Play isn't frivolous with Dara Simkin and Tané Hunter

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of play in the workplace and its role in combating burnout and enhancing creativity.

Play is not a distraction from work - it helps people think clearly, connect with others and adapt when things feel high pressure. Welcome to Under the Rug at Work, where we shine light on the things that are normally swept under the rug. On this episode, our Founder and Chief Courage Officer, Nicole Turnbull ‪at Neon Shed‬ , chats about why play is necessary at work, especially in a world where pressure, technology and burnout are shaping how we live and work. She is joined by Dara Simkin , Australia’s leading voice in play at work and founder of ‪ Culture Hero and Tané Hunter , a system scientist, science communicator and co-founder of ‪ Future Crunch . Together they wrote Full Stack Human , a book about how we stay human in high-pressure workplaces and fast-changing times. Nicole, Dara and Tané talk about why so many workers feel constantly overloaded, how high-stakes workplace cultures drain people’s energy and why play is often misunderstood as frivolous when it actually supports learning, creativity and connection. They also discuss why burnout is often treated as an individual problem rather than a systems issue, and what leaders can do to create environments where workers…

People in this episode

Host: Nicole Turnbull

Guests: Dara Simkin, Tané Hunter

Topics covered

• play at work
• burnout
• creativity
• psychological safety
• workplace culture

Keywords

• play
• burnout
• workplace culture
• creativity
• psychological safety

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Neon Shed, Culture Hero, Future Crunch

Books & works: Full Stack Human

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