There are different ways of creating a productive atmosphere at work. Computer games may come as a surprise due to old prejudices about their destructive nature. Adults with this hobby are usually stigmatized as lazy, depressive, and childish people. But all these stereotypes don’t seem to be the truth in reality. Apparently, it’s not about wasting time anymore, but increasing productivity. In fact, allowing employees to get distracted from time to time shows incredible efficiency.
Gaming benefits are underestimated. They make us creative, relaxed, and less violent. Games for employees can have a significant impact on their productivity.
1. Boost Outside-The-Box Thinking
A monotonous routine kills the ability to come with creative ideas. Be it an office or a school class, repeating the same task suppresses talents. And simply bores. To freshen up, try computer games. It’s true, entertainment is their primary goal. But this goes along with a bunch of skills to perfect. Such as decision-making, non-conventional thinking, competitiveness, etc.
The gaming environment adjusts the right mindset. It includes self-confidence, leadership skills, and the ability to focus. According to statistics, 79% of gamers are sure that virtual reality stimulates their mental activities. With this in mind, short distractions will provide employers with a flow of good solutions.
A mind-reloading and challenging task in Kill the Buddy is a nice example. Aimed to train your logical thinking, it offers you a puzzle to solve. Overcome obstacles and use a catapult to kill the main character. With a piano. Sounds crazy? That’s the whole point!
2. Create a Strong Community at Work
As a rule, employees don’t have time to form strong bonds in the office. Everyone has their own duties and no desire to deal with someone else’s issues. After all, they’re complete strangers to each other.
However, multiplayer matches may unite people and foster teamwork. Give a group of people an enemy and they turn into a team. It develops a habit to watch each other’s back and synchronize in doing tasks. As a result, workers engage in proactive discussions more often and share challenges. A department vs department is a nice idea to get such a result. It’s a chance to build these vital connections and develop supportive behavior.
Shell Shockers can help with bonding. Although you shoot each other and cause death, it doesn’t seem violent. It’s a multiplayer FPS where everyone takes on the role of an egg. Make it private by creating your own gaming room. Choose the Team vs Team mode and invite colleagues to join. It’s a tool to get to know each other better. Thus launching a brainstorm of ideas of how to solve them together.
On the other hand, creating competition between employees may influence a challenge at work. If your task is to make them grow over each other. And show the best results. Just pick the game right.
Such activities make social interactions at the workplace stronger. Gaming benefits organizations as a whole. HR managers should really consider that.
3. Increase Job Satisfaction
Another 8 hours of hard and not particularly exciting tasks. Do you know the feeling? It can cause depression and influence your health. But what if you could prevent it? When adults play, it usually happens at home where it’s safe and comfortable. While work is associated with constant pressure and stress.
Build a bridge between the atmosphere of home and not-so-pleasant office. Allow mixing routine tasks with fun. It increases job satisfaction, results in fewer sick leaves, and a better mood.
What exactly makes people happier? It’s down to our nature and anatomy. When we play, our body releases spirits-lifting hormones, such as endorphins or serotonin. They fight depression and form positive emotions.
A couple of rounds in Rush Race are sure to shake you up. It’s about speed, maneuvering, and earning in-game coins for upgrades. Epic car crashes and traffic violations won’t get you bored. They guarantee satisfaction from the process. Which will influence your work mood in general.
4. Mitigate Stress
We spend most of our time doing our job. No wonder that it gets on our nerves eventually and causes depression. Stats show that 46% of employees blame workload. If previously it was taken as something normal, today managers are looking for ways out.
Gaming makes people feel at ease. It lowers the heart rate and blood pressure and serves as an effective stress response. And what seemed too much to deal with turns into a manageable task. Games shake off any symptoms of exhaustion or burnout and improve productivity. 78% of players are sure that virtual adventures cause relaxation and reduce stress.
Pop It Master is a meditating digital alternative to the popular toy. Clicking on the cells and listening to the sound, you relax. And let the stress go away. Several levels and different types of PopIt molds will be a rescue in stressful situations.
5. Develop Attention Span
Have you ever experienced a dramatic decrease in productivity after hours of work? This ability to stay focused longer is like a muscle. It can be trained through gaming.
Just pick any adventure that requires your attention. For example, one of the most played legends is Classic Snake. Eat dots on a pixelated field. Beat your previous results. Find a way to occupy the whole space to end the session. It’s hard because as you grow longer, you risk bumping into your own body. Play it at least once a day to feel the significant shift of concentration skills. It’ll help you at work, school and everyday life.
6. Reset Your Mind
A particularly difficult task can make us focus on it for hours. With no results. Our mind becomes stifled. It does not produce new ideas and has no inspiration to circulating around. One of the best ways out is to break this cycle of non-productive work. Just get distracted.
The Pomodoro Technique suggests dividing the day into working and resting periods. And we’re not talking just about lunchtime. It’s about frequent breaks to switch off from the current tasks. A video game is one of such distractions that can serve you well. Coming back to tasks, you’ll see new perspectives to tackle problems and be more productive. Read about the real-life experience of how workers started to perform better with this approach.
To practice the technique, you need a virtual adventure with short rounds and interesting content. Check out Filled 3 Glass Portals. It’s a puzzle and a great exercise for your mind. Fill a glass with small colorful balls using a system of portals. Avoid overfulfilling it or losing balls. Based on precision and logic, the title offers 30 levels with growing difficulty.
Gaming and productivity are interconnected. Don’t give up gaming if you like it. And if you can do it at the office is a good sign. You work in a good team. The one that has a progressive approach to workspace organization and overall staff wellness.
And if you are a top manager or HR, you should really give it a try and see the results. Games help relax, open new doors for creativity and benefit the company. It’s a useful tool in any organization or educational institution.