Logitech Gives 7,000 Staff a Paid Day to Play Games
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Logitech has told its whole workforce that playing video games can count as time well spent. Each of its roughly 7,000 employees may take a paid day off for it.
How the day works
The program is called "Logi Game Day." It covers everyone from full-time staff to interns, and each person picks the game. Employees can choose any day between now and the same time next year.
The company describes it as the first gaming day in its history, according to a press release. One practical effect: staff no longer have to burn a sick day to play.
The release names Grand Theft Auto VI, due out on November 19, as one of the games employees might play. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 and Forza are also mentioned.
Office events on launch day
Staff can also play at work. Logitech G, the gaming brand, said this week that it will run a streaming event at the company's Americas headquarters in San Jose on November 19. Robin Piispanen, the brand's general manager, will host. He is a former competitive gamer.
CEO Hanneke Faber plans to play Grand Theft Auto VI when it launches. Logitech headquarters will become a fully equipped gaming lounge that day. She told Fortune she is ready for some fun and friendly competition.
The case Logitech makes
Faber argued that gaming should not be written off as wasted time. Logitech makes products for work and play, she said, and sees every day that interest in one feeds results in the other.
Elaine Laird, the chief people officer, framed it as rest. Play, she said, is not the opposite of work. Time set aside to log off and unwind, in her view, sends people back sharper and with new ways to tackle hard problems.
Piispanen made a skills argument: skills built in a game, he said, show up again in his colleagues' daily work, as he sees firsthand.
The company points to its own research. In its recent Ctrl Tomorrow study, 81% of gamers said gaming builds their confidence in everyday life and lifts how they do their jobs. A separate company study from August found that 98.8% of respondents tied gaming skills directly to workplace abilities such as problem-solving.
Source: Entrepreneur