Leveraging Gaming for Corporate Skill Enhancement

Unlocking Gaming Potential in the Corporate World

For a significant period of time, corporate managers have largely associated gaming with triviality, perceiving it as detrimental to workplace productivity and discipline. However, emerging research is reshaping this perception, illustrating that incorporating gaming into the workplace can foster relevant cognitive, emotional, and social skills that can drive success in organizations. Both role-playing and video games, in particular, offer various opportunities for skill development essential for the modern, intricate corporate terrain. As such, the traditional stereotypes associated with gaming need to be challenged, and the valuable skills gaming can cultivate should be recognized and harnessed constructively.

Challenging Gaming Stereotypes

The term "gamers" encompasses a broad spectrum of individuals, as different games offer diverse benefits. Board games, for instance, stimulate intellectual engagement and social interaction, striking a healthy balance between cooperation and competition, much like sporting activities and various business models. Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), such as Dungeons and Dragons, promote teamwork, creativity, empathy, and other crucial competencies. Furthermore, research defies the stereotypes of gamers as socially awkward introverts, revealing that regular TTRPG players exhibit lower levels of stress and anxiety, higher self-efficacy and self-esteem, and are generally more extroverted and open to experiences.

These collaborative games can also counterbalance the restrictive rivalry fostered by prevailing sports metaphors in organizational contexts, focusing instead on themes such as community building, collaboration, and co-creation. In contrast to its negative image, recent research proves that video gaming can enhance cognitive skills, including quick reaction times, memory improvement, and stress management abilities.

Embracing Gaming in the Corporate Culture

In spite of past pleas to demystify the irrational stigma associated with gaming, progress on this front remains stagnant. Resumes and interview advice rarely promote the benefits of gaming experience, a trend that reinforces the perception of gaming as a frivolous habit rather than a valuable skill-developing activity. To address this, hiring managers and senior executives must shift their perspective, recognizing and understanding the correlation between gaming and job-related benefits. Here's how they can do it:

Firstly, hiring personnel should actively inquire about a candidate’s gaming experience, stimulating them to evaluate the potential value it could bring to the organization. Secondly, workplaces should normalize gaming conversations, fostering an inclusive environment where employees feel comfortable discussing gaming strategies or sharing convention experiences.

Finally, it's crucial for leaders to establish a culture embracing gaming. They can encourage conversations about gaming and even engage in games. This would send a strong positive message to the employees and create an environment where gaming is not just accepted but cherished.