How gaming can be used as stress relief for your employees

Video games are bad. You heard that a lot in the 90s and 00s. They rot your brain and distract you from the important things in life. But, are there some positives to gaming? Is it actually good for you?

We are going to look at how gaming could be the answer to your employee’s stress relief problems.

Stress is a major issue in the workplace. It is only recently that employers are sitting up to the idea that an awareness of mental health issues can make your workers more productive and reliable. Staff may just need a little relief from real life and gaming could give that to them.

Most people who enjoy gaming are not sun starved, lazy and overweight like the media might have you thinking. Gaming is a wide variety of things. From console gaming in front of the TV, to sitting on public transport playing on their phones, to playing on your favourite online casino. So, like mental health, gaming needs to be approached as a stigma and an important tool in combatting stress.

So read on to find out how your employee’s lives can be improved by gaming.

For people who can’t switch off

Gaming is a happy medium between being engaged and fun. It is perfect for the type of people who find it difficult to just switch off from work.

Some people can leave work at 5pm and not think about it until 9am the next morning. However, for people who always need to do one more email gaming is the perfect stress relief.

Gaming will keep this type of person engaged and enough of a mental challenge for their brain to slowly relax. This is important to aid with stress relief. Easing the mind away from work and to something which will have a satisfying ending.

Escapism

The stresses of real life can sometimes be too much for some people. They may have a difficult time at work as well as at home. Escaping to a world not related to their life in gaming can be the perfect stress relief.

Some people may claim that they use alcohol or recreational drugs for this reason, but they are undoubtedly more damaging for your health than playing a game for a few hours.

Gaming is the perfect platform for escapism. You can go to different worlds where you are in control. All you need to do is outsmart your opponent and you will be a success. This feeling of control may appeal to employees that feel that their lives are not in their own hands. Encouraging employees to use gaming as a stress relief can give them the escape they need to become focused the next day.

Gaming and fitness

Something that has been proven with many studies is how stress can be improved with good physical health. Gaming and physical health is usually at odds, with it usually attributed to a sedentary life and playing for hours.

In last few years technology has developed in virtual reality and augmented reality to the point that it is affordable in homes and on our smartphones.

Virtual reality can get you moving around the room whilst gaming. The possibilities are endless and it can truly be escaping from the reality of work are any personal issues.

The Nintendo Wii pioneered the fitness through gaming with the Wii Fit. Nintendo have done it again with the Nintendo Switch Ring Fit. Use your whole body to get active and improve strength, balance and agility all whilst having fun.

Employee wellbeing

That all being said, it really all comes down to getting the most out of your employees. Employee wellbeing is at the forefront of business trends in recent times. The need for businesses to retain their talent has become an increasingly important strategy. With workers moving between jobs at a greater rate than ever before employers need to offer great perks to retain employees.

Employees prefer to have benefits to a pay rises. Knowing that your employer will be understanding if approached by an employee with a mental health or personal concern could be the difference between keeping that employee or them moving on.

There are many ways you can use gaming as stress relief, employers just need to encourage their employees to relax away from work and gaming may help with that.