Computer games, Recovery, and Work: A Diary Study

2009

The present study investigated the recreational use of video and computer games in the workplace. In an online survey, 833 employed users of online casual games reported on their use of computer games during working hours. The data indicate that playing computer games in the workplace elicits substantial levels of recovery experience. Recovery experience associated with gameplay was the strongest predictor for the use of games in the workplace. Furthermore, individuals with higher levels of work-related fatigue reported stronger recovery experience during gameplay and showed a higher tendency to play games during working hours than did persons with lower levels of work strain. Additionally, the social situation at work was found to have a significant influence on the use of games. Persons receiving less social support from colleagues and Supervisors played games at work more frequently than did individuals with higher levels of social support. Furthermore, job control was positively related to the use of games at work. In sum, the results of the present study illustrate that computer games have a significant recovery potential. Implications of these findings for research on personal computer use during work and for games research in general are discussed.

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2007

Objectives EVort-recovery theory (Meijman and Mulder in Handbook of work and organizational psychology, Psychology Press/Erlbaum, Hove, pp 1998) proposes that eVort expenditure may have adverse consequences for health in the absence of suYcient recovery opportunities. Thus, insight in the relationships between eVort and recovery is imperative to understand work-related health. This study therefore focused on the relation between work-related eVort and recovery (1) during workdays, (2) in-between workdays and (3) in the weekend. For these three time periods, we compared a group of employees reporting relatively low levels of work-related eVort ("low-eVort group") and a group of employees reporting relatively high levels of work-related eVort ("high-eVort group") with respect to (1) activity patterns, (2) the experience of these activity patterns, and (3) health and well-being indicators. Methods Data were collected among university staV members. Participants (N high-eVort group = 24 and N low-eVort group = 27) completed a general questionnaire and took part in a 7-day daily diary study covering Wve weekdays and the following weekend. DiVerences between the two eVort-groups were examined by means of analysis of variance.

Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2012

SummaryThis study among 85 individuals used a day reconstruction approach to examine whether workaholism moderates the relationship between daily activities during non‐work time and daily well‐being in the evening (evening happiness, momentary vigor before bedtime, and momentary recovery before bedtime). Specifically, it was hypothesized that daily work‐related activities during the evening have a stronger negative relationship with daily well‐being for employees high (versus low) in workaholism and that daily physical and social activities have a stronger positive relationship with well‐being for employees high (versus low) in workaholism. The results of multilevel analyses largely supported the hypotheses for daily physical and work‐related activities but not for social activities during non‐work time. These findings imply that organizations should not encourage their employees and particularly those who score high on workaholism to work during non‐work time and instead promote ph...

Playing computer games at work is often discouraged, even though there is evidence that work breaks increases productivity and that computer games can be beneficial. We investigated the effects of computer games, particularly short Internetbased games, on productivity, especially when games are played during short breaks. We conducted two studies simulating work in an office environment, and examined the impact of computer game breaks. Although our investigations proved inconclusive, our methodology can be used for future investigations into this subject.

PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2013

Work-related stress is a large occupational risks in the Netherlands but interventions to reduce this risk are not implemented in organizations. The characteristics of a serious game make it a useful training tool for managers to raise awareness on their role in stimulating work engagement and managing work-related stress. In this research project a serious game for managers is developed and implemented and will be evaluated as an intervention to reduce work-related stress and raise work-engagement among employees. The evaluation will be done in a longitudinal case-control study, using a generic, standardized evaluation framework for validation of serious games. Focus of the evaluation will be on the direct effects of playing the game and on long-term effects, cf. transfer of training. In this paper the development of the game and the design for the evaluation study will be described.

2009

Abstract: The aim of this chapter is to provide a literature review on daily recovery during non-work time. Specifically, next to discussing theories that help us understand the process of recovery, we will clarify how recovery and its potential outcomes have been conceptualized so far. Consequently, we present empirical findings of diary studies addressing the activities that may facilitate or hinder daily recovery. We will pay special attention to potential mechanisms that may underlie the facilitating or hindering processes.

IGI-Global, 2023

The present study analyzes the impact of video games on productivity at a workplace. A lot of organizations have introduced games during break times of employees. Indoor video game parlors have been created at company sites. Games are said to relieve stress and enthuse fun at the workplace resulting in a happy environment. The authors were interested in understanding employees’ feelings after playing these games and their views about these games. They have targeted employees of multinational IT companies asking them in detail about these gaming sessions and their opinions about them. Findings from the data indicate that employees feel more competent and enthusiastic towards their work after playing these online games. These results will definitely help the organizations in developing a strategy for incorporating these games during break-time of employees and leveraging the benefits of games to enhance employee performance and engagement at work.

This diary study builds on the effort-recovery and broaden-and-build theories to examine whether the subjective experience of off-job activities (work-related, household, social, physical, low-effort) matters for an individual's daily recovery from work. It was hypothesized that momentary happiness experienced during off-job activities stops the prolongation of load reactions from work-related effort, and builds personal resources that benefit daily recovery from work. Using a day reconstruction method, 384 participants recruited via a Dutch website reconstructed their time spent on, and happiness during, off-job activities, and their daily recovery on workdays over a twoweek period. Results of hierarchical linear modelling showed that work-related and household activities during off-job time were negatively associated with recovery at bedtime when happiness during such activities was low, but not when happiness was high. Social and physical activities were associated positively with recovery when happiness during such activities was high, but negatively when happiness was low, indicating that such activities only aid recovery when they are enjoyed. The findings expand knowledge on recovery by showing that it is not just the time spent on offwork activities but the subjective experience of such activities that plays a pivotal role in the way they are linked to recovery.

2020

Over the last decade the popularity of video games has risen tremendously. A new industry around professional gaming has emerged alongside this growth in the popularity of video games. In professional gaming, individuals play video games competitively while their matches and games are streamed online to a global audience. As a result of the growth in the sector, compensation for some individuals has reached well into six and seven figures. Knowledge of these salaries has resulted in an influx of individuals interested in working in professional gaming. This study investigates not only those individuals who play video games professionally, but also those who work in the periphery and infrastructure of the gaming industry. This dissertation critically investigates work in the professional gaming industry drawing on qualitative interview data. Two primary questions are asked: What is the nature of work in professional gaming? What are the experiences of individuals who pursue careers and work in this industry? This exploratory research utilizes thirty-four semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the professional gaming industry. The participants describe a range of challenges, difficulties, and issues they experience both transitioning into and working in this industry. The results suggest that work in professional gaming is rife with exploitation, precarity, and non-standard work arrangements. Pursuing a career in this industry is difficult, and participants often lack social support during their transition from playing video games as leisure to being employed in professional gaming. This lack of social support is not determinative and the participants often accessed their social capital in other ways in order to succeed. Financial difficulties, geographic challenges, iii and issues with discrimination and sexism were faced by the participants working in this industry. The present study provides important recommendations for future research. Overall, the study sheds new light on the nature of work in this industrywork that many dismiss as simply leisurerevealing tensions, contradictions, and inequalities within it.