Hub Day: The Power of Play

At The Hub, we love to play. Or maybe that should be, Wii love to play.
Okay, rotten puns aside, we just got a Wii installed in our Cira Centre location, and boy, are we thrilled.
It seems our clients, are too. Although The Hub is already a pretty friendly place to be, we knew that there's more to great ambiance than just cool music (we favor classic rock) and comfy chairs. There's a real sense of joy to our offices, and since we're all for creative solutions, well, we bought a Wii. And now, instead of just classic rock, you might hear the melodic bip-boop! of a Wii tennis ball being lobbed across the net, or the rattle of a bowling ball as it gutters.
What's the point? We bought it because we're firm believers in the value of play. Peter Chun, our director of operations, calls it our coffee replacement, and likens it to taking a quick walk during lunchtime, or any other time you might feel slow and slumped. It's true--a little brisk activity definitely gets the blood moving, and that's always a good thing.

We'd rather be playing WiiSports at The Hub.

The National Institute of Play has another take on it. On its web site, researchers cite a study in which enrichment (or play) greatly stimulated the area of the brain that serves the highest cognitive function. More obviously stated, it just means that the brain that gets the most play also performs the best, comes up with the most creative solutions, and gets the most exercise.
Other studies have looked at the fact that productivity and play are inextricably linked. They talk about how rough-and-tumble play helps develop a sense of fair play, and how physical play and movement help you to really know yourself and how you'll react to specific circumstances.
Finally, we know for a fact that a little playtime can defuse even the worst situations.
We're not claiming that our Wii will solve everyone's work problems, but we have noticed our clients walking out of their meetings looking crestfallen and tired, going two sets with the Wii, and looking as if they feel much better for it.
Pretty good results. We think we'll keep the Wii.
This article lists ten good reasons that we're going to keep our latest office tool. Go forth and read, and then come on over and play with our Wii.