In many companies for computer games You can lose your job in the workplace. But sometimes you can even make a career out of gaming.

At electronics supply company Arrow Electronics, account managers learn how to make deliveries using a custom-made video game. A game called Arrow Max! offers 7 scenarios, through which you can find out how the supply chain works and what different customers require. The virtual coach tells you what to do and how to negotiate. The game interface and interactive system make learning more fun.

In addition, the game evaluates how well the player completed the task. Managers can find out which of their subordinates is capable of what. "The game uses real data, so the company always knows who's doing well, who's not doing well, and who's a rising star," says Scott Randell, CEO of the game's creator, Brandgames.

Even Microsoft has experimented with office games. The company was especially interested in productivity games that require you to complete tasks.

Beta testing a new product is one of the most time-consuming tasks and requires huge costs. To make the process easier, Microsoft is developing games, which is the responsibility of Ross Smith, director of product testing at Microsoft's Unified Communications Group. Smith's latest project is called "Pass on Hope: Relieving the Suffering of Disaster Victims." In the game, participants earn points by testing the company's new messenger called Communicator and rating its performance. Points aren't just for vanity: the more points players collect, the more dollars Microsoft will donate to charities. 8,000 company employees have already played the game.

Microsoft's previous test game was called " Good language" Participants used their free time and language skills to evaluate Windows versions on different languages. Players competed for points, making the grind enjoyable.

“Even though I was not directly involved in the development of the Windows interface, the game made me feel like one of its creators,” says a company employee.

Of course, using video games has its limitations. For example, if performance in a game is directly related to performance evaluation or pay, there is a danger that the game will no longer be fun.

“When games intersect with what people are paying for, people can be sensitive to that,” Smith says. “They think you just want to make them work harder.”

But when used correctly, games in the workplace make learning fun and mundane tasks less boring.

"Games are one way to experiment with strategy-making and problem-solving in a gaming environment," says Will Wright, creator of the acclaimed games SimCity and Spore. In the 1990s, Wright developed several office games, such as SimRefinery for Chevron. The game, reminiscent of SimCity, helped non-engineering employees understand how an oil refinery worked.

"Games force people to use the scientific method," Wright adds. - You create a model in your head and test it in the game. If the model doesn't work, you go back a step and improve it. In this way, you can quickly learn to intuitively feel quite complex systems.”

Why are corporate business games important for overall business success? How to choose corporate games and competitions for your company to bring the team together? Read on for answers to these and other questions.

You will learn:

Different spheres of human activity are directly related to certain game forms. Although in Russian practice the science of personnel management is a fairly young area, it can still be argued - corporate games have become an integral part of the activities of domestic companies that strive to unite the team and develop.

Corporate games solve important business problems:

• organization of joint leisure;
• team development;
• training of company employees;
• improvement motivation, working mood of employees;
• employees receive honor, prestige or reward;
• conditional modeling of a real working situation.

Employees are usually interested in spending time together in an informal setting in order to get to know each other better and establish close relationships. friendly relations. Competitions allow employees to improve their self-esteem, allowing them to stand out in the team with the results of their creativity and talents.

Types of corporate games

1. Educational: team interaction trainings, conferences, corporate seminars.

2. Business: presentations, award ceremonies, dealer meetings. In such events, the main condition is to adhere to a strict business style, emphasizing the importance of friends and partners of your organization.

3. Entertaining: holding all corporate events. The key role is given to an interesting scenario in which all employees and colleagues of the company are united.

4. Intellectual: activities based on the principle of personal development of each employee. Including the company can organize a trip to historical places, division competitions, intensive tours, etc.

Where and who should hold corporate games

Where:

• bars, restaurants, cafes;
• offices;
• sport complexes;
• tourist centers;
• Outdoors;
• cruise ship, motor ship;
• country house;
• beach, etc.

Who:

• PR specialists;
• special presenters invited from event agencies;
• just proactive company employees;
• HR staff;
• head of a company or department;
• business coaches.

How to make friends between departments: games “Thank you”, “Crocodile” and others

Labor productivity and the level of income of the organization directly depend on the psychological climate in the team. This is evidenced by the results of a Gallup survey among 1.4 million employees from 34 countries. It turned out that companies with more satisfied employees have 22 percent higher profits and 27 percent higher productivity. Engaged employees are ready to solve complex problems, help each other and work for the development of the company.

The editors of the “Commercial Director” magazine told how game mechanics help motivate the team to act together and participate in company projects.

Is it necessary to give gifts for winning and participating in corporate games?

The question of gifts for participation or victory in corporate games is an important nuance in the preparation of the entire event. To select suitable gifts you need to consider the following nuances:

– What is not customary to give as a gift in a company?

– What budget is allocated for the purchase of relevant goods?

– What was awarded last year?

– Are standard corporate gifts or originality welcome?

– Are gifts ready-made or do they need to be made?

– What gifts correspond to the theme of the event?

– How should gifts be decorated?

Special gift giving is important. They can be awarded without games. In particular, some commercial companies give their employees small souvenirs or candies during peak sales days. Such gifts are especially important on difficult working days to maintain productivity and motivation.

TOP 10 best corporate games for entertainment

"Ring throw." On the floor close to each other line up empty bottles, as well as bottles with non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. From a distance of 3 meters it is suggested to put a ring on the bottle. Whoever puts the ring on a full bottle takes it as a reward. The number of throws for each participant should be limited. The ring can be cut out of thin cardboard with a diameter of 10 centimeters.

"In a plate". The driver names any letter. Participants will have to be the first to name an object with this letter from those that are currently on the plate. Having named the item first, the player becomes the driver. If no one could name a word for the driver's letter, he will be awarded a prize. Don’t forget to the driver to prohibit letters that the object cannot be in (е, и, ъ, ь, ы).

"Sweetie". The participants are at the table, the driver is determined. Players pass candy to each other under the table. The driver has to catch someone passing the candy. If the player is caught, he becomes the new driver.

"Crocodile". 2 teams of players participate. The first team chooses a specific word, pantomiming it without using sounds or words. The second player has to guess the hidden word in 3 attempts. Then the teams change places. The game is for fun, although you can keep score.

"Joking test." This test can be carried out with the participation of everyone present. Participants are given sheets of paper and pens. They have to write certain abbreviations on pieces of paper in a column. Opposite each abbreviation is a line from a poem or song. After completing the task, the meanings of incomprehensible abbreviations will be communicated. Each participant can find out and show their neighbors their status on this moment. You can come up with any abbreviations, but it is better if they correspond to the theme of the holiday.

"What to do, if…". Participants are invited to consider situations that are related to work - they need to find a way out. The person who proposes the most suitable solution to the problem will receive a prize point.

"Accuracy". A factory-made Darts game is ideal. Although options with homemade analogues are possible.

"Best Toast". The presenter reminds that a real man must be able to drink. But the goal is not to drink more than the rest, but to do it as gracefully as possible - the participants compete in the beauty of the toasts they pronounce.

"Unusual sculptures." Men will have to balloons different shapes and sizes and using tape to make a female figure.

"Pig in a poke." During the break, you can organize a silent auction. Participants are offered lots wrapped in wrapping paper so that it is not clear what is inside. During the event, the presenter can pronounce the name of the item in a comic form. An auction is held with real money, starting with a symbolic amount. Before presentation, the item is unwrapped to satisfy the public's curiosity.

Which corporate games are educational?

Employee training is based on special laws developed by Edward Lee Thorndike:

The first law is the Law of Readiness

- feel desire;

- feel the need;

– understanding and acceptance of the information received;

- to be interested.

Second Law – Law of Effect

Nothing achieves impact like success in the gameplay.

Third Law – Law of Practice

– practice motivates teachers;

– practice makes perfect;

– you need enough time to practice;

– Feedback is required during training.

Educational corporate games can be:

1. Adventurous situations for employees. For example, the game “Marina Mnishek’s Treasure Search.” Here, a kaleidoscope of events leads workers to various extreme situations that need to be urgently resolved. The game is regularly accompanied by “unforeseen collisions.” For example, a bus breaks down, treasures are unexpectedly stolen, etc. All employees participate in an adventurous situation, which contributes to their learning and improvement of interaction.

2. Really valuable prizes. Employees have the opportunity to improve their own status by winning a corporate lottery. Large companies can provide large prizes. And employees can not only receive a valuable prize, but also fame among colleagues - a powerful incentive for the formation of a corporate culture.

3. Corporate cinema. A film about the creation and holding of a corporate competition or lottery also becomes an effective way to attract and unite employees into a common union, increasing interest in the company. The tasks that employees will perform in preparing and executing the event are to influence employees by promoting group enthusiasm in developing creativity and teamwork. Usually in this case these problems are solved without any particular difficulties.

The non-financial incentive method is really important

Tamara Chukardina, Vice President, People's Insurance Company "Rekon", Moscow

Our company regularly organizes corporate competitions between sales departments. In particular, at the end of last year there was serious competition in the market for compulsory motor liability insurance policies, largely unfair. We had to maintain the portfolio with increasing sales levels in such conditions. We did not resort to increasing the commission for agents; a different path was chosen. If the agent concludes largest percentage contracts, he was given a plasma TV as a gift.

Another competition was also held - the level of sales of CASCO contracts was taken into account, also with the presentation of prizes (digital cameras, laptops, Cell phones). Such a competition was intended to orient agents to work not only with MTPL, but also with the more complex area of ​​auto insurance.

Who plays corporate business games

What is a corporate business game? It is a full-scale event lasting group work for 8-36 hours, with a single structure and task. Business game as an element of training. A simulation of the real situation with which the participants work is reproduced.

How corporate business games are created. Creating a corporate game is creative process with the participation of 2 parties - developers (they are representatives of the training company) and task setters (the employees themselves). One task should be set for conducting a corporate game - for example, to establish interaction between two structures.

A thorough study of the order is carried out corporate game, then the tasks are embodied in a business game, which is a semblance of a real business situation. As a result, clients get the opportunity to see what is happening now and what changes are needed for maximum efficiency in the company. And the main thing within the business game is transformation in the company itself and people, contributing to better results.

What are the advantages of a corporate business game:

Universality, jointness and cohesion of actions. While participating in business game employees understand the integrity of the team, perceiving the game model realistically - with more effective teamwork.

Collaborative and purposeful learning. A business game allows you to teach employees the necessary skills, effectively involving them in the overall game and learning process.

Communication is as close to real life as possible. The business game is perceived by employees as a real work situation. They see the real situation and ways to interact with each other to solve the problem.

Individuality of the proposed game, better efficiency. A business game allows you to achieve better efficiency with personalized, individual development, identifying possible problem a specific team and a specific company.

Integrity, duration and integrity of the game. The consistency and integrity of the game allows you to recreate the entire system of corporate relations, capabilities and complexities of the company.

Example of a corporate business game

The game is based on modeling the development of a new region. Several companies simultaneously enter the market with a common product line that matches 80% of its characteristics. The game goes through a number of natural stages in the development of its regional representation.

1. Market analysis: and goal setting:

– Market analysis, SWOT analysis (strengths and weaknesses, current threats, opportunities);

– Research of sub-dealers;

– Search for dealers, study of strong and weaknesses;

– Study of current demand;

2. Goal setting and planning:

– Tactical goals;

– Strategic;

– Operational;

– Planning of key areas of activity.

3. Market entry:

– Sequence of steps taken.

– Agreements, agreement with the dealer.

– Selection and implementation of a strategy for interaction with dealers.

– Interaction with sub-dealers.

4. Growth of representation:

– Understanding of competitive position, marketing strategy.

– Formation of tactical methods for implementing the strategy.

– Conducting competitive analysis, composing related activities.

– Ways to influence the sales channel.

5. Maturity. Positioning the company and products by highlighting distinctive, sustainable advantages over competitors in the eyes of customers.

– Training of dealers and sub-dealers in positioning principles.

– Positioning of products for reportable target segments.

Sales promotion technologies.

– Dealer incentives.

– Subdealer incentives.

– Optimization of information flows.

– Description of business processes in sales.

– Territorial analysis and classification of orders.

– Classification of approaches to personal selling, with awareness of one’s role.

– Planning negotiation strategies during meetings.

– Planning the trading process strategy.

6. Actions in difficult market situations, crises, consideration of unexpected actions of clients and competitors.

Planning and goal setting.

Main characteristics of targets.

Review of key areas of activity.

Tactical, operational and strategic plans.

Personel assessment.

Independent task setting.

Lead time.
- Clear understanding of the expected result.
- Degree of reality of implementation.
- Description of the algorithm for solving problems.
- Description of the means to solve the problem, their availability.
- Attractiveness.

Making decisions.

Six decision making steps.
- Errors in decision making.

Control and evaluation of activities.

Control methods.
- Minimization rule.

As the game progresses, the coach makes a theoretical insert on a specific game before each logical block. The following is an introduction describing the state of the goal and the external environment set by the central office. Time is then given to plan and implement certain actions and steps.

Game “Come up with an idea for the further development of the company”

Natalia Orlova, head of the NutUniversity training center of the Moscow Nut Company

We regularly practice the “Battle of Minds” competition. Each employee has the opportunity to put forward a specific solution or idea for the further development of the company, offering new developments or services. The jury is made up of key employees and managers. The most interesting and practical solution wins. We strive not only to obtain valuable business ideas, but also to involve employees of different departments in the formation of business strategies and the decision-making process.

We also regularly hold joint holidays and do not forget to congratulate employees on personal memorable dates. Each enterprise has its own traditions, but the fact of attention to the employee is extremely important.

Rules for a successful business game

Konstantin Bocharsky, owner of the online children's toy store Toyzez.ru, presenter of business games, Moscow

You can't disappoint your employees' expectations. If you tell people that they will learn a technique for solving a problem, there is no need to discourage them with a game. If you are sure that you need a game, you need to warn about it in advance. If people are waiting for a systematic presentation of the problem, and you start the game, this can provoke misunderstandings and negativity.

1. No theory needed. You need to assign tasks right away, then only analyze the identified errors.

2. Participants should not be told in advance what they are to learn.

3. Use game currency. After all, economic relations become the strongest incentive in the game. It is optimal if such currency can be converted into certain game assets.

4. Game tasks should be close to real work tasks. But they should not be an absolute copy. It is valuable when assignments involve working with real practices and techniques that will be used in the work.

5. Don't drag out the game, otherwise people will get tired. 2-5 hours is the optimal duration for the game.

6. Group participants into teams. To meet the allotted time and involve all participants, you need to be able to divide them into teams.

7. There should not be enough time to solve the problem in the game. Between the question “give more time” or “give less,” choose the second option. Promotes activation of energy, sometimes people are able to perform miracles.

8. Embody the problem in an artistic image. A very effective practice is to express an abstract problem using specific objects, getting to the core better. Invite the participants in the game to recreate an installation about the problem under consideration, explaining to the audience the essence of the work.

The experience gained during the game must be “appropriated”. You need to talk through the experience gained and describe its meaning to your colleagues.

Document the results of the game so that you can use the experience gained in real work.

A few words about intellectual games

Intellectual games are built on the fact that you need to think before acting. But no one can do without positive emotions and laughter in such serious games.

Options for intellectual games:

1. Competition for erudition. Quotes or episodes, phrases of certain works are read out - from a variety of options you need to guess the correct option.

2. Competition for ingenuity. You should come up with new names for all 12 months, explaining the reason for your choice.

3. Painting. The presenter must prepare famous paintings in advance. Participants are shown small fragments of paintings - they will need to guess the work.

4. Detective. The game should begin by choosing a leader who will be a detective. Players need to hide words, he will look for them. The detective needs to leave the room for a while; a line from a famous poem or proverb will be asked. For example, the saying “Language will take you to Kyiv.” We break it down into parts: “language”, “to”, “Kyiv”, “will bring”. When searching for an answer, the detective is allowed to ask any 3 participants in the game 3 questions.

5. Remember details. The presenter enters the room - holds a thing in his hands, showing it a short time. Then he makes distracting movements and hides the thing. Participants will have to remember as many details about this thing as possible.

4 ways to encourage employees to participate in corporate games

Incentives. The Russian mentality wants to hear praise and moral encouragement.

Nominations. For example, “Discovery of the Year”, “Hope and Support”, “Mighty Handful”, “Skillful Hands”, etc. Present appropriate diplomas and souvenirs that reflect the essence of the nomination.

Present. Presentation of a memorable gift, especially if individually chosen for a specific person.

Interest. If we are talking about training, you should take into account people’s interest in the proposed topic.

Information about authors and companies

Tamara Chukardina, Vice President of the People's Insurance Company "Rekon", Moscow. Graduated from the Leningrad Shipbuilding Institute. She began her career at the Admiralty and Baltic factories. Served as Deputy general director at CJSC Guta-Strakhovanie. Vice-President of NSC "Rekon" since 2005. Personally oversees the organization of corporate events.

Natalia Orlova, head of the NutUniversity training center of the Moscow Nut Company. LLC People's Insurance Company Rekon has been operating on the Russian market since 1993. Offers 75 types of insurance services to legal and individuals. Authorized capital- 700 million rubles. There are 24 branches in 19 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. According to RBC.Rating, in the list of the Top 500 largest insurance companies in 2005, NSK Rekon took 28th place.

Konstantin Bocharsky, owner of the online children's toy store Toyzez.ru, presenter of business games, Moscow. Field of activity: sale of children's toys via the Internet. Official website: toyzez.ru

The manager often has to monitor the psychological state of the team, develop a new management strategy, increase efficiency, create motivation or improve the climate in the work team. Business games can handle these and many other management tasks well.

Planning meetings and meetings, writing correspondence and phone calls, business negotiations and interviews, planning activities, drawing up schedules and reports - this is what represents a routine part of office work and in fact says little about the company’s management and its employees.

Objectives of conducting business games

A manager interested in high labor productivity in office work is constantly forced to look for new means and ways of monitoring the psychological and intellectual state of the team and increasing professional motivation. The use of business games will cope with these tasks.

In addition, a business game

• contributes to the formation of systematic thinking and a holistic view of oneself in the world and in the profession,
• teaches collective thinking and interaction skills with colleagues and employees,
• forms an idea of ​​the format of joint decision-making and the value systems of the team,
• teaches modeling and social design methods.

Organization and holding of business games

Business games are associated with the concept of gameplay, and are somewhat similar to what we called games as children. A business game is a process based on modeling a) real situations and b) possible development events.

A.A. Verbitsky: “In a business game, knowledge is acquired not in reserve, not for future use, not abstractly, but in a process that is real for the participant information support his game actions, in the dynamics of the development of the plot of a business game, in the formation of a holistic image of a professional situation"

A business game is not just a collective work, but a team one, in which the relationships of colleagues are built both within each group and at the level of relationships between teams and representatives of individual teams.

Before talking about organizing a business game, it is necessary to name its specific features:

• the game has a clear time frame,
• a business game has rules and a script,
• each participant in the game receives or chooses a role and does not have the opportunity to be an indifferent observer,
• the game creates a situation holistically, allows you to take into account many factors and aspects (both psychological and professional),
• therefore, the game forms not one skill, but a combination of them,
• problematic content of the game is mandatory, this may be a conflict of interest, competition or lack of information or other resources,
• the game has a result, a result: victory or defeat, therefore it clearly demonstrates examples of successful behavior and mistakes.

Often, participants in a business game get a more productive and informed experience compared to a professional one.

The reasons for this are quite understandable: due to their conditional nature, they make it possible to implement alternative options, form a visual representation of the consequences of each choice, that is, they increase the volume and scope of reality. If in real life we ​​rarely have a complete and accurate picture of what is happening, then in the game we can always clarify everything we saw and heard.

Rules for a competent organization for a manager

The organizer at each stage of the game must remember its 2 aspects: emotional-role and instrumental.

Instrumentally, the organizer performs the following functions: sets goals, introduces participants to their roles and regulations, provides all the necessary information, organizes space, forms and supports a specific style of communication. The leader directs all efforts to ensure that the participants understand the essence and details of the game situation and agree with its terms. In other words, the first role of the leader is to support the game plan at the subject level.

Its second and equally important role is to ensure optimal interpersonal relationships and their dynamics. This involves maintaining the level of competitive motivation, creating role interactions, maintaining positive interpersonal relationships and avoiding conflicts.

BUT! The organizer should not be directly involved in the game or in the relationships between the participants. Psychologist A.A. Verbitsky writes: “The less the teacher intervenes in the game process, the more signs of self-regulation there are in it, the higher the educational value of the game.”

The main difficulties that the organizer of business games may encounter:

• At the initial stage of group formation, the very essence, rules and conditions of the game become the object of criticism. The solution to this problem lies in a shift in emphasis: the imperfection of the game is not a mistake or a flaw of the developers, but a consequence of imitation of real processes. As in real life, in a game no condition can be perfect, and no rule can be perfect.
• During the game, it is possible to transfer personal relationships to role-playing ones. The way out is to emphasize the conditional nature of what is happening, in extreme cases, redistribute roles, minimize contacts, and sometimes change the rules.
• in the further process, the conventions of the game may be exaggerated by its participants, as a result they become too emotionally excitable, impulsive, focused on winning rather than on the result. The solution is to devalue the gain, reduce the value of the loss, i.e. neither victory nor defeat should seem so clear cut.
• individual characteristics of some participants, inability to accept the game situation. The solution is to redistribute his role, find him space and tasks to adequately fulfill his playing role.

How to prepare a business game

The development of a business game is based on activity. Not an environment, an atmosphere, but a goal, a supergoal, tasks, functionality, coordination of various interests, a problematic situation. The ultimate goal of any business game is the result, not the winnings. Events are a clash of interests, a dialogue of meanings, built on the uncertainty of everything: decisions, choices, results, semantic positions. Only the most significant factors are required to set goals, they are discussed separately, the rest is left to chance and freedom of action for the players. Each participant has the right to make decisions and is even obliged to do so.

However, don't forget! The rules must be strictly defined and the boundaries clearly defined.

Conditions for a successful business game:

• well thought out sequence of actions,
• clearly defined roles and relationships between participants,
• dramatization of events (problem, conflict of interest, competition),
• automation of routine processes, detailing of tasks (detailed methodological instructions for playing the game),
• support by the organizer for high dynamics and, in general, the active role of the organizer.

The number of participants in a business game varies: these can be large groups of 50-60 people or groups of 15-20 participants. The optimal number of participants in a team is 5-6 people. For large business games, the organizer usually attracts assistants - game technicians, who share responsibilities both in developing the scenario and in organizing the game.

Do you agree? The hardest thing for a player is not the loss, but the fact that he cannot continue the game. Anne Louise Germaine de Staël

How to conduct business games

The game includes four stages:

• problemization stage
• goal setting stage
• stage of solution development and selection
• organizational design stage

The first stage poses a problem for the participants in the game and outlines its scope. During this period, participants form relationships within the group and are determined in their playing roles.

The second stage is also called the optimization stage; it is necessary for working within a group, when each team member and the team as a whole builds working communication. During this period, there is a vigorous search for optimal solutions to the problem, alternative paths are sought and systemic “professional” connections are established.

The third stage is necessary for teams to find resources that would contribute to the real solution of the tasks assigned to them. All ridiculous proposals, unrealizable projects, invented at the second stage here, must be tested for strength and discarded. But the optimal model for solving the problem must be comprehended, refined and supplemented with resources.

The fourth stage is post-game modeling, an attempt to implement the obtained result into reality.

In a business game, skills are formed through activities, professional skills are improved through rich experience, and gaming experience project activities as efficient and useful as any other. The game develops planning, forecasting, systems thinking, reflection, communication and Creative skills person, and this is the basis for his professional growth.

In conclusion, here is a video that successfully conveys the atmosphere of a business game.

In contact with

For office workers, there is a need for a break, both in winter and summer, at any time of the year. Some types of recreation are known to be harmful. This is before smoking. It is known that: “The work makes the horses die.” Perhaps this is so. Doctors say that smoking causes much more harm to the body than intensive robotic activity.

The best rest for office workers is active. It allows you to relieve stress and stretch your muscles. This does not require much effort, resources and time. There is a place where you can relax in almost all offices.

Apparently, not all offices have barbells and parallel bars that employees could use in their free time. Experts advise doing a short warm-up on an empty stomach. After a hearty lunch, intense physical exercise is not allowed.

1. Mini basketball. During jumping, the spine, which is usually in a compressed state, is well stretched

2. Fun toys. Exists a large number of rubber anti-stress pads that are very pleasant to press. A “bag of laughter” is considered a universal mood improver. When pressed, an infectious laugh sounds. A punching bag can relieve stress after an unpleasant interaction with your boss. Set "Counting the days until vacation!"

3. Darts. Throwing darts is an exciting activity for almost all office employees; there is always a system for this game

4. Massage and self-massage

5. Trampoline, swimming pool, shower. Of course, not every company has these things, but where they exist, they are used for active procedures - moving and water ones. Good stress reliever

Not all companies have created conditions so that employees can relieve stress at any time. Where this does not already exist, workers should take care of themselves. For example, take a closer look at where you can do push-ups; after all, it would be advisable to walk in the hallway, or even better, on the street.

If a person is worried, she needs to move

It wouldn't hurt to ventilate the office. To relieve stress, you can paint or otherwise keep your hands busy.

Breathing exercises help cope with increased heart rate and normalize arterial pressure and relieve stress

Don’t forget that you can talk to someone you trust over the phone.

1132 Lunchtime Events

The lunch break can be used by employees not only for lunch itself. At all times, both Soviet and post-Soviet, many things were decided during the lunch break

The press described, for example, such options for spending a lunch break

1. Attending a job interview with another company. Many workers are looking for a job without quitting their previous one. There was information about the low effectiveness of interviews conducted during the lunch break. Perhaps this is due to the relatively short duration of the breaks.

2. Improving your level of education there is fulfillment tests, preparing for exams and tests, reading scientific or fiction literature. For many workers, lunch is the only possibility not to forget how to read, but as the Ukrainian proverb says: “At the fair, gypsies are not given the opportunity to live, but at home - children are children.”

There were also recommendations that employees study foreign languages ​​during their lunch breaks. It was stated that if you do this every day for half an hour, then at the end of your life labor activity The ancestor will become a polyglot.

3. Love dates. It was written that the lunch break was convenient especially for a first date. In the event that events do not develop as desired, or there is something you don’t like, then you can quickly end the meeting, citing the fact that lunch is ending and the employer is waiting for gigantic achievements at work, if the participants of the meeting liked it, then the continuation of meetings can take place after work, it is possible Some people are capable of taking radical actions even during their lunch break. Just like a map

4. Swimming in summer heat - this is one of the wonderful measures to combat global warming and decreased productivity. Water helps, if you believe it, not only to relax, but also to wash away negative energy. In cities there is an opportunity to visit the swimming pool.

It is known that in the absence of fish, cancer is a fish. If the office does not have a swimming pool, then showers will not hurt

At the beginning of 2008, the press reported that the Minister of Health. Great Britain. Alan. Johnson called on employers to install showers in their offices. This measure, according to the minister, will encourage workers to give up public transport and get to the office by bicycle or do a morning jog from home to their workplace. After these procedures, workers at the workplace could take a shower. Cycling and jogging were considered part of a campaign to improve the health of the working population. The British treasury annually lost large amounts of money on sick leave.

5. Mini-siesta. This is possible when the office has a quiet nook with a sofa where you can sit comfortably and take a nap for a few tens of minutes. To wake up on time, it doesn't hurt to have an alarm clock

During his stay in the fall of 1995. USA, the author of this book saw that in the offices of law school professors. University of Baltimore (Maryland) had sofas

When the opportunity presented itself to fly to... Baton Rouge (the capital of the state of Louisiana) and there were no sofas in the professors' offices, the question arose about the reason for the absence. The professor of French origin answered in his native language: “It’s dangerous” (“C”est dengerous.”) The author has enough imagination to guess about the danger of the sofa, so he hopes that the younger readers of this book will guess about it.

Considering his official position and other factors, the author of the book in the 21st century did not have the opportunity to take a nap for half an hour during the day. What he regrets. V. sometimes had such an opportunity. XX century

In early October 2008, plans were announced to create sleeping areas for employees of the Berlin Town Hall where they could take a nap during their lunch break. Initiators of introduction. The afternoon nap was guided by the conclusions of doctors that a person cannot work for 8 hours in a row with uniform output.

The project was called "Sleep to improve productivity" and is already underway in municipal institutions. Berlin. As a result of the research, it turned out that after lunch a person’s reaction will noticeably slow down; 20-30 minutes of midday sleep increase the reaction rate by 16%, and the ability to concentrate by 35 and 35%.

6. Interoffice competition. Lunch break is a convenient time for this. The competition helps strengthen friendship between departments of the company. The theme of the competition can be varied (for example, “Best smile”, “Best paper litacho”). The company will also benefit from the competition. The company employees get to know each other. Team building takes place (see 621 team building (div 6.2.1).

7. Spiritual enrichment. You can, for example, visit some exhibition, if it is nearby, or another art event

8. Shopping. This is such an ancient and widespread phenomenon that there is an opinion about creating a lunch break specifically for shopping. Explaining what it is is even more indecent than explaining that sugar is sweet

Relatively long break;

Availability of shops near the workplace

Everything can be studied - from assortment to prices. Shopping is also an opportunity to take a walk. Shopping turns into fitness exercise

Psychologists almost unanimously say that shopping is better suited for treating stress in women. This treatment is also pleasant and not burdensome. If there are certain problems, there are only two of them:

Having a husband;

A lack of money

As extensive practical experience shows, men have a negative attitude towards such treatment for their wives. Negativity can be downright aggressive especially when wives take their men shopping with them. When a man sees a bunch of purchases brought home by his wife, he begins to grumble considering that the world becomes not as wonderful as he really is.

Women have worked out several ways to neutralize the negative attitude of their life partners towards shopping:

Don't take men shopping;

Put men's guard down while shopping

When there is no money, it is very difficult to treat stress through shopping. They offer to try shopping in two options

Option No. 1. Add to the shopping cart everything that pleases the eye and do not look at the prices. In front of the cash register, you should turn around sharply and put all the goods on the shelves where they stood

Everyone, except the store, benefits from this. The money is intact. No unnecessary things appeared in the apartment. The man's mood is not spoiled

Option #2: Using mail order magazines and online shopping sites, make a list of everything you like. After compiling as large a list as possible with all the notes on prices and prices, this list is postponed until tomorrow. Half of what you chose the next day seems like completely unnecessary things, because there is nowhere to put similar things that are already there.

Again, everyone will be happy with this option. Stand in the way of stress as a strong barrier

So, remember: the kata that ran on the electric chair was fined for overusing electricity

1133 unconscious brain work

For a long time, there was an opinion that loss of concentration when performing a particular task interferes with adequate work

A 2008 panel of American psychologists concluded that this interference bias is not supported. Psychologists say that those minutes during which a worker is hiccupped from his direct duties can most likely help rather than hinder.

The fact is that at the moment of switching to new problem the so-called “mechanism of unconscious brain work” is triggered. When the worker returns to solving his task, the brain turns on its work with increased energy.

Scientists recruited 130 volunteers for the experiment. We divided them into two groups. Half of the participants were asked to completely disconnect from the original task for 5 minutes and focus on something else.

After returning to their original task, this group demonstrated better and faster problem solving than the group that was not distracted by extraneous things.

The study was carried out by a group of scientists from. Northwestern State University. Illinois, contradicts earlier findings that response distraction e-mail and SMS more than once reduce IQ, similar to what happens when smoking marijuana.

Project manager. Adam. Galinsky. He explained that thought, which works in a conscious mode, is good for making direct analytical decisions of the unconscious; mental activity, in which a person turns off concentration when solving one problem, switching to another, is especially effective when solving complex problems.

State University scientists. Oregon (USA) proved that a person cannot do more than four things at the same time. The human brain is not capable of combining more than four thought processes. This limitation cannot be overcome either by willpower or long-term training.

remember that:

Roman jurists established: “You cannot give more than you have”;

French writer. Stendhal noted: "The most beautiful woman can't give more than she can give"

The conclusion follows from this: the brain should be protected from overload, you will still need it

Liberated. Rabinovich seeks legal advice:

Maybe the management

But in that case, can I

Every employee of a reputable office dreams of becoming a director and drinking coffee in the morning at a huge table covered with expensive accessories. It’s so nice to look at everyone from the height of a commanding flight, give wise (in your opinion) instructions, favorably sign orders for encouragement and mercilessly punish loafers and parasites, especially IT people. But the path to the heights of power is thorny and full of dangers. Today on the Pink Sofa is the career-building board game “Office!”

Quite often, personnel changes occur in the office, caused by the “progressive” thoughts of the management. If the boss has a sense of humor, then the cleaning lady instantly becomes the director of the marketing department, and the sales manager becomes a mail carrier. This process is called the tricky word “organizational and staffing events” and is the favorite entertainment of the company director.

You can practice moving up the career ladder with the help of a board game from the publishing house " Star" Office employees crowd into a square box and a scattering of tokens rattles, covered with a booklet on top “ Career for Dummies" The free space in the package is reserved for a cactus plantation, so necessary for any self-respecting office.

Before you is the embodiment of a career ladder from a street beggar to the director of a successful company. The applicants will have to climb to the top along these steps.

One hundred employees recruitment agency ready to enter the fight for the presidency. Each of them wants to get a seat on the board of directors, but not everyone will take this post.

Multi-colored markers will mark mentees in the crowd of applicants - cardboard rounds will help separate “us” from “strangers” on the “career horizontal”.

By writing a resume

Before the start of the game, carefully mix all 100 cards, distribute 10 workers to each, return the rest to the box - they did not pass the preliminary interview. From the received candidates, randomly take three cards into your hand, and place the rest nearby face down. Choose the color of the tokens and get six tokens.

In the center of the table, create a “career horizontal” from the minimum numerical value to the maximum. Since all means are good in the fight for the post of leader, opponents go at the same time, sending their wards to interviews.

On his turn, the player must place one card from his hand face down in front of him. Missing this step will result in an immediate fine!

Having opened the cards, the opponents identify the only applicant who has passed the current interview. This is the employee with the second highest numerical value in the picture. Mark him with the owner token, and send everyone else out the door (send the cards to the discard pile).

Please note that if the step is not occupied, then there are no restrictions in the “career horizontal” - you can place a lower numerical value behind a larger one. But such an illogical situation in the office cannot exist for long - an employee comes, ready to push his colleagues. For example, an accountant with number “83” wished to take the place of secretary “35” on the fifth level. This happens as follows...

A newly arrived employee, having a number higher than the numerical value on the card of the previously posted employee, takes his place on the “career horizontal”, moving his competitor to the left. He, in turn, pushes the next one (if his number exceeds the number on the card), or “flies” further, to the next step. Thus, after the “invasion”, all cards to the left of the new employee are arranged strictly in ascending order. In this case, each descent down a step will cost the employee one penalty point.

In our case, accountant “83” takes the fifth step, moving the secretary, who loses one bonus point. Secretary "35" pushes guard "17", who, in turn, cannot move the peddler "25" and flies further to the second step, losing two points.

Note: I marked the lost points with tokens; during the game they are written down on a piece of paper.

After all movements, opponents replenish their hands to three cards from the personal reserve, and a new interview begins...

Recruitment ends as soon as all players run out of cards in their hand and in their personal reserve. After this, the moment of truth comes - identifying the most successful and smartest employee of the organization.

For each applicant who has sunk to the level of a homeless person (cards to the left of the row), you will receive 5 penalty points; the rest of the office workers bring their owners bonuses indicated on the “career horizontal” cards.

Subtract from them the fines received during the “fall” and you get “the very best.” Fire him with peace of mind - he’s very quick, he can take your director’s chair.

Joining the board

Original card game with numbers – opponents try to make the most of the cards they receive in their hand. The originality of the process is that you can only get into the office if your value is the second highest. The maximum and minimum indicators are reset, and the lucky one is faced with the problem of how to manage his employee.

At first glance at the process, it may seem that always occupying the maximum cell is the most correct solution. Alas, this is not so: competitors will eventually force your employee out of the track and the overthrown favorite will “reward” his owner with five penalty points. Sometimes it is advantageous to occupy a cell in the middle of the “career horizontal” - then you have a greater chance of getting victory points.

The game has an original implementation of the “pushing” process - numerical values ​​arranged in random order are sorted in ascending order at each shift. This is noticeable at the beginning and middle of the game; by the end of the game the shift occurs linearly - the employees have already been sorted.

Simple rules, dynamic gameplay, an original solution with a shift in the “career row” - a good “filler” for the whole family.

The game was provided for review by the publishing house " Star", the largest producer board games and prefabricated models in Russia.