World of Warcraft is a very popular game, with over
11 million active user accounts, dominating the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) market. Its recent expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, became the best selling PC game of all time, managing to sell a whopping
2.8 million units in the first 24 hours since launch.
With such a loyal and numerous fan base, there are players all around us, but, as a recent statement made by an online job recruiter, employers are avoiding WoW or other MMORPG players because they can't really focus on their tasks and can't dedicate themselves to their jobs. Also, as a result of the intense gaming, employees come to work often sleep deprived, which results in lowered productivity.
Online gaming journalist Raph Koster has posted on his blog a statement he received from a job recruitment consultant accurately showing that even though some people cite the leadership experience gained from establishing a guild in WoW, employers tend to avoid such persons. Such a thing might need to be noticed by any WoW player who wants to find a job from now on.
“Employers specifically instruct him not to send them World of Warcraft players. He said there is a belief that WOW players cannot give 100 per cent because their focus is elsewhere, their sleeping patterns are often not great, et cetera,” said Koster. “I mentioned that some people have written about MMOG leadership experience as a career positive or a way to learn project management skills and he shook his head. He has been specifically asked to avoid WOW players.”
The fact is that even though leading a WoW guild might sound impressive, a lot of employers aren't very keen on hiring persons who spend their free time with an addictive game. Let's hope that people can tackle their hobby as not to interfere with their work tasks.
