Ann Charlotte Thorsted

Communities of Play - a collective unfolding

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the role of play in organizations and its ability to create a community of play regarded as a group of people deeply engaged in play. The elaboration is based on an empirical study of adults playing in the Danish international toy company LEGO. The study confirms that play can support organizations in solving present day challenges, such as learning, communication, innovation and collaboration. But before talking about solving anything, this paper argues – primarily through the perspective of Gadamer – that it is equally intriguing to look into what play as a universal life phenomenon independent of age, culture or beliefs does to us at an invisible and personal level. How it mediates personal and trust-based relationships and unfolds us as human beings at an individual as well as a collective level and hereby enhances a more meaningful and personal human encounter. By introducing the new term ‘community of play’ into the discussion of play among adults in organizational contexts, the paper tries to spark an existential inquiry into the more intangible and human aspects of organizations.