Playing video games can actually make you more employable

A new study from some absolute heroes storied, professional academics at Glasgow University has found that playing two hours of video games a week could make you more employable.

No, really. All that FIFA and Call of Duty and Overwatch – as good for your CV as the Duke of Edinburgh award you pretended to get, at the very least

The study, conducted by Information Studies lecturer Matt Barr, saw undergraduates split into two different groups. While one group was the control, allowed to continue their dull, non-video game-infused life, the second group of 16 students were asked to play eight video games including Borderlands 2, Minecraft and Lara Croft, logging 14 hours of play over a prolonged period of time.

After eight weeks, the groups were then asked to complete a survey measuring different skills, where it was found that the video game-playing group displayed improvements on communication, adaptability and resourcefulness scales.

It seems all the game inventory juggling, side quest grinding and puzzle solving gave the gamer group transferable skills to the workplace. As Matt put it: “Modern video games often require players to be adaptable and resourceful, and finding multiple ways of accomplishing a task. The way games are designed often encourages critical thinking and reflective learning, commonly cited as desirable attributes in graduates."

He goes on to suggest that your weekend sessions of Destiny are helpful, not only because they help us take a load off, but because we can pick up these valued problem solving skills in a relatively short space of time.

"The study also suggests that graduate skills may be improved in a relatively short amount of time, with the gains reported here achieved over a period of eight weeks and representing just 14 hours of game play.

"Certainly, the results of the randomised controlled trial described here suggest that the popular discourse around games' alleged ill effects should be tempered by considerations of the potential positive outcomes of playing video games."

So there you have it. Next time you feel guilty about spending a Saturday in your pants playing Breath of the Wild, understand that you are grinding so you can level up in the job market. Just remember folks...