When Ole Kirk Kristiansen founded the LEGO group in 1932, his goal was to produce high-quality wooden toys, but he also had the insight that creative play could be a source of well-being. He embedded that idea in the company’s name, bringing two Danish words together: leg godt, which mean “play well.”
Scott Glassman, PsyD, director of the Master of Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) Program at PCOM, developed the Mind & Build LEGO® workshop with Kristiansen's vision in mind.
Dr. Glassman created a structured set of activities designed to evoke a connection with the present moment, as well as an exploration of positive emotions, meanings and social connections.
In February, he piloted the workshop with staff at Community Behavioral Health (CBH), a nonprofit organization that manages behavioral health services for Philadelphia County Medicaid recipients. CBH was excited to host another wellness program after the success of Glassman's seven-week A Happier You, offered annually to all employees, and facilitated by students in the MAPP program.
“Combining positive psychology, mindfulness, and LEGO® building is a somewhat surprising way of supporting well-being in task-oriented or high stress environments,” Glassman said.
He noted the delight workshop attendees experienced in being able to build creatively with LEGO® during their work day, while also sharing personal strengths, accomplishments, hopes and values with their co-workers.
Dr. Glassman carefully curates each attendee's LEGO® set to include pieces of different sizes, shapes, and colors. The workshop begins with an introduction to the basic tenets of mindfulness practice: paying close attention to the sensory qualities of objects, which in this case, are different LEGO® bricks.
One pouch that attendees receive contains five or six of the smallest LEGO® elements: 1x1 bricks, circular or rectangular in shape. Each of these pieces comes to represent a small moment of happiness that can be spotlighted.
Later in the workshop, Dr. Glassman asks participants to build representations of their strengths, hopes and accomplishments in the form of a tower. Participants take turns sharing the meaning of their builds with a partner. Some also volunteer to share with the larger group.
“The workshop sparks positive social reinforcement and the spread of positive emotions,” Glassman said. “This happens mainly through the affirmation participants receive for their representational builds, through applause by the group or a partner’s kind words.”
Attendees are encouraged to keep their creations and display them as reminders of their best self.
Dr. Glassman’s hope is that these exercises lead to stronger bonds between co-workers, higher self-esteem, and greater resilience to stress. He also believes it could reshape perceptions of typical work environments while promoting organizational cohesion and a culture of wellness.
“If this kind of workshop was offered on a regular basis, it could change how we define ‘going to work,’”Glassman said. “It could be seen as a place where creative play and personal development can coexist with everyday tasks, and in fact, increase our effectiveness at those tasks.”
He points to Dr. Barbara Fredrickson's research which suggests that positive emotions contribute to more creative problem-solving, a valuable attribute across jobs and professions.
MAPP students have expressed interest in using LEGO® for well-being enhancement, attending a LEGO® Serious Play workshop earlier in the year. Serious Play refers to using LEGO® for conflict resolution and self-discovery. One student, Regan Parshall (MS/MAPP), is interested in integrating mindfulness, positive psychology and LEGO® building into her Capstone project.
“I think we've just scratched the surface with it,” Dr. Glassman noted, referring to the wide variety of potential exercises that could be developed to help workers thrive. “But there is an urgent need to think outside the box about well-being, especially among those in managerial and other leadership positions.”
Glassman cited survey findings that 36% of managers report feeling burned out and 24% have considered quitting their jobs due to stress. He added that non-traditional approaches to mixing play, creativity, self-exploration and wellness like Mind & Build deserve to be studied to determine their impact on perceived stress and quality of life for different roles.
MAPP students take a course in toward the end of the program called Positive Institutions and Systems where worker well-being interventions are a primary focus. Dr. Glassman feels that positive psychology approaches are especially promising for organizations grappling with high turnover rates, burnout and conflict.
Glassman feels that the goal should not just be mitigating burnout and negative work-related experiences, but to help workers reach their full potential as human beings, outside their roles. According to a Gallup 2022 survey, only 34% of global workers report that they are “thriving.”
On a more hopeful note, he added that approximately 51% of employers with 50 or more employees offer some type of wellness program.
“The vehicle is there and waiting,” Glassman said. “Now we just have to figure out which fuel is going to be best and how to make it readily accessible.”
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