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Over the last couple of years we have seen a huge rise in the number of corporate escape room games being played. More often than not, these can be labelled as “team building exercises.” One thing we noticed after a agame, when the team players are being interviewed, they often mentioned that the escape room scenario allows them to feel vulnerable but without any associated stigma. Of all the factors and emotional experiences that come from playing an escape room game, this was not just a common comment, but also one that appears on face value to be rather strange. Nevertheless, when you give it some thought, it's true that escape room games are actually designed to give people a sense of vulnerability. The simplest way this happens is by not providing enough information at the beginning. There's a technical term for this process and it's called “working with ambiguity.”
So what's the meaning of this time “working with ambiguity?” The huge software company Microsoft ranks being able to handle ambiguity as a core ingredient for professional success. This is because some of the tasks require the ability to to analyse and accommodate changes. But without having the total picture. In other words, there is a value on people who are comfortable with uncertainty. Essentially, you are faced with the situation where you are unsure as to what action needs to be taken in order to succeed. As a psychologist would tell you, this is a learnt skill and it certainly doesn't come naturally to most people. For a business, it's also invaluable.
Thanks to the worldwide Covid Pandemic, many unexpected problems have arisen for businesses all over the world. The type of problems that many have never faced before and have no idea as to the solutions. There can be a propensity to overcompensate and many people will feel the desire to show confidence, when in fact the opposite is true. In reality, they are panicking inside. More often than not, this is motivated by a fear of being seen as unprepared or weak by others in the workplace. You'd be surprised how strong the pressure can be and the fear of loss of respect is a huge driving force. Being stumped by a problem can pose a risk to an employee's career advancement, and may even lead to the loss of their job. Of course, whether these are actually realistic scenarios is another matter. But the panicked mind is able to formulate so many negative conclusions.
In such situations, the result can be a work culture when employees are afraid or even reluctant to ask questions. No one wants to seek assistance as this would point to the fact that they are ignorant of solutions. Unfortunately, this leads to the kind of outcomes you might expect in such a situation. A problem that could have been solved thanks to some outside help, will snowball into something larger and an even more expensive crisis. Those responsible will be scrambling around trying to figure out a solution. And yet will never admit that they have no idea what they're doing. This headless chicken approach solves nothing. In a similar vein, employees can become fixated on a certain strategy or approach that they really want to work, even if they've already been shown it's ineffective. Once again, sticking to an operating procedure, when it's already been shown to be broken, is not going to solve any problems.
What's interesting is to contrast this approach with playing an escape room game. Apart from the original narrative from the game's master, when you enter the room itself you have zero idea how to go about solving any of the objectives that are needed to complete the game within the allotted time. But in an escape room scenario this is expected. The expectation is that the players will not understand or be able to figure out the clues and puzzles straightaway. To that end, the initial failure is actually part and parcel of the game experience itself. Yet rather than dragging these problems out, as in the work situation, the team playing an escape room game actually looks forward to finding the solutions.
One reason why people feel comfortable with this escape room situation where the clues and puzzles are unknown, is the fact that if they happen to fail, then there are no consequences. Everyone on your team is equal and no one is going to be judgemental if one player is stumped by a particular puzzle. In some ways the escape room creates a situation where players can be rewarded if they're willing to experiment. Hence we can say that these games actually encourage players to be comfortable with ambiguity. Taking this to its natural conclusion, after a team building exercise we hope that the employees can transfer this comfortable feeling to the workplace. In other words, they can look at unexpected and uncertain events as interesting and exciting opportunities waiting to be cracked.
Of course, teaching players to be comfortable with uncertainty is one thing. But we don't want people to be totally over their apprehensiveness. Taking the opposite approach, there is nothing to be gained from charging headlong into the unknown. That can be just as bad as continually holding back. Escape room games help teach players how to approach by using tactics. You'll notice that when you're playing an escape room game, some skills such as clear communication with your teammates when they're stuck, will help everyone move forward. In the same way, everyone shares information in order to find an optimal solution. This sharing of expertise is one of the most important aspects of finding a solution quickly. In some ways, the clock is ticking down the time both in the escape room game and in the workplace situation. To that end, don't waste time if you're stuck. Simply reach out and ask for help.
