Used in the right conditions, video games can help relieve the anxiety generated by work.
- More than half of French people regularly feel stress at work.
- According to a new study, playing video games can help you unwind after a tough day at work.
- For video games to have an effect in this sense, you must not have an obsessive relationship with this type of entertainment.
Video games can promote recovery after a stressful day at work, according to a new study published in the journal Applied Psychology.
Video games and professional stress: survey methodology
Previous studies have often highlighted the negative consequences of video games, but growing evidence suggests they might actually improve mood and help you relax. In their new study, researchers from Medipol University in Istanbul and Eramus University in Rotterdam sought to explore the positive effects of video games for employees.
To recruit participants, researchers distributed flyers in video game stores in the Netherlands, Germany and Greece and used social media. To be included in the study, participants had to be employed and regularly play console video games. The final sample included 65 respondents, mainly men (83%) with an average age of 25 years. Most respondents (73%) worked full-time and the majority had more than one year of work experience.
To collect each person’s data, the researchers used questionnaires to be completed twice a day for five working days.
Video games can help you mentally detach yourself from work
By summarizing all the responses, the researchers found that video games had a positive impact on the psychology of the people included in the study. The majority of participants reported that on nights when they played, they were more able to forget about work concerns and mentally detach themselves from their work. The majority of participants also felt that by playing, they learned new things and took on challenges different from their professional tasks.
Interestingly, the type of relationship individuals had with video games played a role in modulating their effects. Those who played freely benefited more from the positive effects cited earlier in this article, while those who had a compulsive and uncontrollable need to be on their console rather experienced negative consequences such as sleep disorders.
“This study shows that video games played outside of working hours can be useful to employees, which goes against stereotypes. Video games help relieve work-related stress, particularly through the development of new resources cognitive and social”, conclude the researchers.
The study, entitled “Recovery from work by playing video games”, was produced by Ömer Erdem Koçak, Marjan Gorgievski and Arnold B. Bakker.
64% of French employees feel stress at work
In France, 64% of employees feel stress at work at least once a week, particularly young people aged 18-24 (74%), teleworkers (70%) and women (68%).
