Bogers, et al.
Sanne Bogers, Jeffrey Goldstein, Karen Sijbrandij, Margreet Wiegers,
University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
Computer games in the workplace
Abstract
Many companies prohibit their employees from playing computer games during working hours, based on the assumption that all work and no play is the most efficient use of time. However, there is no research on how playing computer games might affect employee productivity, job satisfaction, or absenteeism. A variety of factors associated with play, including perceived control, reduced stress, and incubation, could result in more positive attitudes toward the workplace, increased job satisfaction and heightened productivity.
We conducted an experiment at a health insurance company in the Netherlands, in which some employees were permitted to play computer games during the workday. 60 employees were randomly assigned to an experimental condition in which computer games were permitted for up to one hour per day, for a period of four weeks, or to a non-playing control group, in which no change in company policy against computer games was made. Before and after the play period began, employees took the Job-related Affective Well-being Scale (van Katwyk et al., Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2000) and a 20-item scale of job involvement and productivity. The two measures correlate +.60. Participants in the experimental group kept logs of their play. Follow-up interviews were done with a sample of those in the experimental group to gain insight into their use of play during the course of the workday.
Although changes in both dependent measures were greater for the playing experimental group than for the non-playing control group, only the scores on the JAWS test were statistically significant. Playing games led to a small but significant increase in job satisfaction. Those in the experimental group increased significantly on the JAWS test, while there was virtually no change in the control group. Games were seen by employees as a way to relax at one's desk, a way of alternating tasks, and as a reward for a successfully completed task.
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