WoW "Offers a Peek into the Workplace of the Future"
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pixiestixy on Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 27 Comments Tags: context, debate, employment, future, gaming, job, leadership, media, press, project management, technology, time, time.com, transferable skills, workforce
pixiestixy on Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 27 Comments Tags: context, debate, employment, future, gaming, job, leadership, media, press, project management, technology, time, time.com, transferable skills, workforce 
With the U.S. economy pretty much in the tank over the past half-year and unemployment at nearly 9 percent, the future of the workforce is on the minds of many. And for some, WoW plays a role.Last week, TIME (as in the magazine) put out a special feature - a kind of top-10 list of sorts on "The new work order." It counts the ways that the workforce of the future will change.
The feature remarks:
Though unemployment is at a 25‑year high, work will eventually return. But it won't look the same.
Inevitably, technology was at the top of the list of items that will change the workforce. As was business ethics, declining job benefits, delayed retirements and a turn toward female management style. But buried within a section on Gen X taking control of the workforce, I was surprised to find this nugget:
Rob Carter, chief information officer at FedEx, thinks the best training for anyone who wants to succeed in 10 years is the online game World of Warcraft. Carter says WoW, as its 10 million devotees worldwide call it, offers a peek into the workplace of the future. Each team faces a fast-paced, complicated series of obstacles called quests, and each player, via his online avatar, must contribute to resolving them or else lose his place on the team. The player who contributes most gets to lead the team — until someone else contributes more. The game, which many Gen Yers learned as teens, is intensely collaborative, constantly demanding and often surprising. "It takes exactly the same skill set people will need more of in the future to collaborate on work projects," says Carter. "The kids are already doing it."
While it's not what I would call the perfect game synopsis, I think author Anne Fisher does a pretty decent job of explaining a basic point of the game to audience members who probably have never played. But more to the point: is the perception of gamers, and specifically those of us who play WoW, changing?
We've seen arguments similar to this recent one. Way back, we've heard from some who argue that playing WoW is good leadership experience and teaches project management skills. And just on Wednesday, I saw a post from the newly redesigned and renamed WoW.com (formerly WoW insider) about a college student researching how people interact in WoW and other online games.
But we've also heard from the negative side. About six months back, Juggynaut told us about a forum poster who said that job recruiters intentionally avoided hiring people who play WoW. And that spurred a whole slew of comments from our dear readers, from those of you who had heard similar sentiments to those of you like Shaun, who I think summed up a lot of our feelings when he said, "Has this giant bag of douche ever heard of over-generalization?"
But I'm feeling optimistic after this story from TIME. For one, it's a pretty major publication with a positive outlook on WoW. With all the misconceptions about gaming out there, it's good to hear that someone gets it, at least a little. And for two, the statements from Mr. FedEx CIO highlighting WoW finally are put into context: These life lessons that WoW provides are ones that will be valuable, even needed, in the future workplace:
The Gen X managers ... will need to be adept at a few things that earlier generations, with their more hierarchical management styles and relative geographical insularity, never really had to learn. One of those is collaborative decision-making that might involve team members scattered around the world...
So, how do you think WoW could change the job market place of the future? Or perhaps you have the opinion that all this is overblown, and it won't affect anything? Either way, it's an interesting conversation and a debate that, I suspect, won't end anytime soon.
Reader Comments (27)
First!
There is also the increasingly necessary skill, maybe it mentions this in the full article, that WoW players exhibit which is organizing people, tasks, etc without face-to-face communication and across sometimes tremendous distance and even different cultures.
This is a topic I often ponder writing a book about. There are many many ways that WoW is similar to real life. Succeeding in a good raiding guild is very much like being promoted. Goals, Team Work, Drama, People forming clicks... So very familiar to the American workforce.
its amazing what can happen when people are attempting the seemingly impossible. for example: ten years ago a group of five people who live in seperate ends of the globe descide to acheive the same goal. they all fail individually. but when they come together as a team the succed immensily.
the point im trying to make is, that over the past ten years we have seen an immergance of "greater Team Work". meaning, more and more people are giving up on acomplishing tasks on there own and working more with others.
WoW does teach us that basic working requirement. Team work. because if we didnt, we couldnt get our many differant types of gear. it also taught us how to listen and take into consideration POV's(or POI's for that matter)of many types of people. so the future workplace is going to look more and more like wow style gaming huh. well i say bring it and let the solo hungry bastards fall as they may.
I work on workforce analysis and the whole Generational discussion occurs on a regular basis, but I'm not quite sure I follow this statement.
"The game, which many Gen Yers learned as teens..."
I'm an older Gen Yer born in 1979 (depending on source, it can be different, but typically Gen Y is considered 1977-1989, Gen X is 1965-1976), but in my "teen" years, I was playing the Super NES, Genesis, etc. The RPG games of my teens were FF 1-3 (6), Phantasy Star 1-4, Chrono Trigger, Lunar 1-2, etc.
I may be getting old here, but come on; WoW has only been out not quite 5 years. The last 5 years of the Gen Yers, this would be true, but the statement is just dumb. Makes it sound like the game has been a staple in the growing years of Gen Yers.
I know....I'm being nit picky. It may just be that I am getting tired of Generational discussions.
Sorry....moving on.
If only there were 40 man raids at level 80 now. I can see it now, on The Apprentice, one of the Challenges is organizing and leading a 40 man raid and whoever gets a boss killed the fastest with the least number of errors and deaths wins.
I hadn't thought about it so much but with WoW comes decision making skill development in the back of your mind where you have to find weak links, strong players, adapt to situations and personnel to get the "job" done. As a raid leader all those things come into play and transfer into daily life. I know that some issues have risen at my work place and I was the one who thought outside the box to make things more time efficient and in the video production industry, much less any industry, it is a high priority. Perhaps it was the fact that I have been into strategy games with multiple players that has helped develop these skills unknowingly.
I think back to other games like Final Fantasy where you would have tough boss fights with ATB combat systems (I think is what they were called lol) and you had to plan ahead for incoming damage and healing and delivering the big blow to finish it off.
Good times and something to bring up to my co-workers the next time they ask my how my "Wizards of Wombat" is going when they give me a hard time about WoW.
"And for some, WoW plays a roll."
You mean Role? Like... Role Playing.
I can see how WoW helps to develop some collaborative skills, however, I'd hate to be at a workplace and be all, "LFG, Server Rack Install" and someone tells me to "just solo it."
BTW... has anyone seen my Red Stapler of Collating?
Ha, I think that Shaun was me. Sweeeet.
Good post Pixie!
I agree, you learn fast that being lazy, greedy, or power hungry wont go anywhere in interacting with people on WoW. The smart people might carry it on to real life.
I also agree that it teaches management skills to some degree, but enough to influence real life I am unsure of.
Perhaps this is the start to world peace??
you...you...you took my stapler...
I can't see WoW having an large impact in the future workplace. It's a game, something I enjoy and I suppose the "teamwork" idea might be correct to a point. However I wouldn't put WoW on any resume just quite yet. Just say you like to chill out/relax once in a while and play some video games :P
I suppose you could say that skills we use in WoW could carry over to the workplace. Team work and communication and all that. But I don't see it being a huge impact as most people on the internet these days learns those skills anyway.
yea i actually mentioned that i play wow in an interview and said it taught me to work together with a team and even be a good team leader and funny enough i got the job. i think it just depends on the persons view of wow that is interviewing you
i learned english from wow infect most of my vocabulary came frm either playng video games or TV and tehn their is school whear i learned when to use them correct way to use them let me give you a live example true story my first mount ever was a a chestnut mare bridle and one day i was playing buzz quizz and i was asked and i quae "which one of these is a breed of horses" one of the choices was a chesnut and bieg that i summoned and rode that horse hundreds of times i new damn well that was a type of horse gauss wha i that answer put me over teh top and helped me win teh game so ya wow has lots tooffer besides something to do just to do i think italso sharpens your're mind even though thier are not allot of brain teasers in teh game it does build on you're reflexes some thngs in wow reguire some sharp mouse clicking like sticking to a rotation i have found that after playing wow for a year my gaming abilitys with other games i was able to hit the bottons faster and proform bigger combos i play allot of fighting games now taht i been laying for three years and suprisinly wow stil has lots to teach me bt probbaly not much taht i can u in life later on
how old was your booss then tal i find that older people seem to still ive i nthe drak ags and they mmuch rather to stay thier nothing changing
More miners, skinners and herbalists, less engineers in the world?
o.O
I don't think you can deny the skills necessary to cooperate with and manage 24 other people (as a raid leader, more as a guild leader) are unimportant.
The problem with putting it on your resume seems to stem from recruiters either not knowing a whole lot about the game or being paranoid that you're going to spend more time on WoW than you are doing work for them.
I think Brokenwing says it best in regards to this subject. I also view WoW as being helpful in some aspects, but not something that offers any huge impact in real life.
@Blight
That workplace scenario is hilarious. :lol:
"Dude, you totally ninja'd that last doughnut!"
Note from Management:
Future promotions will be handed out based on the widely accepted DKP system. If you have any questions please speak with your administrator.
I can't wait...
I play WoW, but not in the intense way that some people play it, and I would not put it on my CV, here is why.
I was in a meeting with an NSA recruiter. He was talking about things to put on your resume that will set you apart, things that he might pay attention to. If you were a high-ranking guild member, you knew how to contribute, was sort of his attitude. I tend to agree. If you are a dedicated player, who has accomplished something, sure put it down. I, personally won't.
I think any activity that promotes good team work, oranization, ability to perform the task you are assigned, and humility in a job well done is something every person needs to take an active role in. That is probably why we play organized sports as children and into adulthood. WoW in my opinion is just another means of honing those skills that are all needed in the workforce. I didn't have WoW or any other multi player (co-op) video games growing up, instead I had baseball, football, basketball, etc... Say what you will about WoW, be it positive or negative, you still can't deny the fact that people both young and old will play it and whether they mean to or not they will learn something.
As far as putting your toon stats on a resume, I seriously doubt too many small business owners would really take that into consideration. It would strictly depend on the type of job you are looking to get in to. If it is a job where playing an MMORPG might be something that is pertenant to the position then go for it. I myself am in an industry where it would be nothing more than a topic of conversation and not a consideration as to whether or not I get the job. Use caution and careful consideration before putting your gaming history on your resume.
Hilarious!
Love the workplace scenarios
I can see administrators and managers attempting to make you put talent points into different job requirement specs in order to fit their work profile for you. Then you duel them to see whose is actually better, that would be cool!
As far as putting gaming on your resume, we still live in a world where playing video games is considered a "complete waste of time" so I would avoid putting that on my resume for sure. I realize that gaming and the stigma that society has placed on it has come a long ways, it will still be a while I think before putting WoW credentials on your resume will be acceptable by the general public. So long as we as gamers continue to be mature and act mature which for some people is a stretch. :P
In 2009, Financial crisis, Unemployment rising, costs rising and iD10t's like "bob" still have to put "first" on these comment pages!! No wonder this world is in so much trouble!!!
domt mean to be a dick head or anything but these "skills" about team management etc are all also learned as a teenager when not playing video games such as organising football/basketball games it still requires u to work as a team to know what people are doing and for them to know their role and to also work as a team in order to win.
its the same for any school group projects etc which requires u to work together
didnt want to invalidate the post but some of the comments are blowing this way out of proportion as if only in WoW do u learn team management/working as teams etc