The Antidote to Burnout: Why Play Belongs at Work

Burnout isn’t just a personal problem—it’s a cultural one. In today’s high-performance, always-on workplace, too many people are running on empty. What if the solution wasn’t another wellness app or time-off policy—but a bold return to one of our most powerful and underused tools for resilience: play?

In this refreshing, research-backed keynote, burnout coach and founder of Camp Playstate, Christina Cherry, invites leaders and teams to rethink how we show up at work. Through a mix of science, storytelling, and light interaction, Christina shows how play can reduce stress, boost creativity, and—most importantly—create cultures where people want to stay and grow.

This is not about ping pong tables or forced fun. This is about building work environments where humans thrive.

Takeaways & Learning Objectives

By the end of this keynote, attendees will:

• Understand the neuroscience of play and how it functions as a biological need (not a luxury) in combating burnout.

• Recognize the hidden costs of burnout on team performance, morale, and retention—and how workplace culture either fuels or alleviates it.

• Identify their own “play personality” to better understand how different people recharge, collaborate, and contribute.

• Learn 3 practical, scalable ways to bring play into team dynamics and daily workflows—no budget or ping pong table required.

• Walk away feeling re-energized, inspired, and equipped to lead with joy—without sacrificing results.

Perfect for:

• Company off-sites and leadership retreats

• HR or People & Culture conferences

• Workplace wellness summits

• Corporate learning & development series

Optional Add-On: Team Workshop

Make the keynote stick with a follow-up workshop where teams apply what they’ve learned through guided activities, play-style assessments, and real-time culture mapping.

Interested in booking me for your next conference or event? Email me HERE.