D&D in the Workplace: Roll with it or a Critical Fail?

Dr. Jesse Olsen - "Why Dungeons and Dragons is Good for the Workplace"

Yesterday I came across a short article by Dr. Jesse Olsen - Senior Lecturer in the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne, from 6th April 2023 discussing the merits of roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons in developing life skills such as "perspective-taking, self-awareness, empathy, creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving" and how these may be applied to the workplace to alter our perspective of team dynamics and how we deal with work-based challenges.

Although Olsen cites only Dungeons and Dragons, I feel this is acting as the classic placeholder for the wider and more accurate term Table Top Role Playing Games (TTRPGs). 

(I understand why people use D&D to cover all TTRPGs, it is the most widely recognised IP in the business, but I worry that it detracts from the entire Universe of different options out there.)

I will open by admitting that the first paragraph of Olsen's article made me do a little sick in my mouth:

"A team of adventurers traverse a dungeon to defeat a mighty dragon and, through their victory, save the realm. Meanwhile, a design team skilfully adapts its product to evolving customer demands through a global pandemic - saving the business"

Thankfully, Olsen has the good grace to recognise what he's done:

"So why do I have to go and spoil a fun thing like D&D by bringing up work?"

Fantasy is unnatural, but so is most work

"D&D is good for you", Olsen states. This is something that is supported by more and more research into the benefits of teaching important skills to children, adults, and the emerging application of TTRPGs in therapy settings. Charities and Therapy services such as Game Therapy UK are using games and TTRPGs to address trauma and promote recovery through innovative and evidence-based methods.

The benefits that are increasingly being confirmed through scientific study are also widely recognised as important attributes that employers wish to see in their workers. Olsen cites the World Economic Forum as predicting that these "dungeon-delving, dragon-slaying" skills will be among the top employment skills of the future. Speaking from a personal level, I am always on the look out for ways to gamify the more mundane elements of my life. In a previous job I was responsible for a fleet of vehicles, and it made it much more enjoyable to let myself imagine the fleet as tall-ships, rather than rusty old vans. More recently I have taken to managing my work tasks by categorising them as Story Quests and Side Quests. Introducing wonder and fantasy into mundane, stressful areas of our lives can support our resilience.

A party of bards is absurd - Diversity is key

In the article, Olsen makes the argument that managers might use a better understanding of group dynamics to help empower workers by allowing them to tackle tasks and obstacles in ways that they are best suited to. The rogue picks the lock, allowing the barbarian to enter and crush skulls (note: picking locks and crushing skulls is often not appropriate work behaviour, or so I have been informed).

Leading a party through a nightmare dungeon by using the skills of your team and ensuring that no one punches the frail wizard, admittedly, does make a nice metaphor for how a healthy workplace dynamic should operate. Diversity, inclusion, and empathy, all skills that are developed through role play, definitely have their place in the working world.

Olsen highlights the need for new approaches to enhance these attributes by raising the Diversity Council Australia's report that "nearly a quarter of Australian workers experience discrimination and/or harassment at work within a twelve-month period". Similar statistics are clear in countries like the UK and the US.

Could including TTRPGs as training and development help to address these problems? Olsen seems to believe so, making the wonderful point that "many D&D players come to realise that not all goblins are evil, many dragons want to protect the realm and some dungeons can offer safe sanctuary from a cruel world".

Roll For Insight

Olsen makes little reference to Mental Health and Wellbeing in his article, though I appreciate word limit may have had something to do with this.

The reason I bring this up is because, while I fully support the inclusion of more fantasy, joy, and play in the adult world, and this article speaks to me of the desire to make our working lives more fun because it is so often inherently at odds with our physical and mental wellbeing, there is risk that including TTRPG inspiration in the workplace will send it the same way as the "wellbeing at work" trend.

Applying fun, fantasy, and play to assist with worker wellbeing and our ability to cope with our modern dystopia is great, but I am wary of approaches like this drawing too close to the capitalist desire to exploit joy for profit.

"Perhaps a D&D-inspired mindset can similarly change how we think about our professional relationships, stakeholders and work environments."

As soon as TTRPGs become more about enhancing business and profit, rather than providing support and care for the individuals, then the soul of what makes role playing a magical experience will be lost. The wellbeing at work trend has already shown us how organisations will use lunchtime breathing exercises and mindfulness courses to cover the cracks in a harmful system, rather than address the root causes of the problems.

Let's not forget that the vast majority of fantasy evils are centred around corruption, greed, and power imbalances. Our adventurers fight to overthrow these, not to support Szass Tam by increasing his market reach and customer retention.

A powerful tool, like a hammer or a trebuchet

My overall take from Olsen's article is that I am pleased to see the academic world focussing more on the benefits of what has been, and still largely is, on the fringes of arts and culture. Giving people the tools to traverse their lives in a healthy and joyful way, preserving playfulness and wonder, is such a positive act. However, it is essential for the integrity of the practice that it be preserved from becoming yet more Bread and Circus.

What are your thoughts on including TTRPGs in the workplace? Perhaps you have a game played entirely with co-workers? I would love to hear your opinions.