New Survey Claims Playing Online Games At Work Actually Helps Your Job Performance
Posted October 6, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
If he or she has ever caught you sitting at your desk playing that hopelessly addictive solitaire game that comes with your computer, you might have been stuck for an explanation.
Now you have one.
According to a new survey of over a thousand employees, more than half admit they spend at least 15 minutes of their working day playing some kind of online game.
Some say they do it during their lunch hour, which would probably be considered O.K.
But 13 percent admitted whiling away the hours against an Internet enemy while on a conference call.
So what if your bosses catch you in the act of not doing your job?
Remind them of that old adage about all work and no play. And tell them this: nearly half of all employees insist that playing that contest for 10-15 minutes a day actually helps them think more creatively. And six out of ten maintain it relieves their stress at work.
That’s backed up by Dr. Kathleen Hall of the aptly named Stress Institute. In a separate study, her group found playing a computer game for about a quarter of an hour every day allows workers to feel refreshed and do a better job.
So the next time you get caught playing solitaire during office hours, remember that you’re not alone. In the new world of the wired office, it’s quickly becoming part of the daily routine.
