On a random Thursday afternoon, my 30-something-year-old colleagues spotted a jigsaw puzzle in the office and could not contain their excitement at the prospect of solving it. The week prior, I found another colleague completely absorbed in assembling a building-block flower set. I looked around at the desks filled with stuffed toys, UNO cards and cute figurines and thought of how this may very well be a response to lives that leave increasingly little room for unstructured pleasure.
I’ve reached that stage in my life where I have to wake up at 7am every day, go to the office, attend meetings and meet deadlines. In high school, I presumed that once I graduated from college, I’d be a free bird. The truth is that college life felt far more freeing than life at 23. Yes, I had to wake up for 9am classes, reluctantly participate in group projects and meet assignment deadlines, but the environment was more relaxed. After class, there was always time to grab some boba, doodle for hours and put together the tiny plant set from The LEGO Botanicals Collection that I bought with money saved from my part-time job. PS: it was the best investment I’ve ever made. No regrets.
Now that I work a nine-to-six job, I’ve come to realise that corporate life is stressful. You juggle multiple tasks, casually sacrifice weekends and still have to show up with a smile, even when everything around you is burning down. There never seems to be enough time for a life outside work. I joined the gym and quit after two months. I was supposed to take driving lessons; that never happened. The number one goal on my 2026 to-do list in January? To sign up for animation classes. I haven’t even found a course yet and we’re eight months into the year.
Admittedly, some of this comes down to my own procrastination. But a job can feel as though it consumes 95% of your waking life, particularly when the commute alone takes three to four hours a day.
Hoping I wasn’t alone, I put on my Nancy Drew hat and scrolled through Reddit in search of people who shared my frustrations. I found a thread filled with employees voicing many of the same complaints: burnout, constant stress and simply not having enough time in the day. It’s hardly surprising that more adults are turning to slime, building blocks and colouring books: the sort of activities you might expect to see a five-year-old doing at a family gathering. Play-Doh recently launched floral kits designed to appeal to adults as much as children. LEGO has done something similar with its Botanicals Collection. The purpose of these kits? To give adults the playtime they desperately need, while doubling as surprisingly effective stress-relief activities.
Before entering the nine-to-six grind, I spent much of my free time playing games. It was my way of letting loose. I could have failed a test, had the worst day or been heartbroken about losing a friend, but during playtime, none of it mattered. My mind would quieten as I played with clay or folded misshapen origami animals. It was the calmest way to unwind and the only time I could let my imagination run free.
For Nagaraj GN, a partner at a consulting firm, playing Last Z: Survival Shooter is more than a favourite pastime. “Gaming helps take my mind away from problems,” he says. “When I return to those problems later, I have a fresher perspective.” According to Fortis Healthcare, play can help reduce stress, encourage social interaction, support problem-solving and create opportunities to practise mindfulness.
