What I do
I’m on a mission to
rebuild community at work
We spend more than 1/3 of life working, and yet, most tech teams are disengaged, isolated, going through the motions. I help teams integrate structured play into their actual work, creating the psychological safety, connection, and practiced skills that make work feel human.
Why I do it
What’s missing at work?
Teams everywhere are craving something from their workplace: connection, the death of the Sunday Scaries, and the space to be real.
68%
employees are disengaged
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77%
of tech workers experience burnout
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51%
high turnover without psychological safety
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$440B+
lost to disengagement in the US
gallup
The numbers are constantly growing, but they don’t capture what’s really lost—the creativity that stays locked up, the power of wellbeing, the brilliant ideas that never get shared, the energy people save for after 5pm because work doesn’t feel safe enough to bring their whole selves.
Your people want to show up fully. They just need the right conditions.
How I do it
The S.P.A.C.E. for Play Framework
S.P.A.C.E. for Play isn’t team building, icebreakers or trust falls. It’s a systematic approach to creating what isolation and rapid change destroyed: the psychological safety and human connection that make extraordinary collaboration possible.
There are five elements that work together to transform teams:
The 2 foundational pieces
Safety
Psychological environments where people can take risks, be vulnerable, and show up as themselves without fear.
Autonomy
Designing ways for different people to participate authentically. Introverts, extroverts, neurodivergent—everyone engages in ways that feel real.
Care
Practices that help teams see each other as whole humans—not just workers with tasks, but people with lives.
Purpose
Play embedded in existing rituals—retros, standups, meetings—not added to them. Intentional, not random.
Enablement
Structured games with clear rules that create safe spaces to practice difficult skills before the stakes are high.
S.P.A.C.E. for Play is built from 10+ years working on teams, science, facilitating hundreds of workshops, and designing serious games.
What becomes possible
S.P.A.C.E for success
In 2025, I ran a community where tech workers connected through play-based methods. For 5 months, they played games, held campfires on hard topics, and built connection through play.
What happened next surprised even me:
74%
improvement in feeling connected to others (from 2.3/5 to 4.0/5 avg)
100%
would recommend these methods to their teams
78%
reported increased energy at work
70%
felt less isolated
67%
improved empathy and active listening
7
soft skills improved per person on average according to self reports
(Skills included: giving/receiving feedback, navigating conflict, creativity, communication, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, collaboration, expressing vulnerability, building trust, storytelling, and more)
The movement in action
What teams experience
Don’t take my word for it – here’s what the community says:
I really enjoyed the safe place built for communication and community. I liked having a place where others understood the struggles of working environments and allowed me to express them in ways that wouldn’t affect my job.
Heather J
Admin
It showed me how important having fun is and how playing with people could build the intangible elements of better communication, skills, and relationships.
Brad S
Product Manager
I’m used to just simple run of the mill “conversation starter” style games with coworkers, but this provided more experiences that gave a refreshing forum with others.
Jeff M
Sr. Software Engineer
These results came from people who weren’t even on the same work team. Imagine what’s possible when you integrate this into your actual teams, where collaboration really matters.
What makes S.P.A.C.E for Play different
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Built on rich Experience & Research
Every game, every ritual, every practice is intentional, grounded in 10+ years of facilitation and tech experience, research in psychological safety and play science, plus testing with real tech teams. You’re not guessing. You’re following a system that works.
Respects How People Work
No forced fun. No awkward icebreakers. S.P.A.C.E. integrates into meetings you’re already having—retros, standups, team syncs—and respects different participation styles. Introverts, extroverts, neurodivergent folks—everyone engages in the ways that make sense for them, on their own clock.
Results beyond performativity
This isn’t about making people “more productive.” It’s about creating conditions where people can show up fully. And when that happens, everything else follows: Better collaboration. Stronger trust. Teams that actually want to work together.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
Ready to get started?
Meet the founder
Hey! I’m Lissy
I’ve spent 10+ years in tech watching brilliant people become shells of themselves. Not because the work was hard, but because the culture drained the life out of them.
So I started experimenting with play; using games in retros, creating rituals for connection, and building spaces where teams could practice being human together.
Teams came alive. People stayed. Work felt sustainable.
S.P.A.C.E. for Play is everything I learned, systematized. It’s my invitation to you: let’s build workplaces where play and humanity aren’t bugs—they’re features.
blog
Insights around play, teams, and humanity
Insights on building psychological safety, facilitation tips, game reviews, and what I’m learning as I help teams practice being human at work.
FROM BURNOUT TO BELONGING: HOW I BUILT S.P.A.C.E. FOR PLAY
A framework for building community at work, born from 10+ years of experience and 5[…]
