This Week's Herman Trend Alert Demand-Driven Workforce Development

The Herman Trend Alert December 5, 2007 Computer Gaming Costs Employers We estimate that computer gaming is costing United States employers millions of dollars every year. According to a recent survey of computer gamers, 24 percent of white collar workers admitted to playing during work hours. The most critical finding is the frequency with which these workers play. Over half (53 percent) said they play at work at least once a day. Seventy-nine percent said they play at work several times a week---or more. Eighty-four percent said that, on average, they play casual games at work for between 15 and 60 minutes each day and 11 percent said they play casual games at work for an hour or more each day. PopCap Games, a leading developer and publisher of casual games, headquartered in Seattle, Washington surveyed their customers. Of the 7,102 respondents, 2,842 or 40 percent were identified as "white collar" workers and 35 percent of CEOs, CFOs, and other senior executives indicated they play at work. About 14 percent said that they play during business meetings and conference calls. Worthy of note is that PopCap's white collar computer gamers are wealthier than most. Of the white collar casual gamers responding, 65 percent indicated they earn USD$50,000 or more in annual income---compared to 53 percent of all casual gamers. On top of that 22 percent said they earned USD$100,000 or more per year. They are also well-educated with 58 indicating they have college degrees. Most (91 percent) white collar gamers are age 30 or older, while 68 percent are 40 or older and 39 percent are 50 or older. White collar workers play casual games at work, because they feel a need to decompress from their high-stress environments. Eighty-four percent of the respondents cited stress relief as a benefit of taking a short game break; while 52 percent said they felt "more confident, more energetic, more productive, and/or more mentally focused" after gaming. Our forecast: more employers will begin to crack down on their employees. Some will discover the cost of game playing at work and offer counseling and other ideas for reducing stress that do not hurt productivity. Moreover, some enlightened employers will look for ways to incorporate gaming into daily work. © Copyright 1998-2008 by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." DON'T BE LEFT BEHIND! If you've been thinking about attending our valuable Employee Retention Specialist Certificate Program, don't delay--only three spaces remain. With the employment market heating up, many positions are literally impossible to fill. Attend this course and you will learn dozens of low-/no-cost valuable strategies to attract and retain the talent you need. Recertification credit from HRCI. Next program: May 22-23, Charleston, SC. Call Carol at 336-282-9370 or visit http://www.employeeretentionspecialist.com. GET INSIDE THE MINDS OF YOUR EMPLOYEES Find out what's really going on inside the hearts and minds of your employees. Our InnerViews interviewing service uses SPHRs and PHRs, certified human resource professionals to probe for the information you really need to know. Exit and Stay Interviews, as well as Why-Didn't-You-Take-Our-Offer Interviews. Call Rosalie Catalano at 937-648-1918 or read more at: http://www.hermangroup.com/retentionconnection/exit_interviews.html. NEW BABY BONUS Book Joyce to speak on the West Coast in 2008 and receive 100 of her books of your choosing. There is a new baby in the family, Spencer Jay, and Joyce would appreciate more opportunities to watch him grow. For more about Joyce, visit http://www.hermangroup.com/joyce.html or call Joyce at 336-210-3548. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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