Crazy Games for the Brain: Training the Brain for Better Employees

Today, because of the competitive world that we live in, companies that provide opportunities and job satisfaction to their employees are the ones to stay ahead of the corporate success curve. Able employees who feel underutilized often seem frustrated, unmotivated, less loyal, and even prone to making more mistakes at their jobs. Employees want to be heard, seen, and valued for the skills they bring into the work environment for the organization’s success. Play some cool math games here: cool math games

A company is only as good as its employees. Organizational success is largely dependent on employee performance and their mental wellbeing. The always “on” culture and increasing use of technology have affected our lifestyle and our brains significantly. A high percentage of employees at any given time experience copious amounts of stress and are either not engaged or actively disengaged from work. Overworking most often results in decreased performance and efficiency. By playing free brain games or taking a cognitive test workers can stay in the game longer.

Let us take a look at data that suggests a correlational success story between healthy, happy employees and successful companies.

• A Study by Deloitte revealed that companies with mental health programs and cognitive assessments for a year had an annual return on investment of $1.62 for every dollar invested. And the returns doubled to about $2.16 for companies with two or three years of mental health programs. This growth in the company has led to better company culture brought about by higher employee job satisfaction and lower employee absenteeism.
• For every $1 put into mental wellness, there is an ROI of $4 in improved health and productivity.
• Accuracy in tasks increased by 19%.
• Rises sales by 37%.

The statistics above imply that an understanding of the brain has huge implications for managers and organizations. Using the concept of neuroplasticity and neurons to understand how the brain remodels behaviors and adapts to workplace conditions has been key to staying ahead of changes, uncertainties and maintaining the productivity of the workings of an organization. With brain imaging studies allowing us to see the brain functions, we have been able to see that the brain is like any other organ that has the capacity to repair, regrow and regenerate. Organizations are now recognizing that mental fitness is equally as important as physical fitness.

An Innovative Approach To Brain Training

Neurofeedback brain training therapy involves the use of a revolutionary set of techniques to identify and treat a range of mental health conditions. It helps to promote peak physical, emotional, and mental wellness using non-invasive methods. It is an effective tool for enhancing performance as well as managing emotional distress.

Neurofeedback brain training uses EEG technology to measure brain wave activity and relay that information back to the brain in real-time via audio-visual cues and software. This feedback of its own activity, over time, helps the brain learn, adjust, and adapt itself to form a healthy behavior. These tools and techniques aid the brain in performing better and implementing these improvements in daily life.

Neurofeedback training has been used by the U.S National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for astronaut training as a way to improve astronauts’ focus and mental acuity. It is further used by professional athletes for increasing their mental agility, emotional control, sleep, and cognitive decline. Musicians, dancers, and actors have used it for enhancing creativity and managing performance anxiety.

Why should employers invest in brain training?

In recent years, brain training apps has proven to have a significant impact on employees. Gone are the days when corporations were only focused on enhancing business gains. Today, we see companies giving equal importance to the engagement and happiness quotient of an employee as well. Consequently, employee happiness has a strong positive correlation with a company’s success.

• Brain Training Diminishes Workplace Burnout & Disengagement

Employees often face feelings of stress, burnout, and disengagement. A workplace gets complex and demanding and staying productive or engaged in such an environment may pose to be challenging. Being resilient in high-pressure situations can help the employees tackle obstacles more effectively without being distressed.

Developmental activities such as brain training can help optimize brain health, reduce stress and increase productivity. It can most importantly help manage the degree of stress to make one calmer, relaxed, and focused even when in stressful situations.

• Brain Training Enhances Motivation & Focus

One of the more common complaints of today’s workplace is the need to constantly multitask. Given the complexity of tasks and spaces, it is no wonder that workers have trouble effectively managing their office duties and coping with constant information overload. Email, telephone calls, electronic discussion groups, websites, pushed intranet news, letters and memos, faxes, sticky notes, calendars, pagers, and, of course, physical conversations and meetings, are just a few of the communicative events that bombard today's knowledge worker. This workspace, of increased complexity, saturated with multi-tasking, interruption, and profound information overload can lead to cognitive overload. The effects of which reflect on the individual in the form of pressure, tension with colleagues, loss of job satisfaction, and strained personal relationships.

On the other hand, while certain employees may feel they’re great multitaskers, studies have shown that heavy multitaskers are actually worse at it than employees who like to focus on one thing at a time. That is, dividing your attention across activities and multiple devices means your brain cannot give any of them the attention required and there may be negative long-term effects on brain health.

It is worth noting that our ability to effectively react and recall events is largely determined by how engaged we are and how quickly our brain can process information. The brain’s ability to rewire itself is the best tool for fighting off cognitive disengagement. It is possible for an employee to keep those billions of neurons in shape but it requires both the employees and executives to understand how the human brain functions so they can develop a cognitive fitness program that will increase the success of employees and, in turn, the resiliency of the organization.

• Brain Training Improves Cognitive Abilities, Accuracy & Speed

The challenge of cognitive aging has made brain scientists develop brain exercises that can improve many abilities including memory, attention, and time management. In fact, scientists claim that adhering to a standard brain exercise pattern can help in maintaining a good and positive mood. Studies have revealed that certain brain chemicals associated with attention and mood can be significantly elevated through certified brain training. Brain training trains the cognitive skills that the brain uses to think and learn.

Doctors indicate that small amounts of brain training can show a huge impact on an employee’s workplace performance both individually as well as when being a team player. In research conducted for the Law Enforcement officers who are responsible for taking split-second decisions, officers were asked to undergo 30 minutes of brain training per day for a course of 4 weeks. Upon evaluation of their performance, it was found that their cognitive progress was reflected in their attention to detail, visual speed, and inhibition to motor control exercise which had improved to a great level.

• Brain Training Augments Your Ability to Adapt to Changes 

Over the years, with the help of technology, companies have welcomed innovative technologies that have helped to reinforce a more approachable and efficient way to complete tasks. For instance, maybe your employer decided to add a new email system! The new system essential would help you work more efficiently by reducing the amount it usually takes you to complete a task and also facilitate your process of doing the task with more ease. Even though you may be bound to making mistakes in the process of adapting to the new system, brain training in such instances will help the brain be more alert, motivated, and adaptable. Subsequently, time taken to perform certain tasks is reduced, adding to employee efficiency and productivity.

CEOs of fast-growing startups and large corporations today, are constantly looking to create corporate strategies that can deal with cognitive overload and work stress. Improving cognitive fitness in both employers and employees has resulted in better work performance and organizational success. Statistically speaking, wellness programs are more likely to achieve positive ROI when they support employees along the entire spectrum of mental health—from the promotion of well-being to intervention and care. Employers could achieve greater program ROI by prioritizing investing in higher-impact areas such as leadership training and preventive interventions, including psychological care benefits. If employers measure their baseline data and take stock of existing initiatives, many organizations will realize that they have already started to use the right tools to strengthen workplace mental health. Putting in place mechanisms to measure performance can enable organizations to achieve desired program impact, improve adoption rates, and enhance decision-making.