I’ve been saying for years that studies can be done to prove anything, especially when the sample size is very small. And tiny, tiny, tiny is the following study which finds 64% of Americans are playing games at work.
The ridiculously small sample size of 2,453 American workers of a recently estimated 158 million American workers might as well be discarded entirely, if not for gaming-related curiosity.
Of those that responded: 52% identified as male, 46% female and 2% non-binary.
Again, the following sample size, again, is way, way too small to take any of this data seriously, but it’s fun to poke around the edges at it and consider “what if” this is reality?
If you don’t like studies based in fantasy land, then you might want to eject now, friendly gamer readers. Consider yourself warned.
Now, what’s that saying about all work and no play makes Jack dull?
(ironic the study comes from a casino-related website?)
… a whopping 3 out of 5 working Americans admit to gaming during work hours. Almost half of them (46%) confess to doing this about 2 to 3 times a week, while a quarter of respondents limit it to once a week. Additionally, 14% play video games 4 to 5 times a week on company time, and 12% even do it daily.
When asked about the amount of time spent gaming at work per week, the majority – 45% – cap it at a maximum of 30 minutes. Nearly a third (30%) extend this to 30 minutes to 1 hour, while 16% snatch 1 to 2 hours a week from the boss’s time for gaming. Lastly, 5% of respondents do it for 2 to 3 hours a week, and 4% even indulge for 3 hours or more.
Study: how many Americans play video games while at work? (sweepstakescasino.com)
The most common device used for gaming on the clock is not a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck (or one of its variants), no, it’s a mobile phone, followed by less than 10% using a computer/desktop and a few that use a tablet.
If you work in a finance-related job, then you’re probably gaming on the job. Guess it’s to get away from all those numbers.
Perhaps the most curious part of the study is what states gaming at work happens the most. There are a few states where the data was insignificant, but of those that could be evaluated, 88% of workers in Colorado that responded to the study indicate they game at work. 60% here in Washington state admit to gaming to work.
Note the word “admit” which makes this study data even more suspect. How many of these people lied on the study? Yes, we end where we started here: this study is purely for entertainment purposes.
Do you game at work? Are you even allowed to? There are a bunch of jobs where one has no time to play games, except maybe on lunch or other breaks.
Bob
This topic is interesting, but you wonder what they are trying to prove in this research. Asking someone if they game at work is a little broad unless there are follow-up questions if they say yes. Something like, while you are on break, or if you are on hold, lunch, etc…
When I wasn’t working from home the biggest distraction I would witness would be with social media or texting. Occasionally, I would also see people streaming Netflix as well.
Yup. As we discussed in the discord. I think the biggest problem with this “study” is the rounding error sample size. It’s the story within the story that most studies are bogus. They don’t measure enough people to accurately assess the data. Clearly, in jobs where people have the ability to play games, a good percentage probably do. I think that’s the assumption most have. Some jobs, like mine, allow to work from home and I can divide my work and personal time, which is why I will play games more. If I was in a job where playing games at work was forbidden, would likely only do so on break when it’s “my time.”