What Happened To Recess?

It was the best part of your day.

The bell would ring and you would fly out of your seat to run straight to the playground with the rest of your classmates. In school, recess was a blast. It was a time when it was OK (and expected) for you to go outside to play and use your imagination. You could be the next great basketball star, an Olympic gymnast on the monkey bars or the next great detective during a game of hide and seek.

Yes - recess was fun. But, it was also important. Sure, it was time spent away from classroom learning but it was time spent learning how to be creative while building relationships with your classmates. Most importantly, it was a time to do anything you wanted to do with the only limit being the collective limit of the imagination of you and your friends.

What happened to recess as we grew up? If you substitute coworkers for classmates in the paragraphs above don’t the principals of recess still apply? You may not have tetherball in your office, but there are plenty of places to get away, take a break and let your imaginations run wild. Recess at work is time spent away from your required duties and time spent dreaming up the next big thing.

What do you think? Is there a place for recess in the business world? What do you do to take a break and encourage creativity in the office?