Why Gamers Make Great Employees

For the Horde! Ahem, *cough*, I mean: For the Employer! Okay, okay… After that bold intro with a solid core, here’s the elaboration of the thesis.

Motivated people

If there’s one thing I keep encountering in professional life, it’s the passion for one’s job. And I have to say – I find that really nice! Whether it’s former colleagues, new clients, or friends and acquaintances – passion is always in play.

Of course, it’s not the case for absolutely everyone, nor is it an unbreakable rule! However, I consider myself lucky to be surrounded by people, both in my profession and social circle, who genuinely enjoy – or even love – their work. They’re truly „on fire“ with what they do and often don’t even know when to stop, but more on that in a moment.

You could now ask yourself: What do 8/10 people have in common, i.e. where is the common denominator? Where does this sometimes truly irrepressible motivation come from? Why do they go the extra mile and voluntarily work overtime all the time, for example?

Where does the motivation come from?

Since you probably first consume entertainment media on the PC before you actually work with it professionally, one basic characteristic is probably present from the outset: Being incredibly enthusiastic about something that interests you or that you are really into. The office example here is just that, one possible example of many!

But I’ll start with myself first, because I can best report on this from memories and by feeling the various emotions. Even if I have also noticed this kind of development in other people in my circle of influence, these are just observations.

When I was at secondary school (about 17 years ago at the time of writing), I had successfully managed to train myself out of my passions. But okay, that’s another topic, so let’s move on to the actual aspect: after secondary school, when I was working for my father, I discov

This involved the comprehensive topic of “computers, IT”, or more precisely the aspect of “programming”. “I can teach a machine to do what I might otherwise have to do? I can simplify things for myself without having to be there?”

“Oh boy”, I had no idea how many sleepless nights I would cause myself with this emerging passion. My first two pieces of software that were used extensively in our family business were created and the seed was sown – but that’s another topic for another time.

The dark side

As with all things, there are of course negative aspects alongside the positive ones. While motivation and passion naturally have positive connotations in the first instance, they also have their downsides. They can quickly degenerate into addictions, born-outs and the like if you don’t know when to stop.

But it could also lead to people exploiting this inner fire. I experienced this myself when I had to (successfully) sue a former boss… Not nice at all! But even that never killed my motivation…

Much worse is the “can’t stop” or “if only there were 48 hours in a day” issue. It’s not just you who can suffer from burnout, deprivations accepted by the family, etc. Your loved ones, i.e. family, friends or your social environment in general, can also be severely affected.

Topic: Gaming

Now about the previous swings on the subject of “gaming”, or why gamers in particular seem to have this “more more more” gene. As we know: Correlation is not causation! So just because a gamer also has this passion at work (correlation) does not mean that the latter is based on the former (causality).

I have to make it quite clear, however – it could also be a kind of “confirmation bias” – that I always find out during conversations: “What, you played WoW too!”. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the senior, 52-year-old project manager or the young, 16-year-old trainee!

Sure, anyone can play, but I’m talking more about the non-casual gamer who pursues goals in a really tough and disciplined way until they have achieved them. In my experience, most people are like this: “If we’re going to do xy, then we want to win / get the best out of it”.

Conclusion

What do you think? Do gamers tend to have the “drive” to be disciplined, motivated, passionate about work and other activities? Is it a kind of “gene”, i.e. is it there from the outset? Or is it discovered by chance, or is the passion simply triggered in certain subject areas?