's actually a protective factor against burnout. Lucas: Exactly. And I think that reframe is powerful because it changes the story from 'I don't have time to play' to 'I can't afford not to play.' And that's a much more compelling motivation. Luna: So let's say someone wants to take a first step today. What would you tell them? Lucas: I'd say: pick something you used to enjoy that had no stakes — maybe it's doodling, maybe it's free-writing, maybe it's building a silly spreadsheet. And block ten minutes on your calendar tomorrow to do it. Not as a 'productivity hack,' but as a rebellion against the grind. And if it feels awkward, that's normal. The point is to start the muscle moving again. Luna: And maybe don't tell anyone you're doing it — keep it as your own little secret. That's what makes it play. Lucas: Yes. And that's the note I want to end on — play is quiet, it's personal, and it's yours. It doesn't need to be defended or explained. It just needs to be done. Luna: I think that's a great place to leave it. Thanks for being here, everyone. Take care of yourselves.