I think your Counter-Strike skills can help you in the workplace

I’m actually not joking. There was that recent article in the Harvard Business Review – a big-brain publication for big-brain people – about how gaming is now a net positive in the workplace. So, it got me thinking: could you impress a recruiter by telling them about your Counter-Strike exploits?

Titled “Why Gaming is Good for the Workplace,” the HBR piece doesn’t specifically sing the phrases of our favorite shooter, but it does raise some very interesting points about the benefits of gaming. To quote the intro, “Studies suggest that gaming can build cognitive, social, and emotional skills that are highly relevant to organizational success, at least as positive a signal of potential as participating in sports, volunteering, cooking, and other hobbies. In fact, the skills developed through gaming are becoming more critical as organizations face complex, fast-paced environments.” It goes on to suggest that managers should "ask potential hires about their gaming experience, and challenge them to consider how that might add value to the organization, "normalize gaming conversations in the workplace," and "lead by example."

One day, there will be an enterprising new hire who happily teabags their boss in the teambuilding CS match session, and I’m all for it.

But seriously – these days, recruiters are more likely than not to have dabbled in video games themselves, so there are many stigmas you no longer need to tiptoe around, especially if you work in a tech-related field. Personally, if hobbies come up at an interview, I mention chess for the culture cred, but I can definitely see the benefits of bringing up something that has more to offer on the teamwork side of things. There are genuine positives to bring to bear about your commitment to Counter-Strike, as long as it’s not about sausage charms and wallhacks.

Problem-solving skills. Is there anyone more solution-oriented than the average sweaty gamer? If a strat gets the numbers to go up, you will find it and execute it. You have great experience in finding and verifying relevant information online. You’re a self-starter, and you won’t stop until you get the W.

The willingness and the capability to constantly learn new things. A corollary to the above. With so many shifts in the metagame, you always need to read up on new stuff and practice new strats to keep up with the competition, be it grenade lineups or timings. Who wouldn’t want someone like this in their workforce?

Soft skills and communication abilities. Okay, admittedly, this doesn’t apply to the average Premier Mode lobby. But anyone who is able and willing to coordinate with five strangers and assume leadership when needed, looking to find ways to crisply disseminate important information in a high-tension situation, and maybe even also possess the wherewithal to help calm things down when frustrations flare up is a good pickup in a team-oriented position.

Focus and determination. Maybe not on John Wick levels, but the focus and intensity levels involved with a competitive Counter-Strike match are comparable with that of Sunday league sports games. You are constantly tuned in and in focus mode, and the action is fast and furious. You won’t get much out of CS if you are a slacker, if you just clock in and clock out after eight hours of staring at the wall.

It's all worryingly close to reasonable – and the HBR article’s original conclusions, I think, make a lot of sense. For a bit of fun, let me mention that there was another paper that did the rounds about the average IQ of gamers measured based on the kind of game they play. I won’t link it directly because it’s clearly BS (the survey was conducted by an online bingo review site, which “partnered up with a team of psychologists,” with no methodology provided), but there’s a reason it went viral. Let’s just jot down the topline number: CS players came in at 116.1, above the average.

So, you know, if you don’t have a Mensa membership to brag about, at least you can point out that you are a Counter-Strike player. It might also count for something!