Playful work design: Conceptualization, measurement, and validity

Abstract

In three different studies, we challenge the traditional view that work and play are mutually exclusive phenomena. We introduce the concept of playful work design – the proactive cognitive-behavioral orientation that employees engage in to incorporate play into their work activities to promote fun and challenge. In Study 1, we utilized expert-ratings and iterative exploratory factor analyses to develop an instrument that measures (1) designing fun and (2) designing competition. Additionally, Study 1 evidences the divergent and convergent validity of the subscales as well as their distinctiveness. Specifically, playful work design was indicative of proactivity as well as play, and designing fun especially correlated with ludic traits (i.e. traits focused on deriving fun; e.g. humor), whereas designing competition particularly correlated with agonistic traits (i.e. traits focused on deriving challenge; e.g. competitiveness). Study 2 cross-validated the two-factor structure, further investigated the nomological net of playful work design, and revealed that playful work design is distinct from job crafting. Finally, Study 3 examined the predictive and incremental validity of the playful work design instrument with self- and colleague-ratings two weeks apart. Taken together, the results suggest that the instrument may advance our understanding of play initiated by employees during work.