Logitech gives staff a day off to play video games

Logitech has introduced Logi Game Day, a dedicated day off for employees to play video games. It says the initiative is the first gaming day offered across its workforce.

The move adds an unusual benefit to the peripherals maker's employee package and reflects its view that gaming can support workplace performance. Logitech linked the decision to internal research and broader surveys it says show workers and technology leaders increasingly see connections between gaming and skills used on the job.

According to Logitech's Ctrl Tomorrow study, 81% of gamers believe gaming builds real-world confidence, reduces anxiety and is linked to stronger day-to-day work performance. In a separate study cited by Logitech, 98.8% of enterprise IT decision-makers said gaming skills translate directly to the workplace, including strategic thinking, complex problem-solving and performing under pressure.

The policy also aligns with Logitech's position as a seller of products for both work and gaming. The company has long operated across office equipment and consumer gaming hardware, placing it at the intersection of two markets often treated separately in workplace debates about productivity.

Hanneke Faber, Chief Executive Officer at Logitech, framed the initiative as a challenge to older assumptions about gaming in professional life. "It's time to retire the stereotype that gaming is a waste of time," Faber said.

"As a company designing products for work and play, we see every day how engagement in one sphere supports performance in the other," she said.

Research focus

Corporate employers have spent years expanding wellbeing and flexibility policies, usually through mental health support, extra leave, remote working and training schemes. Logitech's decision stands out because it treats leisure gaming not as a distraction to manage, but as an activity that may contribute to resilience, focus and collaboration.

Its language around the initiative centres on cognition and team dynamics rather than recreation alone. Logitech argues that games can help workers practise decision-making, communication and calm under pressure, especially in roles that require rapid responses or coordination across teams.

That argument has gained some support among technology professionals, particularly in parts of the sector where gaming overlaps with digital literacy and systems thinking. Logitech's cited survey of IT decision-makers suggests the view is especially strong among enterprise technology leaders.

Damien Lepore, Managing Director & Cluster Head ANZ at Logitech, said the company's local findings reflected its broader global message. "Gaming is a major part of Australian life - research shows 82% of the country plays video games, and when we surveyed local IT decision-makers earlier this year, every one of them said gaming translates directly to the skills they rely on at work, from problem-solving to performing under pressure.

"It's clear gaming isn't something people leave at the door when they enter the office, and that's the case here at Logitech ANZ too. Game Day shows we're meeting our people where they are - if you want a resilient, highly productive team that feels valued, you need to see what matters to them and act on it. Giving our employees dedicated time to play recognises that and helps build the level of communication and trust the best teams enjoy," Lepore said.

Work and play

The initiative also points to a broader cultural shift in how employers define useful experience. Activities once viewed as separate from work, including online gaming, creator platforms and digital communities, are increasingly discussed by companies as spaces where people build transferable habits and social skills.

Elaine Laird, Chief People Officer at Logitech, linked the policy to employee recovery and focus. "Play is not the opposite of work," Laird said.

"When people have dedicated time to log off, decompress and immerse themselves in play, they return with clearer focus, renewed energy and fresh approaches to complex challenges," she said.

Questions remain over how widely such a benefit would be adopted outside sectors already close to gaming culture. More traditional employers may be reluctant to formalise time off for gaming, particularly if they lack clear ways to measure any effect on output or retention.

Still, the policy gives Logitech a distinctive way to present its workplace culture at a time when companies are competing heavily on flexibility, purpose and personal relevance. By putting gaming into its employee benefits structure, Logitech is making a direct statement about which forms of leisure it believes deserve recognition within working life.

Logitech says Logi Game Day formally recognises what it sees as the cognitive and professional benefits of gaming.