Hey y’all,
Are you someone who has been playing games for most of their life? I started playing games when I was about 5 years old, games that no kid had a CHANCE to beat. Aladdin, The Lion King, and Earthworm Jim come to mind.
I planned to share some pictures of my old consoles, but they’re lost to the garage. Instead, I added a pic above of a piece of my PS3 game collection! Play any of these?
Games helped me practice and develop a lot of the skills that I consider strengths today, especially in the workplace. A recent national survey of ~900 working professionals dug into childhood gaming and skill development and found that lots of people feel this way, too!
Over half said gaming as a kid helped them develop skills that they use at work. Problem solving and strategic thinking top the list, and 44% have even applied a lesson from a video game to a work situation. Gen Z reported doing that the most.
People who game regularly after work also reported higher career satisfaction than those who rarely or never do.
There are plenty of applications for games at work, too; growth, connection, and wellbeing are just a few. It’s a big part of the reason why I have spent years making the case that play belongs at the office. If play helped us grow over years of gaming at home, imagine how much better work could be when we invite ourselves to be more playful there?
