Why You Should Be Encouraging Your Employees to Play HQ | Blog

If you are a company that values collaboration, innovation and teamwork, then you might want to consider replacing the staff coffee break with something a little more mentally stimulating for your employees. The creators of Vine released a new game that is the perfect midday brain-break.

HQ is a trending trivia app that users can play twice a day — at 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. — to win real money. Streaming live from New York City, your host guides you through 12 questions that progress from easy to challenging as you advance. Each question offers three possible answers. You have 10 seconds to answer, and once you make your selection, you’re locked in. If you answer correctly, you move on to the next question. If you answer incorrectly, you’re eliminated from the game. Everyone who answers the last question correctly splits the prize, which is usually $1,000; however, prizes have been as high as $8,500.

You may be asking yourself, “Aren’t these companies losing money by allowing their employees to play a non-work-related game during office hours?” Well, a research study out of Cornell University might suggest otherwise. This study concluded that employees who were prompted to take a short break during their workday had a spike in both their accuracy and their productivity.

Companies operating in fast-paced, high-stress environments are starting to jump on the bandwagon and implement similar initiatives to create a more positive and collaborative work culture. Big companies like Twitter and Jetty — and even The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon — are taking a 15-minute midafternoon break to answer HQ’s brain-buster questions, ranging from net neutrality to the NFL.

According to a Harvard Business Review article, a positive work culture yields efficiency. Although HQ users must play on their cellphones individually, the game offers colleagues an outlet to collaborate and strategize in hopes of taking home the nominal prize. It’s a great opportunity for cross-department relationship building and friendly competition among employees.

So send out that calendar invite for 3 p.m., and encourage your employees to join in on all the fun! Oh, and did I mention that you’ll get your daily HQ reminder via push notification? Seize the opportunity to bond with your team, learn something new, reduce stress and improve productivity.