Why Playing Games at Work Could Increase Employee Productivity

Do you know employees who play games in the workplace are not only happier but also more productive? Yes, playing games at the office can actually boost the productivity of employees as it helps them relieve stress. Long work hours and work-stress hurt the work-life balance of the employees which in turn affects their productivity. Not to mention, stress is the main reason why employees are unproductive.

Besides the fact that stress is the major factor that affects productivity, it is also the workplace environment that makes employees productive or unproductive. A happy, fun and engaging work environment has a positive effect on employees. This type of environment is even capable of holding the employees for a long period. 

However, most employers oversee gaming breaks as distractions to work. They may feel that adopting the gaming culture in the workplace can disturb other staff or even degrade productivity if the team wants to game more and more. After all, employers want their employees to get the work done at the office and not play games. Agreed, getting the work done is the primary rule in any workplace. But that doesn’t happen just like that. Unless you create an engaging environment, people can’t find the morale to work and stay committed. So, one of the best ways to rejuvenate employees and bring back their energy and boost productivity is games. 

Okay, before you go and buy some gaming equipment or decide when to plan a gaming hour, let’s look at why and how exactly playing games at work could increase employee productivity.

Games are Stress Busters

So, as said, working for really long hours without fun breaks makes people feel hectic. Hence, they feel more pressure than usual and lose that zeal to take the best employee position (okay, at least finish their daily tasks properly). Moreover, as per a survey conducted, most employees observed spent only upto 3 hours on work. They use the rest of the time to scroll through Facebook, Twitter, play video games, eat, drink and search for other jobs either to manage or escape from the stress knowingly or unknowingly. This is why you need to take care of your employee’s mental wellness so that they too get inclined towards working better for your company.

So, when you allow people to play games when they are super stressed or organize gaming hours twice a week, they start to feel they are being taken care of. Of course, short breaks for every hour or two work well to rewind and resume their work with great inspiration. Fortunately, there are many video games out there that are both action-oriented which help them release stress and word games that boost their creativity and logical thinking. 

Gaming at Workplace Make a Great Team

Employees usually tend to feel happy and motivated when they are around someone they like. And happy employees are the most productive employees. Simply, the happier your employees are, the higher their productivity. So, team building is key to the success of the company. 

Games initiate the team-building process, and you can’t deny it. No matter, if it is a newly formed team or a team that is short of energy or motivation, game breaks or tournaments serve the purpose. Playing games with other teams or individuals works as a catalyst for improving team coordination. Employees get to know each other, their behavior, strengths so that they can coordinate with each other accordingly and offer help to the other when needed.

Gaming Boosts Cognitive Skills

Games are excellent sources to enhance one’s cognitive abilities. Gaming regularly results in gaining more concentration, ability to respond quickly, control over their thoughts, multitasking ability, and memory power as they perform and practice recognizing patterns multiple times when gaming. 

Especially when one plays word games like Scrabble, Words with Friends etc, they tend to improve their logical thinking and decision making skills even faster. Also, word games such as unscrambled words, crosswords empower your employees with advanced vocabulary and creative thinking, which is totally good for your company culture as well as for their career. 

So, try to call up your employees for meetings once or twice a week and let them play some word games. Have tools like UnscrambleX, which is an incredible anagram solver by your side when playing or organizing word games. You will be the champion and your team will have great fun.

It Even Boosts Problem Solving Skills

As said short breaks are a great way to manage time as well as get the work done. When these short breaks are integrated with games, they become super productive when they get back to work. Games generally require gamers to accomplish tasks, overcome obstacles, lead, create, conquer and succeed. Overall, games require and enhance problem-solving skills. Also, those skills are not only required when gaming but also in real-life, hence people who play games can easily relate to real-life obstacles and to-do tasks ahead. This way they try to apply the tricks to work-related activities and get the work done more efficiently.

Gaming Betters Employees & Make them Happy

When playing games, the brain releases endorphins and dopamine, chemicals that are released when people feel the pleasure of accomplishment. When people feel that they have accomplished something in the game, that energy transfers even to their real-life and work. This way they bring motivation to the workplace from games and finish their work with much ease and commitment. In the same way, when they play games as a team, they carry the same zeal to their desk and continue to keep up their coordination in work-related activities too. This way gaming not only betters employees as individuals but also as a team.

Bottom Line

Playing games at work not only enhances employee’s mood but also benefits you as an employer in the bottom line. A stressed and unhappy employee works less productively than a happy employee. As you see above, playing games can kill stress, improve cognitive and problem-solving skills and build team coordination. Hence, it’s no doubt that game breaks and gaming activities in the workplace can increase the individual and overall productivity of staff.