Throw out those stress balls. Playing computer games that encourage a positive attitude might be the best way to release tension in the workplace.
, Canada, asked call centre workers to play a very simple game for 5 minutes before they started work. The game involved finding, as quickly as possible, an image of a single smiling face in an array of 16 photos, the rest of which showed a frowning face. The team found that employees who had played the game produced 17 per cent less of the stress hormone cortisol after their shift than those who did not play the game.
Baldwin speculates that in dismissing the negative, frowning images the game 鈥渄isengages鈥� people from stress. 鈥淛ust 5 minutes of game-play per day had a significant effect,鈥� he says.
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