Is it time your company had a game room?

Many businesses, large and small, have begun incorporating game rooms into their businesses. Many companies are discovering that having a separate game room containing pool tables and such are helping their employees deal more effectively with stress. They are, also, finding that it is boosting creativity. The younger workers, Generation Y and the Millennials, are especially drawn to such areas.

• Locate a space in your company building that is reasonably central to where all of your employees are. Get their feedback with regard to what they might like to have in the game room. There are generational preferences and getting feedback from them will make them feel more involved, more valued.
• You will want to have an assortment that will lend itself to all situations. You will want such things as a pool table and dart board to inspire employees to play together and, perhaps, do some brainstorming. Also include more solitary pursuits such as chess, video games, and arcade games. One addition will be to turn one of the walls into a huge white board. You never know when inspiration may strike and you don’t want them to lose track of it.
• Pool tables are essential. It inspires group talk and brainstorming and, if you have the room, and many employees, you may want to get more than one pool table. Dart boards and setup takes little space and you should have plenty of wall space to accommodate a few. Isolate the solitary games on a separate side of the room to allow for more solitude away from the team playing.
• Foosball is, perhaps, the most played and most popular game being enjoyed in company game rooms. It can accommodate two to four players and the action is fast and furious while taking up little space in the room. In addition, air hockey and ping pong are two other popular games that will take up less space and will offer more of a variety to employees.
• Furniture is something that will, also, need serious consideration. Bringing in bar and pub tables and bar stools will add to the ambiance of a game room as will outdoor patio furniture. It is, perhaps, unconventional, but it will inspire a more relaxed energy within the room and, besides, who wouldn’t enjoy patio furniture in the middle of a hard New England winter?
• Creating a game room for your employees will pay off for you in the long run. It will foster teamwork, creativity, and camaraderie. What business owner doesn’t want that in a workforce?