Slashdot Mirror
Does Gaming Reduce Productivity?
Scott Taulbee writes "Bob Mandel of AVault has given us his interesting views on why playing games does not reduce productivity, but rather is a stimulating alternative to 'snoozing, daydreaming, overconsuming food and beverages, or sitting like a mindless slug waiting for time to pass.' He suggest that '..compared to other forms of recreational activity that could be enjoyed during work breaks, computer gaming has the greatest chance to hone skills useful for productivity in the workplace.' Should we all take this article to our bosses with requests for installing a GameCube on every desk?"
Only when you have something to do
-
ping -f 255.255.255.255 # if only
my employer won't even let me read the article because it's a potential waste of time to go to 'those' websites. So I would say that the time would be much better used on work! I don't but my co-workers do spent a good amount of time playing minesweeper though.
Ask for forgiveness, not permission.
I'd love to have a 'brain slug' like those in Futurama, that I would put on my head whenever I am waiting for time to pass!
People that will waste time with games when they could/should be doing something else will waste time doing something else (posting on slashdot). I don't see having an outlet like a game changing that.
Or perhaps, say, actually working?
Does gaming reduce productivity? Hell yes it does. I remember those Marathon (bungie) matches before exams as an undergrad. I remember what Deus Ex did to my productivity as a graduate student as well. Come on, be honest here. My most productive hours are usually in the evening and if I am playing games at those hours, I am not writing my dissertation or grants or papers.
Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
I read the title and I immediately thought: "If this was Fark, It'd better have an 'obvious' tag next to it."
"True, some offerings are more draining than others, as, for example, some intense action titles leave me limp."
Access to this web page is restricted at this time.
e =reducprod
Reason:
The Websense category "Games" is filtered.
URL:
http://www.avault.com/articles/getarticle.asp?nam
funny munging
I guess it is only specific games though, like more puzzle oriented games, because I know after playing a somehwhat frantic FPS like Quake III or a Half-Life mod my brain feels scattered. Though, that is more playing the game after like an hour, which I wouldn't be doing at work.
This page was generated by a Barrel of Circus Midgets, and that is the way I like it!!!
Bah, I demand an entire arcade installed next to the NOC!
" Should we all take this article to our bosses with requests for installing a GameCube on every desk?"
Interesting that you should mention that. I'm a free-lance artist working in 3D. I recently discovered that when I play graphically interesing games on my GameCube (Star Fox Adventures, for example...) I get inspired with a new energy to work in Lightwave. I think I'm in an unusual scenario, though...
Gaming during work hours is a double-edged sword. It can be used effectively, it can be abused. At my full-time job, I'd occasionally fire up a game of Starcraft and spend about 45 mins or so (part of it during lunch break) playing it. But then when it came time to go home, I was comfortable leaving later. Instead of leaving because it was time to leave, I was leaving because I'd finished what I was working on. I'm not sure if that makes sense or not, but when you have to put off getting off, you look for whatever rational reason you can think of to leave work.
So yeah, I'd say there's some truth to it. If I could take say an hour during my day to pursue an interest of mine, I'd be less restless.
"Derp de derp."
Exactly what useful skills am I honing? Mouse skills? Spatial relations? Ye olde Hand-I co-ordination
If anything, it increases my odds of going blind, getting carpal tunnel syndrome, and losing social skills, (Thou it might help my 733t h4x0rz r4p).
You are in a maze of twisted little posts, all alike.
I disagree with him, between couterstrike and neverwinter nights I haven't any time to contribute to open source projects. Daaaaammmmnnnn you Transgaming and Bioware.
Where I work, we spend most of the day running down ramps, jumping off springboards and collecting gold rings. I guess that's why I never got into Sonic the Hedgehog... it always felt to me like I was back at work. Ah well...
I'll let you know right after I beat this level.
... cuts my productivity WAY down. I think a 5 minute game of Tekken or Ikaruga would be more productive :P
Polaroid. See what develops!!
When I'm gaming, I'm not spending time hanging out on street corners, stealing, and smoking joints. When I'm not doing those things, I'm not a burden on society. When I'm not a burden on society, resources are not wasted on me, but rather go to productive use.
Gaming == productivity.
Article here.
Instead of installing a gamecube on your desk, your boss will probably install a small rectangular pink piece of paper on your desk instead.
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
They do drastically interfere with moral. Deathmatch grudges tend to get sorted out on the coding floor instead of in the realms of quake.
Also, since you have to consider the fact that I'd be opening myself up to a discrimination lawsuit for allowing men to 'fragg' but not allowing women to 'IM'; I'd rather just cut the whole deal out.
So my office is a no-games office. Instead, I try to encourage people to bring in inspirational reading, such as the bible.
The employees seem to rather like the 'guess which book this verse came from' game that I started up. IT's the one that usually gets picked during our state-mandated ten-minute break periods.
But there is always someone who will ruin it by playing games all day instead of working. Then policy will be passed to ban all games from work computers.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
Is it any wonder jobs by the thousands are going over to India and the Phillipines? With Western programmers thinking they can play games on the company's clock and attempt to justify it as 'productive', I'm not at all surprised to see big multinationals outsource another 15% of their workforce to a far more motivated populace who won't be sidelined by such ridiculous distractions as games.
Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
"computer gaming has the greatest chance to hone skills useful for productivity in the workplace" Sure, it may improve on hand eye coordination, or the ability to solve puzzles - but the problem with games is that they are designed to keep you playing, to be addictive (otherwise they arn't fun). You may gain skills, but those skills will simply be wasted on the games anyway - and in the mean time you get really good at those games and subsequently want to do something you are good at.
Whenever I'm playing Quake3 online, after a few minutes into the game, my adrenaline goes haywire and I feel like my mind is razor sharp.
Drawback to that is if I start losing, my adrenaline turns to rage.
Maybe it affects my job, maybe it doesn't.
and maybe I'm a mail carrier, and maybe I'm not.....
Didn't they try something like this at all those dot com companies? Oh, look how well it worked for them.
Let's face it, the only reason anyone does any work at work is because it's marginally less tedious than the alternative activities that you can engage in until 5pm. Excluding the ones in the stationary cuboard with your secretary of course.
Beep beep.
I think it's another case of trying to excuse what you'd do naturally and give some reason to try and get away with it. "Oh, you're not wasting company money, you're doing research into the Metroid power jump! My mistake, I should have known!" Like that document claiming that hackers are just doing what they do out of 'curiousity'. Oh, you can't be jailed, you're obviously not guilty of fraud or theft, you were just curious! Silly us!
Reality:
You code in the shower in the morning and transcribe your ideas into your IDE. You take long breaks at work to figure out problems. You think best when your hands are occupied or when some other minor task is distracting you slightly. You frequently work late or at home because thats when your mind is working. You are paid based on an avarge number of the lines of code you write per time measured. Big, time-consuming projects are intersperesed with smaller, less intenstive projects.
Your Boss's Fansty World:
From 8:00AM to 5:00PM your mind belongs to the company. You are able to transform business ideas into code every minute of that time and can do so without fail, regardless of the problem being presented. You are interchangable with other programmers and need not understand the whole project you're working on at any given time. You are capable of producing bug-free code on the first revision given normal working conditions. Application code is a commodity and is of the same quality, regardless who wrote it. You frequently work late because you are a salary employee and can be demanded to make more application code per work-day. You are paid per workday rather than code per average unit time.
The result: You sneak goofing off when you're able and end up working more 'off the clock' hours.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Gaming reduces productivity as much as sex leads to pregnancy and cigarettes lead to cancer, which is to say, not always, but frequently enough that you should watch your habits, be honest about your participation and be willing to deal with it.
...
Only game industry pundits, who comment on an industry currently over-romanticized in the media and over-in-love-with-itself, would ask itself this question and include with that query the following: "Naturally, part of the question here is how one defines productivity..." Yeah, no duh, nimwit. Let's just call advocacy "advocacy" and not couch it in pseudo-dialectic, 'k? Otherwise let's just all quit this bullshit and go make real money selling cigarettes to kids
Chr0m0Dr0m!C
It's gaming when you should be working that hurts productivity. Of course, if you weren't being particularly productive before you started gaming, it might not make much difference.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
Snood
Life is too short to proofread.
I personally found that the game playing helped the day along and provided a good break to long coding sessions (though I vastly prefered my former employers multiple foosball tables), especially when being blocked on waiting for another resource/bit of code/database stuff to be wrapped up by a teammate.
Unfortunately, management didn't see it that way and put a big kabosh on the whole thing. So now I just troll slashdot instead!
We're a gaming company (gambling) too, you'd think they'd be more forgiving...oh well.
Likewise, the last thing most bosses want is to be seen with an unproductive team. So even if you are just posting to Slashdot, it appears much more acceptable. Hell I get jumpy when a website has too many pictures on it! (And lets not even talk about the celebrity photos on imdb.)
Also there is that dangerous line where work is made to feel like home and you just end up hanging around work all the time, being neither really productive or having much of a life.
How times have changed since the dot.com bubble eh? Gone are the days of playing Tony Hawk on the playstation at work... hell we don't even have a stero at work, much less a playstation!
That's not even touching the problem of support. Now I've got to open holes in the firewall so the good strong employee can play Star Wars Galaxies. Oops, looks like Doom 3 just hosed up the graphic drivers on everyone's laptop again. If having Solitaire and Minesweeper on every computer weren't bad enough...
Many moons ago, when I was still able to work, every morning at work I'd run through a game of Freecell, while the others were staggering blindly about groping for coffee. For me, Freecell was like doing mental gymnastics, a great way to warm up my mind and get it ready for the day's onslaught of subtle bugs that were my duty to track down and eliminate.
:(
However, my PHB saw it as "just" playing games (despite my winning streak of nearly 20 games), and I was told to stop it. My productivity dropped, though it was still better than the rest of the group.
Nothing I could say would change his mind. His decree was final.
The company was bought out by a smaller competitor, in large part because it was not able to turn out a bug-free product on time and under budget. However, they *were* able to ensure that their best debugger was not "wasting" ten minutes a day playing games.
Lemon curry?
We have foosball, one of those bar-room basketball games, and a pool table. While they are for clients we are allowed to use them when there are no clients wanting to play (which is usually). Of course you're not supposed to play all day, and if your supervisor happens to walk by when he knows you've got work, then you'll get in trouble.
I just got done losing in a work sponsored pool tournament, and no, I don't work for some start-up internet company that's about to go under.
In my specific department we were given a PS2 by a client for research into doing an advertisement for their game, and we still have it hooked up, and the guys bring in games from home for an occasional break.
No games on company computers, though, and I believe the reasons are valid - we have clients that walk through our work areas and it just doesn't look professional when we are on their time, new equipment is technically only a tax write-off if you don't use them for anything else, and they don't want you to disturb others in your work areas.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
I have been in environments where a break room had a TV and a gaming console. The idea of playing Halo, or other games either single-player or competitively during one's breaks was a good one. It helped relieve stress, helped to build friendships during those 1 on 1 games, etc. I think that it might be a distraction to put a game cube on every desk but one for the department may make sense.
LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
FP! Sorry, I would have gotten around to it sooner, but I got caught up in a wicked game of quake.
"Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
I think this says it all.
There's huge variation in individual productivity both within and across jobs. Some people can put in very little tangible effort, yet end up producing a tremendous amount of quality output, while others work their tails off all day and produce very little. For this second group, computer gaming poses the greatest threat to continued productivity.
My take on this is that since not every person who plays games can be as productive as the company expects, bosses choose to ban game playing for everyone. Little do they know that most people need to take breaks during the day so they don't get burned out. I don't think gameplaying automatically indicates you're not productive. On the contrary, if I have time to play games it's because my works all done.
Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do.
Back when Informix wasn't part of IBM, their Portland building had a "lego station" on every one of their floors. This was a small enclave near the kitchen with a huge mindstorms kit and about 15 board games. Everytime you went in there, there would be this huge lego creation that was absolutely amazing!
Hell, gaming isn't near as distracting as wanking, and my coworkers don't get nearly as grossed out. That and none of those pesky sexual harassment suits. Or messy stains under the desk.
-Looking for a job as a materials chemist or multivariat
And buy it a drink, and then another. Tell it it's pretty and you want to show it your etchings. Slowly unzip it's ...I'll just be walking away now.
For those of you who actually RTFA, those who take breaks doing what they want to do during those breaks will be more prepared to tackle the chores in front of them back in "the real world." To which I agree. If I were able to play a little Civ3 here and there throughout the workday, I'd be a much happier camper than how it is now, where I go and BS with my coworkers (who, although I really like 'em, they're not as fun all the time as a non-emotional computer game).
Of course the obvious ability to abuse such a system exists, but when it is encouraged as a stress reliever for little breaks here and there, rather than discouraged completely, it becomes a VERY USEFUL "tool" in the workplace. IMHO, anyways...
I asked my boss and he said that putting quake 3 on the cash registers didn't sound like a good idea to him.
Luddite.
Read Errant Story.
That last statement is completely absurd! Everyone knows a playstation2 would work best at the office :)
All work and no play makes jack a dull boy
All work and no play makes jack a dull boy
All w...
for the last time people, I am "frodo from middle eaRTH", not "middle eaST".
For a change. I agree wholeheartedly. My 14 year-old cousin's productivity is enhanced greatly by his daily twelve hour marathon sessions of Unreal Tournament 2003. It really seems to give him the skills and focus needed to take out the trash and unload the dishwasher. With his dedicated gaming, I'm always astounded when his homework somehow does not get done.
"Does Gaming Reduce Productivity?"
....
I could answer this question, but first I have to play some Unreal Tournament
-kgj
I'm still waiting for the "Sleeping Does Not Reduce Poductivity" and the "Avoiding Work At All Costs Does Not Reduce Productivity" articles to surface. Then we all will be free.
I know I played a whole lot more in college than I do now (well games that is, now I have two kids so I play with dollies and throw balls and other types of games - but certainly not video games) - anyway, I was way more productive back then and now I find that I just don't have a few hours to toss down the tube...
Regardless, I would love it if I regularly had a few hours each day I could play (work doesn't count - I am not supposed to play on the job). Then again, I really wouldn't want to sacrifice the time with my wife and kids, so I guess it is a trade off.
Perhaps straining to catch every stray ball from my two year old will still help to improve my hand eye coordination.
...but when you have to put off getting off, you look for whatever rational reason you can think of to leave work.
Amen to that brother! Oh, wait...
FPS Games are awesome, especially Q3, Half Life, and Unreal Tournament. My roomies and I had some kickin' LAN parties all semester.
Despite the fact I got three C's, a D, and a D-, I'd have to disagree that gaming hurts productivity.
so now games have been added to the list of '123 of how to increase your profit margin'...
Bill Hicks got it right when he said something like:-
QUIT PUTTING A DOLLAR SIGN ON EVERYTHING ON THIS FUCKING PLANET!
ahem
I'm a rabbit startled by the headlights of life
Allowing serious gaming in the workplace will stop people from playing solitare all day. If that were to happen, the company would be able to get rid of all of its now worthless windows machines, greatly enhancing productivity.
..to be a blacksmith, but after crafting fucken 1000's of daggers in Ultima Online I gave it up.. ..to be a carpenter, but after crafting 1000's of fucken tables I gave it up... ...to be a programmer, but after... oh, nevermind
- Arwen, I'm your father, Agent Smith.
- Well, you're just Smith, but my father is Aerosmith!
And if a company tried to limit how I could decorate my area, I would not work for them. "Two personal items," what a bunch of crapola. I have so much stuff in my office I have to come in one day on a weekend to hang up all the framed posters and photos and stuff when I start a new job or move to a new space.
~Philly
I used to play NetHack on a Psion handheld in my math classes. Does gaming reduce productivity? Well, just take a look at my math scores and draw your own conclusions... :)
"Wow, you're like some kind of superhero able to ward off happiness and success at every turn."
-- Ryan Stiles
Cigarettes aren't addictive. tobacco industry
High sugar diets don't cause obesity/diabetes. sugar industry
Transfats aren't bad for you. margarine, processed foods industries
Tanning doesn't cause skin cancer. tanning industry
If I were an employer, and one of my employees asked me for the opportunity to play games on my dime, arguing that he'd improve his productivity while on his lunch break, I'd generously offer to fire him so that he could spend the entire work day improving his productivity. Why should *I* be the one to limit just how productive this employee can become ?
What a brain-dead premise. Volleyball courts and gyms, I can see. Computer and video games ? Give me a break.
"I'm a mindless slug, you insensitive clod!"
Sentimentality is merely the Bank Holiday of cynicism.
- Oscar Wilde
There's something rather amusing about reading a Slashdot article about gaming increasing productivity while sitting at my desk at work, avoiding writing some annoying error-checking code...
Actually, most people who game with a keyboard and mouse are better at using a computer in general. I have a friend where I work who does a lot of customer service work, using the mouse and keyboard simultaneously to work in multiple apps. None of the other people on his team are even half as fast as he is.
So how did he learn to use the mouse and keyboard simultaneously? By playing Quake, Warcraft, and Castle Wolfenstein to name a few.
I think gaming is a healthy way to release stress. Instead of smoking cigarettes I would much rather my employees to break out a gameboy and play some golden sun for 15 minutes.
I would say without a doubt obsessive game playing reduces productivity. Every time I get hooked on some new game there's the terrible tendecy to jack in and play for oh, 24 hours straight, during that time, NOTHING gets done. I can't imagine how these people that get hooked on Everquest and TheSims manage to have lives, especially if they're working all day (yeah, I know someone will toss in the inevitable "they have no lives" comment).
One of the saddest aspects of my college life was meeting these people who were involved in MUDS who literally spent all their time online, in their dorm rooms or holed up in the library sleeping on cots. They would LIVE online, have relationships with people online, and let's just say their "real world" lives suffered. And this was over text-only virtual worlds. I can't imagine what these people do today with realistic games. Probably a one way ticket to the insane asylum.
Conversly, I think though, used in moderation, games can stimulate productivity. Especaially if you use it to blow off some steam, or get into game creation, hence improving your skills in the real world. But, anything in moderation can be good. I don't think most people have the tendency to get obsessed over games, and if it wasn't a game, it'd be alcohol, heroin or donuts.
And lastly ... unless you're going into game programming I have yet to find any good reason for putting "Reached level 88 Amazon in Diablo II" on your resume. Gaming has little worth in the real world. I'd go so far as to say it has a negative stigma attached to it ... for anybody over 30.
I did some contracts as an undergrad that were very difficult - the professsor that offered them to us probably had no business doing so. We got things running, however the marathon 2 week coding binge was absolutely insane. If you play games for 30 minutes or so, your brain wakes up and you can be productive for another couple hours - then play games for another 30 minutes. This can't go on indefinately, but helps a lot.
I suspect it's because it gets other areas of your brain working and eliminates eyestrain, as your eyes are moving around constantly.
My $0.02..
..don't panic
what is the most producive out of
1. Play UT2k3
2. write something in [insert-programming-language-here]?
GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
I Bleed For This?
04.06.94 #009
Concise Guide to Forgetting How much You Suck
by Jason Farnon
"Guh. I suck. Everything sucks. Diediedie!!!sadjkhsaldhj"
How many times have you said this to yourself? Things just suck, people
are stupid. You haven't washed in a while and are probably better off dead.
Once again IBFT comes to the rescue. Here are some methods of passing
the time until you die. They have been tested and proven to work. No guess
work involved here. Have fun, and don't eat the brown acid.
1) Sleep
Seems pretty obvious right? You'd be amazed how many people overlook
this. Here is a secret tip for you. Did you know that you don't have to be
tired or drowsy to sleep? I bet you didn't. Don't stay up thinking
something cool is going to happen. Don't go hang out with people who suck
as much as you. You know nothing cool will happen. It never does. But
you waste your time like a moron going 'out' and coming back with no
satisfaction whatsoever. Why not just stay home and sleep? Your bed is
warm, and nobody can bother you. You can't be frustrated with trying to do
anything cool, because you never attempted anything to begin with.
Sleep 18 hours a day if you can get away with it. Sleep anywhere where
you know you will not get sodomized. You know you don't have to be social if
your eyes are closed. I have learned that if people think you're sleeping,
they won't try to talk to you. You know how much you hate that interaction
thing. Plus when you sleep, you'll feel better. For all the hours you've
wasted doing nothing, you could do something that makes you happy. Just
accept that you will die a worthless piece of shit having contributed nothing
worthwhile to this hypocritical shithole society. It makes doing nothing so
much easier. Plus they don't deserve your brilliance anyway.
2) Foreign Substances
Why not put things into your body that will give you a false sense of
security, superiority, or confidence? I mean as long as you are content, who
cares what other people think. Remember its all in your mind. No matter
what they say, no matter where they place you, in the end your demise will be
your fault and your fault only. If you win in your mind, you can be burning
to death while maggots chew on your eyes, and still have a sense of
accomplishment.
"Don't think you're worth anything. You're just another customer."
So you have decided to destroy your body with drugs. Good call. Acid
will make you very happy, as it will make you appreciate things so much more.
You see people so damn happy, laughing, and you wonder how they can be so
happy when we are slowly approaching the apocalypse. You aren't at fault.
They are just morons who are going to burn in hell. But if you want to
experience what they feel, drop out. Everything will make sense. All of a
sudden the doorknob you took for granted will fascinate you to no end. Trees
and lakes will be beautiful again, at least for twelve hours. Do a lot of
acid. You have nothing to loose. You can only gain insight to the 'others'
world. No other drug is worth it. Plus acid is very, very cheap. So even
if it becomes a habit, it won't be one you'll have to sell your body for;
only your furniture. Fucking up your mind is okay. Having skid marks is
not. Marijuana is out of the question as it is easily detectable and will
prevent you from getting your McJob.
There, I used a Generation-X term. That's all you are. Generation-X.
You're like a textbook you little Fuck. Don't think you're some superior
being close to discovering the answers everyone has forgotten. You are
nothing. You are SHIT. There are so many before you that were worthless and
confused like you, and there will be so many afterwards. You will make no
impact on the world, and will scapegoat it to the attribute that no one
under
I think some people are missing the point. The author doesn't contend that computer gaming in itself increases productivity, but rather that gaming "has the greatest chance to hone skills useful for productivity in the workplace."
This, however, also doesn't make sense. How often does your boss require you to run around the office killing demons? When have you been in a business meeting and missed the opportunity to be productive because you didn't know the correct way to man the gunner position on a Halo warthog?
Games also don't teach employees to be more efficient/harder workers. Think about it. The best way for a game to make you work harder would be for it to crash, forcing the gamer back into the real world where bills need to be paid, and jobs need to get done.
Maybe the motor skills help atheletes...
And it was good. Then it changed, and there was much grumbling.
But having stuff like that, gaming fridays for a few hours, would probably really increase worker morale... Unless they're totally getting fragged all the time. Plus, if you designate a certain time for gaming, they will probably waste less time gaming when they're supposed to be working.
that this site is "news for nerds. stuff that matters."?
;-P
;-)
if there is an ideology to geekdom, it is found in stories like this, not in "there is no spoon" matrix movies.
this story, as read here, has the air of common sense all about it, amazingly enough.
posted to absolutely any other news site, and this story would presented for news of the weird/ fark-esque laughter eliciting.
c'mon guys, less blatant wish-fulfillment fantasies please!
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Games are good for productivity if they help you to say relaxed. However, you need games that don't demand that you play them continuously, and that aren't too intellectually challenging. Playing System Shock at work is sure to keep you from doing any work, and playing StarCraft is going to distract you for long periods of time, but playing solitaire is a good way to stay alert while you don't have anything you can work on for a minute or two. Similarly, reading slashdot is good for productivity but reading a novel is not.
I'm still waiting for a FPWP.
(That's First Person Word Processor to the lay-person).
obviously no deficiencies vs. no obvious deficiencies
In Canada, we don't fancy things like socks
I think that skills are enhanced by gaming, but only to a point. FPSs might be a problem, as an overstimulated employee would probably be too distracted to focus on a low-stimulation project. And besides, what do you do if someone quietly walks into your cubicle and surprises you--whip out a chaingun?
FWIW, I didn't bother to read the article before posting--I didn't want to decrease my productivity any further!
"What is the sound of one belly slapping?"
I'll agree about overconsuming, being a slug, etc...
But I imagine daydreaming is better than playing a game. Daydreaming is relaxing and creative and doesn't constrain you to a specific task. You might come up with some useful ideas and insights when daydreaming.
His study found even a 20-minute doze could increase concentration and stamina enormously.
Professor Peter Wippermann says bosses should allow employees to take 'power naps' and also provide comfortable office furniture for a quick snooze.
Professor Wippermann, from the office research consultancy Trendburo, which is based in Hamburg, said a quick snooze in the office regenerates worn out body cells and improves the ability to think flexibly.
Story filed: 15:23 Friday 25th May 2001
link here
Similar stories here
and here
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
I cannot stand places that require
8-12 at desk
1-5 at desk
Why doesn't management understand different people work in different ways? My best friend will come in late but he gets shitloads done after lunch. Before lunch he does next to nothing (tries to wake up). Me I'm a morning person I get more done before 9am than most people do all day. However at my last job, leaving early meant you weren't a team player (nevermind I got there 2 hours before everyone else, where were the fucking team players then?).
This is why my current job is my last. They are pretty flexible (my boss respects me, and I can come and go as I please).
Once my company hits the revenue I feel comfortable with I'm going out on my own. I'd rather make 24K/year and be my own boss than make 100k/year and have to put up with bullshit everyday. There is something to be said for Quality of Life.
My future co-workers will be able to set their own schedules (with the exception of support). I'm not going to be the boss, I'm going to be a co-worker (that can fire people). As long as my teams are achieving their goals persuant to the companies goals I don't care if they work 20 hours a week. Just get the shit done and go live your life. I am also going to require 16 hours of community service a month (2 paid days off to do something the co-workers care about). There was nothing worse at my first job than them riding your ass about not doing shit in the community but turning around and making you work 80+ hours a week and work on weekends. I have no problem with hard work. I just hate hypocrites (which I strive not to be one).
Fortunately I will be job free in about 6 months if everything works out. And I'll be job free in 6 months if everything doesn't work out. I guess I'm crazy quiting a job that makes over 60k/year in oklahoma, but oh well....
At least, they make people more productive at some things. Like FRAGGING!
Playing a game in an office has the same effect on geeks as opening a nude calendar. The harmful effects are not on the person playing the game, but on the coworkers.
The Raven
In a "don't go home" environment (a la Microsoft) where you are encouraged to spend every possible moment working and being productive gaming, free food, anything you might do at home is gladly provided at work; in the hopes you won't go home and you might be able to squeek out a few more lines of code. Places such as this want to make work a place where you will WANT to be (especially for more than 40 hours/week.)
For the rest of us who "do the eight & hit the gate", our work is either not on such a tight timetable or is on a stable production environment where EVERYTHING is done carefully and deliberately to avoid downtime, gaming doesn't make sense.
Don't get me wrong, I read slashdot and do NOT agree with the boss who says "The company is losing MILLIONS OF $$$$ while the slacker trenchers screw around with the internet."
Work is for work, home is for home and lunch & after hours are for LAN parties (if IT & boss permits.)
Must not be a terribly secure proxy server they have then.
The coolest voice ever.
Yeah, those brainslugs are kinda neat. Wait a sec, someone's ringing my doorbell...
ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD! LPETRAZICKIS IS SAYING THIS OF HIS OWN VOLITION AND NOT BECAUSE THE HYPNOTOAD IS TELLING HIM TO. ALL GLORY OF THE HYPNOTOAD! THE BRAINSLUGS ARE INFERIOR! HAIL HYPNOTOAD!
Whoa, I don't know what came over me there for a sec. Sorry.;)
The lameness filter would like me to elaborate on my point so I will. For example, you can behold your Lord and Saviour Hypnotoad here. You can also check out the cybersquatter hypnotoad.org before the Legions of the Faithful destroy them. There's ascoi art of the ONE here. OBEY HYPNOTOAD!;)
Is this a sigs-optional kind of place? 'Cause I am totally down with that if you know what I mean.
>> ...enjoyed during work breaks.
Well, that would be the key, wouldn't it, boys and girls?
Playing games while you're supposed to be working, instead of on a break, would tend to cut into production, wouldn't it?
Of course, this only applies to lucky drones who actually get breaks.
-- Slashdot: When Public Access TV Says "No"
... you have time to collect unemployment while I hire somebody else who wants a job.
Let's make a deal: you game on your time, I won't call you during dinner and ask you about your TPS reports, ok?
"An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Col. Jeff Cooper
Type memos or use spreadsheets to calculate interest rates just for fun? :)
Faith can move mountains. I prefer dynamite.
Look at all of the ways that you can multitask with your GeforceFX-5800: CoolingFan_FUN.wmv
Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way...
I have been reduced to actually looking forward to doing the Times crossword at lunchtime with my cow-orkers.
In fact, it`s the highlight of our day.
Save yourselves while you still can.
\\ Mitch
But I still do this while waiting for turns to finish in Civ3...
"Moreover, otherwise carefree and pampered children may become motivated to go out and get a job, thereby contributing to societal productivity, by the prospect of earning money to buy games."
Jeez yea. I remember when I was in middle and high school my mom would bribe me with sega master system (and eventually genesis) games for getting above a 3.0 average. I took up a paper route as soon as I was able to afford my hourly charges for Gemstone3 on GEnie.Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
So, we'll all agree that you can't work 8 hours at a stretch, with zero interruptions. I can get close if deadlines are coming up, but the caffinated beverages get to me eventually, and I start freaking out (The Mouse is talking to me! The Mouse is talking to me!), not including the bathroom breaks.
So, in a stress environment, I can see putting some sort of game system around to blow off steam every couple hours or so. Of course if you have a bunch of addicts around, you're going to go out of business...
The thing is, people compare it to PRODUCTIVE time. So, no, compared to actualy PRODUCTIVE time, playing games is a time waster.
On the other hand, compared to sitting mindlessly and passively in front of the TV, games achieve a level almost approaching productivity! So it depends on what you're doing.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
If you need to take a break at work I think that going for a walk or working out on your lunch hour would be a better break than playing games. Office people do enogh sitting.
I pay my people to work, not to play.
If they want to play, stay home and play.
If they want to work, come to work, work and get paid for working.
Bah humbug!
I, sir, would like to work for you.
"ARBEIT MACHT FREI"
I see you haven't gotten any yet.
Is it because you're so pathetic that no woman would want you?
Or, is it that you're not really trying?
It does seems, by the sheer number of these posts, that you may be overcompensating for something.
When I have to get up early for a long day of work, or if I hit my afternoon drearies, I always do one of the online crossword apps. I find that kind of puzzle-solving to be very stimulating and raises my level of alertness and clarity. For just a 10-15 minute commitment, I've improved my workflow for hours to come.
Much better than sogging ever so slowly-but-surely toward that I-Need-a-Nap afternoon lull...
.
Punctanym: alternate spelling of words using punctuation or numerals in place of some or all of its letters; see 'leet'
Just today, some folks were asking the rest of us why a certain bug has not been fixed yet. Naturally, he was already gone for the day. I slipped while trying to reassure them and said "I'm sure he will leave no card unturned". Naturally, all of us who know what's going on broke out laughing....
I really hate that guy.
"Lord, grant that I may always be right, for Thou knowest that I am hard to turn" -- A Scots-Irish prayer
.. a 27inch TV and a Xbox. We have a ton of games but we mainly just play Halo every day for 1/2 hour around 5pm. I'm not sure about increasing productivity or anything, but a few quick matches of Halo gets me more hyper than 3 cups of coffee.
Live web cams
This guy sounds like he's trying to justify his hobby. "Productivity" is an activity when something is being produced, not an activity that's putting you "in the mood" to produce. Besides, low-level tech work is task oriented (much like playing video games) while management itself would gain nothing from honing gaming skills. Take a break anyway you want, but don't tell me you're being productive. You're taking a break.
The colors of this site definitly reduce my productivity. And make my vision go all blurry. And leave a faint headache behing the eyes.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
...and leave us not forget its value as a means by which understanding of its creators might be gleaned.
Three words for y'all:
Grand. Admiral. Thrawn.
- White Knight of the Order of Mihoshi Enthusiasts
because it's so true.
Are there certain games that make people more productive than others? Should employers promote solitaire but ban Everquest?
What about the kind of job being done? Clearly, someone flipping burgers doesn't need time off to rejuvenate their creative side.
In the end, though, I think game-playing should be taken on a case-by-case basis. You ban gaming, and see what happens to productivity. Then let some gaming in, and check the same.
And frankly, if people need to waste time, they'll find ways. At least gaming is obvious. What's worse is when people are doing psuedo-productive activities (e.g. "pencil sharpening"), that kill time or contribute nothing to the project, because it's much harder to track them and/or stop them.
Ok, let me chime in here about the most popular games on the planet. Microsoft Solitare and Microsoft Mine sweeper.
Typicaly management frowns down on these two games, and it's not unusual for the boss to ask for these to be removed. A careful reminder, before that choice is made is imporant. Both games are excelent for hand-eye co-ordination skills and serve to promote mouse instruction. You may think i'm nuts for saying this, but working with older people who didn't play video games who don't have much in the way of computer experence are not going to be the best at operating a mouse... so bad that often times I see the simple click motion translate into a forward motion, and they ask why the computer isn't doing what it should be doing.
As far as me personaly, switching from a standard issue mouse to a trackball, I found quake II to be invaluable. This could apply just as easily to solitare.
So would I say playing solitare on the lunch break improves productivity. I'd say, "YEP, SURE DOES". It teaches inexperenced users how to operate the mouse, it helps users to become familar with the particular choice the work place made on mice.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
I've worked for more than one place that initially promised me they "weren't picky about keeping strict hours, as long as you got the work done" -- and each time, reality was a little bit different.
What happens is this: Your co-workers (and superiors) observe you coming in late or leaving early, or heading out for lunch at a non-typical hour, and they automatically assume the worst.
Actually, to be more specific about it - your co-workers actually *in* your department, working along-side you, probably *do* understand if you're getting your job done. The problem is everyone else. They're busy doing their own work, so they don't have time to check what you do. All they notice is your presence or absence.
All it takes to run into "hot water" is an unfounded rumor about your "part-time work habits". Your superiors might not immediately act upon it, but the comments tend to stick in their heads and they'll start looking for reasons to "have a talk with you".
You're not me. I can play as long as I want and not hit the broad side of a barn door. Oh well, someone has to help the top person on the other team score kills!
Thanks for pointing that out, I guess I got confused by the +Insightful mods. My points are still valid for the general topic, though.
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
Games lubricate the body and mind
bite my glorious golden ass.
Today's video games are too time consuming. Back when arcade games were popular, they'd be a nice break because they only take a few minutes to play and leave, but most of today's console games take over half an hour before you get somewhere satisfying in them. They often space the opportunity to save far apart so if you spend less than half an hour you lose your progress. Simply having to save your progress is a nuisance, because you have to remember where you are after you stop, which means the game stays on your mind after you return to work. Arcade games always let extra players join in at any time, but today's console games force you to restart if you want to change the number of people playing. Startup screens alone now take over a minute. Some Gameboy Advance games are pretty brief, but it's low tech, uncomfortable and only supports one player per unit.
The sad fact is, today's console and PC games are designed to take over your life, which is just what the boss won't allow on the job.
I must shoot you now.
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
You know you loved it!
Ehrm... How about some walking? Ever heard of the joys of _physical_ excercise?
Browse Slashdot at Funny+5, everything else -5. The only way to sustain it.
so...
:|
i've got exams next week...
and i need... to study...
but it would be more productive to play games? OK!
not that i needed this article to make me ignore studying for games
-judging another only defines yourself
I am in a full time Computer Systems Program, and they made us take Gym in the first semester replacing it with some goal setting class. This made everyone remember how good it was to be in PE play sports and so on, since people wheren't all that good to begin with the wanting to win aspect never got to big.
However it did make it so everyone got to know eachother much quicker, it also helped out on teamwork. People don't seem to hate eachother so much at school but instead tolerate others more.
We have gaming too, but for some reason everyone would rather play basketball instead when we have free time (we have basically cycled through every sport).
What you get from playing sports far exceeds what you would get from playing video games.
Computer game addiction is rampant. During a fit of depression, I spent approximately 2 weeks doing NOTHING at work but play Diablo 2 and hit alt-tab when the boss came around. I didn't mean to, but I had gotten into the habit of doing a Morpheus run first thing in the morning... but when I turned the game off, I got overwhelmed with work, came to slashdot, didn't find any new stories, then went back to diablo. Then when I'd have bad fights with my girlfriend (the reason I was depressed), I'd go to the office at 1 in the morning to play. Bad bad bad. A few weeks after that happened, I realized what I had been doing, and deleted all traces of diablo from my computer. I was still too much of an addict to delete my battle.net characters, but I haven't been back for over 3 months, so I'm comforted to know that I CAN'T go back to that.
OTOH, nothing breaks the stress in my office on a deadline like a 15-minute round of Unreal Tournament on one of the boards I made in my not-so-busy days. And since I've got the leeway to make levels on those not-so-busy days, I'm grateful, so more willing to stay late and work harder for deadlines.
YES!!!! Next topic.
Treat them with respect and they will do the same. Treat them like shit and they will work 1/10th as hard (that's how it is at my current job).
I guarantee a work slow down every time someone at my job gets bitched out because the boss doesn't know any other way to motivate.
Granted, people can take advantage. But if you're a good manager and have good managers/workers around you it's less likely some bad seed will slip through.
Games that you have to play every day and those that you have to read about, if you dont play, every day are tiresome and I doubt that they dont decrease the productivity.
:-))))
Mix many games and you cant do much else.
I DARE YOU, WANNA GIVE A SHOT ?
I only want people who give a shit about the world around them. If anyone who ever wants to work for me cannot find one thing to contribute to society, then they are worthless to me already.
This is a good weed out question on interviews as well.
I am not religious, however a few of the people I've started the company with are. I give them the ability to do activities with their church (as long as they affect people outside their congregation) and I respect their beliefs.
Requirement stays until I get a good reason someone wouldn't want to help anyone.
Hell my dad is an evil fucking republican and I guilted him into doing Meals on Wheels for 2+ years. Believe it or not, helping others can help yourself as well.
Oh btw I work in long term care. Working with elderly people who have no one left in the world can be a eye opener.
What you're describing is 99% of the places I've worked as well.
It comes from peoples insecurities. Plus, if everyone takes advantage of the situation and no one knows when the hell anyone should be there, they won't worry about appearances. Communication is the key to any relationship, it's no different in a job. Just let people know that respect for everyone is not a option, it's a requirement. If anyone has issues let the manager handle it. However, if a coworker is more concerned about Bob and Sally's time, maybe they need more attention paid to their own performance.
Top down positive reenforcement makes a world of difference. You've got to talk the talk and be able to walk the walk.
Personally I don't understand corporations today. For example, my first job at Andersen was in the Audit group (Computer Risk Management to be exact). I'd go on financial audits (surprisingly fun, but long days) and computer related audits (borrrrrring). I'd be on a job on a friday night with a partner and some other people. We'd be there till 10 or however late necessary, every single week. To me it was either we were understaffed for the job (true) and/or they just didn't have any lives (true). By the time you became a partner at Andersen (insert big 5/4 accounting firm here) you'd put in 20+ years of 80+ hours a week. Yeah, you make a shitload of money but where the hell did your life go?
Being very very very poor puts things in perspective (if I could only convince my wife). Money isn't anything, happiness and living your life to the fullest are everything (although in all likelihood the partner wouldn't change his life for anything! lol, sad really).
"computer gaming has the greatest chance to hone skills useful for productivity in the workplace"
Yes it does! Because in my job I often have to use a chain gun, trade with elves and drive 100 mph in urban settings.
Insert witty sig here.
Give it 2+ years and keep an eye on my stupid posts.
Hopefully my company will be more stable by then. It's making between 60-100k/year right now (in addition to my full time job!). Once it hits ~220k/year avg I'm going full time. Right now I'm working too much but hopefully it will all pay off.
Hell if not I guess when my rich dad (divorced parents, rich dad/poor mom) moves to Catholic Heaven I'll get some cash assuming he doesn't write me out of his will! Lol, I told him to leave me nothing the other day. My siblings need it more than I do.
I know it's stupid but the most logical business quote I ever heard was from Scrooge McDuck! lol, cartoons have all the answers. "Work smarter, not harder." Best line ever. My family busts their ass and only my dad makes more than me (actually he makes like 5 times what I make!!!). I'll catch up soon.
My goal also for my company is to split the payouts as such.
Semi-annual bonus program
50% of company after tax earnings go to me.
30% of company after tax earnings go to r&d, employee perks, new s/w and h/w (as needed), general company needs (operating capital).
20% bonuses for employees based on time with company (everyone gets a bonus, no waiting periods) and revenue generated by their work (good incentive in my opinion).
I'll succeed. I may have to alter my plans as things work and don't work. Keeping the ideals of the working man while being the CEO is difficult but attainable IMO!
I find enough ways to waste time at work as it is without having a good one available. While periodic breaks for personal interests enable me to provide at least a few hours each day of productivity at my mind-numbing job, most of these breaks are not interesting enough to keep my attention for long, and I will get back to work, somewhat recharged, and in the end productive.
But being able to play games at work would make me completely useless. I can easily pour three hours into a game and not notice the time passing. The good thing about most workplace distactions is, they don't last long.
snoozing, daydreaming, overconsuming food and beverages, or sitting like a mindless slug waiting for time to pass.
add reading slashdot to that list - that's certainly my biggest waste of time while at work.
Playing video games aren't a problem when it's done during breaks, it's just one of many things people choose to do to relax and enjoy themselves. Watercooler chatting, surfing the internet, and emailing are no more more productive. The real problem with video games is that it's hard to know when to stop because it can be so addictive. Imagine if you spent an average of 3 hours a day playing video games (in and out of work). That's 21 hours a week (almost a day!) Imagine if u had actually put those hours to something more productive like learning a new skill. Playing games is fun, but it's all about moderation.
just like the slashdot goobers
I'd be happy with a Radeon 9800 for my workstation and some headphones.
beauty is only a light switch away
Write a novel.
Best novel submitted by a team member gets turned into the company's next title, with an extra bonu$$$ to the author.
Will I retire or break 10K?
I am not allowed to play games on my office PC during work hours. However, I once took a really boring week-long class at a hotel where there were some arcade games in the lobby. Taking a brisk walk during breaks didn't do much for me, but I found that spending a couple quarters shooting aliens really woke me up. Without those adrenalin shots I wouldn't have gotten half as much out of the afternoon sessions.
When i turned on my Zelda: the Wind Waker filled
Gamecube on friday evening and turned it off on
sunday night, I discovered that i didnt do alot of things i should have done.
And seeing the pile of dirty dishes reaching the ceiling
was also a big hint. I've been playing console and pc games since pong and I can tell you, it reduced
my productivity incredibly. But what else can you do.
Those games are just way too cool and entertaining.
DARN YOU Shiguero Myamoto!!!
Check my site: http://pixel.pagina.nl
I used to be a counter-strike/diversion junkie. It was so bad I ended up with a 1.6 gpa and had to leave the big Uni for a year. The solution was to get rid of my 3d card so I couldn't waste my time with the latest schnazzy games and now I'm back to making a consistent 4.0 for the last two semesters. Of course, now it's summer and I'm reconsidering...
I think when/if used in moderation, I agree that things like games, or MSN or surfing the net can be more 'productive' then sitting there staring at a clock for ages.
When I'm at work and get into a slump, if I just sit there, it takes me longer to get back at work, I get bored, unfocused, lose interest in what I'm doing, and it gets harder for me to stay on task.
Whereas, if I can take a break, chat on MSN for a few mins, read slashdot or a website, or even fire up a game for 5 mins, a: it keeps my mind in a more active state frame of mind, b: I'm more likely to chat for only like, 10 mins, as opposed to sit there twiddling my thumbs up my ass for 20, c: keeps me 'happier' and more productive.
Now, if your employees are spending 4 hours a day playing a game, then yeah. That needs to be dealt with, but with moderation I do think things like games/email/chat/etc are more 'productive' time killers then just killing time.
Also, when I usualy take a 'break' from doing work, I usualy end up going to like, codeproject.com or a programming site and read articles/tutorials/etc, learn a few new things which I enjoy, and may be usefull to what I am doing at work.
That said, now we have an office, I see no reason to go splash out on a PS2 and/or XBox to enjoy the evenings. But then, can the eyes take constant abuse from looking at a video screen all day at work and then into the evening? Is it not better to go out at night and get involved with real people? Another subject for Slashdot!
O'WONDERWe're working on it.
At my last company we had a pool table, a ping-pong table, two fooz ball tables, a dart board, a wide screen TV, DVD player, and sometimes people would bring in movies or hook up a game system.
Everday at lunch time (lunch was also catered in BTW) the whole company would descend to the lunch room, eat, hang out, and play games.
Ok, so sometimes the lunch breaks were longer than an hour, but usually it wasn't much longer than that, and you would go back to your desk with a clear mind, an energized body, PLUS you just spent leisure time with your co-workers, so when it comes time to work with them you actually know them and might even like them.
Yeah, I think playing games is a productivity booster. But only if you don't have to sneak around and only if you do it with co-workers away from your desk.
42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
No chance this sort of thing happens on a big scale in the white collar sweat shop that is US IT right now. During the dot com boom, employers were into the whole Ping-Pong-for-morale idea, but now they've got us by the short hairs.
But it makes total sense to officially sanction something in a "public" break area or whatever that you think might be a problem for people sitting in their individual veal stall/cube. If it's going to happen, get your spin on how it happens. Use it to make people like their jobs and their coworkers. Can that be bad? Can it be worse than an office of people with their fingers poised on Ctrl-tab to hide minesweeper?
The alternative is in place here. We've got hidden processes taking "inventory" of our systems, sniffing out potentially illicit activity all the time. They don't find the real abusers, but they succeed in crushing the morale of people who take it casually. Those are the ones who get caught. And of course, the people responsible for monitoring it are the LAN team sorts who know where to hide their own. Pretty much a gulag of a network, complete with the guards knowing how to get contraband through the gates. Let's hear it for authoritarian approaches to social problems...
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
"a stimulating alternative to 'snoozing, daydreaming, overconsuming food and beverages, or sitting like a mindless slug waiting for time to pass."
My parents didn't buy it when I told 'em Intellivision was good for my hand-eye coordination, either. (Honest, "Utopia" is really building my management skills... for use in "Civilization" later on.)
"Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
You're overgeneralizing. There are still many arcadish games designed for consoles (is there a current machine that doesn't have Crazy Taxi?) and load times aren't always horrendous. Admittedly, you do have to restart to add players, but I can only recall Gauntlet and the Konami 4-player brawlers not requiring that.
For example:
There was a study conducted at a sewing factory as moral and productivity was low. The employees only had 30 minutes lunch break and their shift was over 9 hours long. The managers decided that they would increase the lunch break by 30 minutes. Thus, productivity increased because the workers could relax. They then decided to include coffee breaks, productivity increased. Then they supplied the empolyees fresh muffins during the coffee breaks, as a result productivity increased because workers were happier with the muffins. Finally they removed the muffins, and shortened the lunch break by 15 minutes. Surprisingly, productivity STILL increased. The managers scratched their heads for a long time until they realized what had increased the productivity of their factory employees : CHANGE, and it wasn't increasing their priviliges that stimulated them to work harder beacause it was only an external motivation. We can therefore compare this to the reason why games would increase productivity : not the actual fact that we play games during work hours, but the fact that it lets us experience change.
However, the main one for me is this, I want to control my own job and answer to the client (instead of the boss).
True you want everthing for your children but I have 3 people I work with who never said no and one of them has a 33 year old that is still being supported, the other one has a 25 year old and a 22 year old that are exactly the same.
Sometimes it's good for your kids to learn the value of money. Growing up rich (getting the best all the time) tends to make this impossible.
Thanks for the comments!
You wouldn't necessarily need to "go out". If you have a disability I would be more than accommodating (my wife is has so many medical problems it's really sad).
You wouldn't even need to come in to work for me if that were your situation. Just come for the big meetings and phone into the rest. This is exactly what I was talking about. Not everyone needs 8-5 with a 1 hour lunch.
Attitude is everything.
When I went on an interview with Datek Online, they showed me a PC gaming room the President had set up for the employees. Nothing but high-end PCs with keyboards, mice and joysticks ready to go. Something about how the pres wanted to emphasize the connection between online gaming and online stock trading...
:\
Of course, they got bought out by Ameritrade a few months later
That's what I loved about Quake and fast action first person shooters.
I can be doing homework, studying for a test or preparing for a project, but working for hours straight with no break can make it a unbearable or bad work to come about.
With quake( II or III), it's usually good when I jump in for a few minutes, limit myself to the amount of frags before I HAVE to log off and go back to work. And since the game's action is so fast paced, it's enough to get my blood pumping and enjoy a few rounds without losing the day.
Hence why I avoid RPGs and strategies; you'll sometimes reach a point where things start to get interesting and you'll lose track of time.
I'm sure everyone's read 'how to study' manuals. The 15min match is the reward I give myself for working hours. Sometimes, you'll forget about the reward and continue working; kinda like the way you train a dog.
A 15min quake match, some time to cool off (another 5 minutes). That constitutes a good break, IMO.
Where can I get one of these researcher jobs? "Gaming increases productivity" sounds like the double-think that put my last company out of business. A small group of us spent our days slaving away to the sounds of the main developers banging away at FoosBall(tm) and N64 games. Three years and we barely had an Alpha product. But the main devs had good "bonding" and were "mentally refreshed" all the time. The managers should have been chewing them out, but they were playing too.
Yup. Gaming really increased _their_ productivity.
Don't know why I bother typing this. I'm an AC posting on a story that already has 250+ posts. Noone will read it, but I feel better for venting.
Anonymous Kev
Proudly posting as AC since 1997
Setting up a Dreamcast to run linux is fun and productive. And when we need a break, we could pop in a game or two :)
Most people want to do good things, they just have difficulty in finding time. I help them to find the time. If I miss out on someone that doesn't want to help their community why would I want to help them (with a job)?
Being a business leader is itself a community service. Puting your ass on the line, not to mention your money to pay other people to work with you is a risky proposition. In fact, I'm more scared of failure because of the impacts on my employees than I am of the impact on my life.
One can also learn things from gaming. For example, one particularly large chip company encourages a form of interaction called 'constructive confrontation'. The Monkey Island games' "insult dueling" could be excellent practice for this.
w00t w00t that's so cRAZy
I'll tell you as soon as I get to the next chapter and level up.
I think so.
Unless, of course, you're a hermaphrodite.
-Shaunak.
You sound like someone that would be a refreshing change to work for! I hope your business prospers.
Regarding your comment about being very, very poor putting things into perspective - I can relate to that, to an extent. But at the same time, I find that money *is* very important in my life, at least up to a certain point. My interests, unfortunately, aren't cheap. I'm a computer junkie, for one. I also like things like movies and music, which do cost money. Beyond that, I have to earn enough to pay for my daughter's needs, and keep all the bills paid for the basics.
I guess what I find frustrating is the seeming lack of a "middle ground" nowdays. It's easy to be poor, as long as your aspirations don't involve many things that cost money. (I see people all the time who get by quite happily on a single $7 or $8 an hour income, for example. They earn a small enough annual income that their insurance needs get covered by state programs. They may even get financial assistance for other basic requirements. They buy what they need at garage sales, flea markets, and from friends/neighbors - and their hobbies usually include the "simple pleasures" like camping, swimming or fishing.)
It's also very possible to be fairly rich, but the tradeoff, as you pointed out, is the rest of your free time (life). The people making money nowdays, by and large, put in crazy numbers of hours, or at least work all the hours traditionally reserved as "family or personal time".
The people who have skills/knowledge to rise far above the "near minimum wage" jobs, yet don't want to take on the responsibilities (typically management positions) that earn the "top dollars" are really struggling. There's hardly any room for these folks anymore. They get downsized, laid off, transferred into other areas where they're forced to move into management roles they don't want, etc.
Slashdot has less of an effect because you can simply walk away from it at any time, and when you return, pick up right where you left off. In an interactive game, you would be hesitant to just depart, forfeiting any lead or advantage you might have in the game. You would probably say "Just a sec..." as you wait for a break in the action.
:)
Turn-based games might also elicit pressure from the other players for you to return to the game, rather than actually working.
I have nothing against games in the workplace... As long as they are text based and time independant single player games.
Does Gaming Produce Reproductivity?
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is." G.W.Bush
Man, f*ck the Gamecube. Give me an XBox instead. I've got one at home, so why not one here at work.
"Several independent studies have confirmed that intermittent recreation enhances rather than detracts from worker ability to return and focus on the task at hand." Interesting these studies are not named or cited.
It would be part of the job you wouldn't get hired then all of a sudden be told "here is a thing you've got to do" that wasn't in the job description.
Just because no one wants to clean puke when they are a janitor doesn't mean it doesn't get done. Same way with this. If you don't want to be paid to do community service, simply don't take the job because it is a part of it.
Easy as pie.
With nethack you can always claim it is some sort of archaic debugger. Which it actually is about: debugging dungeons...
I re-read the thread we were having, and I find it difficult to continue supporting my position without taking the extreme as the norm.
After thinking about your points some more, it's more accurate to say that until people change their lifestyles, they are continually going have a drug problem. Thinking about examples of people who have kicked it -- and except for extreme addiction cases --- people have kicked the habit only by changing their lifestyles permanently. I suppose I could also defend this by pointing out the number of people who have experimented vs. the number of people who really end up addicted.
Anyway, thanks for enduring the heated talk and changing my opinion.
https://www.accountkiller.com/removal-requested