11 World Kindness Day Activities for Work
World Kindness Day is Friday, November 13. It is the perfect excuse to stop, look up from the screen and actually connect with the people you work beside every day.
Kindness at work does not have to mean a big budget or a long offsite. The best moments are small, playful and shared. They turn coworkers into teammates, and teammates into people who look out for each other.
Here are 11 World Kindness Day activities for work that your team can do in a lunch break, a team meeting or across the whole week.
11 World Kindness Day activities for work
- Start the meeting with PLAY. Open your next team meeting with two minutes of play before the agenda. A quick round of Rock, Paper, Scissors gets everyone laughing and loosens up the room.
- Give out Play Missions. Hand each person one small mission for the day, like learning a coworker's favorite song or saying thank you to someone outside your team.
- Write gratitude notes. Leave a short, handwritten note on a coworker's desk or chair. Specific beats general: name one thing they did that made a difference.
- Host a kindness coffee hour. Pair people who rarely work together for 15 minutes of coffee and conversation. No work talk allowed.
- Create a kindness wall. Put up a board where anyone can post a shout-out. By Friday afternoon, it becomes a picture of everything your team appreciates about each other.
- Play it forward with a stranger. Invite your team to do one kind act outside the office: buy a coffee for the next person in line, or hold the elevator with a smile.
- Run a no-meeting hour of play. Block one hour on the calendar for games, bubbles or a quick outdoor walk. Rest and play recharge people more than another status update.
- Lunch-and-learn on connection. Bring in a speaker for a 45-minute session on why play and kindness matter at work, and what to do about it on Monday.
- Volunteer together. Turn the day into a corporate community service event. Serve meals, clean up a park or bring PLAY to a local school or neighborhood.
- Celebrate the quiet helpers. Ask managers to recognize the people who make things run but rarely get noticed.
- Make it last past November 13. Choose one kindness habit to keep going every month, like a weekly shout-out or a monthly Play Mission, so kindness becomes how your team works.
How The Play Way brings it to your team
The Play Way turns kindness from a nice idea into a skill your team practices. Every session follows the same three steps.
- Play. We open with a moment of PLAY the whole room joins. People feel connection before anyone explains it.
- Hear. A short, true story shows why play and kindness matter, at work and in life.
- Carry. Everyone leaves with a Play Mission: a skill for being kind, playful and approachable that they carry back to work.
And the fun does not end when the session does. Team members can become Play Ninjas and lead Play Missions all year long. Sessions run in person in Los Angeles or virtually, for workplaces, schools and communities.
Bring PLAY to your team this Kindness Week
Ready to make World Kindness Day the start of something bigger? Plan your team's PLAY experience for the week of November 9 to 13, or book a holiday or January kickoff session.
Want to see The Play Way in action first? Join us for LA Metro PlayDay on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, from 11 AM to 1 PM at the Wilshire/Fairfax and Wilshire/La Brea Metro stations. PLAY begins at 11:11!
Together, let's help build humanity, one playful act of kindness at a time.
Join The Play Way Volunteers — November 11 Metro Activation
Volunteer for 11.11 — Metro PLAY Activation
November 11, 2026 · 11:00 AM–1:00 PM · Starting at 11:11 AM. Join us at Wilshire/Fairfax or Wilshire/La Brea. Wear any shade of purple.
Interested in future monthly activations and pop-ups? Join our volunteer community →
Play Quote of the Day: Dr. Stuart Brown
"The opposite of play is not work, it's depression."
— Dr. Stuart Brown, founder, National Institute for Play
Leave a trail of kindness.
@ThePlayWay · #PlayItForward
The Play Way™ & LAUSD Schools
Imagine hallways alive with connection, laughter, and purpose.
The Play Way™ partners with schools, including LAUSD as collaborators— delivering more than just fun. Through playful, evidence-informed experiences, we activate connection, emotional intelligence, and confidence within school communities, including students, faculty, and staff, providing a science-backed solutions to the biggest challenges in education today. PLAY invites all to grow as resilient leaders, empathetic collaborators, and confident problem-solvers.
How PLAY Transforms Schools:
- Emotional Intelligence: Building empathy, social & communication skills, self-awareness, with stronger relationships.
- Conflict Resolution: PLAY turns disagreements into opportunities for connection and teamwork.
- Leadership Development: Students discover confidence, adaptability, and the ability to inspire others.
- Mental Wellness: PLAY reduces stress, fosters belonging, and creates emotionally safe environments.
Why It Matters Now
Schools face unprecedented challenges—bullying, disconnection, and mental health struggles. PLAY is the answer. It transforms hallways into hubs of connection, growth, and kindness, ensuring students thrive both in school and beyond.
Make Your Play Print™ Today
Activating a Play Ninja™ isn’t just helping one student. It’s starting a movement—spreading kindness, emotional intelligence, and connection throughout entire communities. Together, we’re shaping the next generation—one playful act of kindness at a time.
PlayRade™ Hopscotch
On November 11, 2028, Los Angeles becomes the stage for something extraordinary: the first-ever PlayRade.
This isn’t just an event—it’s the start of a new yearly tradition where the community comes together to break the world record for the longest hopscotch and smash stigmas, stereotypes, and social barriers through the power of PLAY.
Hop, Skip, Jump, PLAY—-and Transform Your World
The PlayRade brings together Play Ninjas from across Los Angeles— businesses, schools, and organizations—to lead the charge, guide the community, and break world records while building friendly, inclusive, lasting connections. It’s more than a hopscotch—it’s a movement to showcase Los Angeles as the kindest, most playful, and welcoming city on the planet.
Setting the Stage for LA28
By 2028, there will be 1.1 million Play Prints completed by Play Ninjas across Los Angeles, creating a city ready to welcome the world to the Olympics. With every square of hopscotch, every act of kindness, and every moment of connection, Los Angeles shows the world how we PLAY kind forever.
Sponsoring the PlayRade means joining a legacy of kindness, unity, and action. Together, we’re displaying what science proves: that PLAY has the power to transform communities, break barriers, and inspire the world— one playful act of kindness at a time!
LA28 Olympics : Welcoming the World Playfully
LA28
Los Angeles isn’t just hosting the Olympics—it’s becoming the ultimate playground. By LA28, 1.1 million Play Ninjas in the Los Angeles area will be transforming how we connect, one playful act of kindness at a time.
From hopscotch in the streets to joyful moments in workplaces, PLAY is turning LA into a city where creativity, kindness, and connection take center stage. It’s proof that a little play can go a long way in changing how we see and support each other.
This isn’t just a countdown to the Olympics—it’s a celebration of Los Angeles leading the charge for a world united through play. Let’s show the world how LA plays, starting now.
The torch is lit. The stage is set. Are you ready to play?
Setting the Stage for LA28
By 2028, we’ll induct 1.1 million Play Ninjas across Los Angeles, creating a city ready to welcome the world to the Olympics. With every square of hopscotch, every act of kindness, and every moment of connection, Los Angeles shows the world how we PLAY kind forever.
Sponsoring the PlayRade means joining a legacy of kindness, unity, and action. Together, we’re displaying what science proves: that PLAY has the power to transform communities, break barriers, and inspire the world— one playful act of kindness at a time!