Unblocking Games From Home
One would have thought that WFH is an escape from boring office life, but now gaming seems a way to break free from that...
There is a link between C19 and the popularity of online gaming.1 So much, as to coin the term Covideogamers. Lockdowns also meant an unpredicted surge in remote ‘Working From Home’, where most people installed Zoom — whether that was for corporate meetings, small business interactions, teaching or family ‘gatherings’. The relentless growth of gaming went hand in hand with downloading titles and, also, with interest on ‘unblocking games‘. The bizarre trend is that this unblocking keeps being a topic of interest even as Zooming and WFH are now well established and work-life balance massively improved.
In the US the Zoom hype peaked in 2020. Nevertheless, Post-C19 interest in Zoom grew by 300% versus the pre-pandemic level.
Absolut Interpretation
As Zoom became part of the new normal, online searches for it are less needed. WFH remains an attractive ‘perk’ in job offers, — when people have the chance to work flexibly, a big share take it.2
More meetings do not translate in more productivity
The fact that productivity went up during the pandemic has been questioned. In order to enhance meetings’ productivity companies should clarify purposes, invite only essential participants,3 establish clear key performance indicators for management and employees, and foster effective communication and performance monitoring.4
More companies are investing in technology to support flexible work environments, developing new norms that acknowledge that flexible work is an enduring feature of the modern professional market.
Unfortunately, normal means boring
Initially during the Zoom hype, interest in gaming — and in unblocking games — went down. WFH was far more exciting. But when the Zoom hype was over, clearly, searches on ‘unblocking games’ rose again - to the same level as when people mainly worked in offices.
Mental Health…
The UK Cybercrew report reveals that 37% of covideogamers said they played games because they were bored.5 But some players feel that gaming had a positive effect on mental health during lockdowns.6 Gaming related streaming was also justified as it helped to experience community, with those spending time on multiplayer genres feeling especially positive.
Games are the new coffee and cigarettes of the WFH office worker.
Zoom allows for remote working and that is exactly why it creates a paradox: while it maintained the office relationships during the pandemic, it also increased physical isolation and it is the reason why the sense of community at work is hugely reduced. It is very normal that boredom sets in even though working from home was initially considered positive. Online gaming though allows for new social relationships especially with multiplayer games, under a set of rules that are willingly accepted. The rules of work, which prevail in physical offices can easily be escaped by going outside to smoke or grab a coffee in the office kitchen to meet others, chat and gossip.
Absolut Conclusion
WFH and the needed ‘coffee and cigarette break’ that is replaced at home by gaming, has probably added to the problem. Games’ addictive nature not only impacts mental health; physical side effects include obesity and heart health in all gamers’ age groups.
It will not be enough for governments to hail the market growth and bullish forecast of the video gaming industry because of their positive impact on the economy, and healthy tax revenues. As is the case with gambling, government measures might have to curb the gaming trend soon, simply to avoid a new health crisis.7