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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?"
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.
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.
"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
" 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.
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
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!
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
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!
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.
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 it. Imagine if we farmed out our development projects to the Chinese prison system. There, they only eat, sleep and write software. Every bug discovered by your manager results in a 100 volt zap to your left nut.
The problem with western people is they don't understand they are alive to serve their manager, nothing more. Eastern people however... they have a long and elustrious tradition of efficiency. India still has their wonderful caste system, the perfect social system for labor. China just prefers to use "prisoners" for the real dirty work.
The Americans better realize that you cannot be both free and be productive. If you have to work, you better shut the fuck up and do your job at all times you are conscious and not eating, sleeping, defecating, fucking...
I don't read or respond to AC posts
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...
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 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....
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.)
Type memos or use spreadsheets to calculate interest rates just for fun? :)
Faith can move mountains. I prefer dynamite.
I don't work for that company anymore. They were a 3-year-old data center company, and I hired on in a new location that wasn't profitable yet. I left for a more secure company, and last I heard that data center company was shutting some locations down but selling my old location off, so I guess it was near being profitable.
:-)
But it was fun and enjoyable. It didn't pay as much as I wanted, but the people were cool and you could do pretty much what you wanted as long as you took care of business.
Among my coworkers, some regularly surfed porn, some played games, and one left p2p software running all shift, which is cool when you have 10Mbit bandwidtch to the internet. (For the NOC; the whole center had much more of course. We were setting up gigabit internet set up for one customer.) My coworkers and I would gather at an exceptional example of porn, but I never surfed it myself. To me, porn and work don't mix. Why do I want to be horny at work? Especially on the weekends by myself for 12 hours. That would be a bad habit to start!
We did more than just monitor, though; we were remote hands for the customers, we racked equipment and cabled for new customers, we gave data center tours for potential customers, etc.. And we were encouraged to develop new ideas for services to offer customers and services to improve our network.
I spent my idle time soaking up all the new info...I hadn't worked that closely with that much network equipment before and I was a kid in a candy store. I miss it except for the insecurity and low pay.
No reading printed material at your workstation? WTF? All of our alerts had loud sounds, emails and pages in addition to the screen flashing. Our more serious alerts (e.g. main switch problem) had the Star Trek red alert sound. Syslog entries from the routers made a "thunk" sound, and we had comprehensive monitoring system that spoke the location and nature of the problem. (Well, the sounds were configurable and we used AT&T's online voice synthesizer to create alerts.) Anything in the data center moving or behaving in a noteworthy fashion made an audible and visual alert, and anything that definitely needed immediate attention would page and email, too. And of course we'd periodically audit and test the alert system.
The drinking and eating rules are actually kinda smart, but we ate and drank at our stations, anyway, although there were at least 5 other usable stations if I fried mine.
We mixed our music into the alert speakers for loud entertainment. Plus we had DSS satellite on one of our many monitors.
I don't recall a dress code, but I usually wore khakis and a patterned button-up cotton blend shirt.
We couldn't leave the building empty, but we could leave if there were coworkers working. (I worked weekend 12-hour shifts and was by myself the whole time so I couldn't leave.)
I only brought my personal computer in the weekend before my last day. But that was because our data center hosted WWII Online and it had just released and I wanted to try it, and mucking with a NOC workstation was not something I wanted to do. Plus, how often do you get a chance to play a MMOG with ping times under 20ms?
Sleeping: We weren't supposed to do that, and I didn't, but I think the midnight guy did. He was the only one who repeadedly had problems like "the phone never rang...I was making a walkthrough check of the building and the phone must've lost connection" when the same phone always rang for everyone else all the time no matter where they were in the building.
Propping feet up: not a problem.
But if customers were around we were supposed to have the NOC looking net, of course. We had a fishbowl-type NOC with a glass wall between us and the entry way (cool because the receptionist was gorgeous) and large windows into the data center floor.
For those tempted to say that our 'slacker' practices are why the company got in trouble, I don't think
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.
So whats the difference? Sports or computer games...one is physical, the other mental...and you can only see the use for the physical break, above the mental one?
Anyway, working 9-5 is highly unnatural; it's about time we put all that psychological research to good use by implementing it's findings and changing the workplace to a place where people would actually be more productive while feeling good.
Burnout rates would drop, saving money right there. Stress would be reduced, making people happier, upping morale. The only reason this doesn't happen at more places is because people tend to stick to traditions, no matter how dumb they are.
-- Waht? Tehr's a preveiw buottn?
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.
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.