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Teambuilding in Times of Pandemic: The Potential of Online Escape Rooms
Abstract
COVID-19 accelerated the trend towards virtual teamwork. However, without face-to-face collaboration, teams may fail to build relational links necessary for effective collaboration. Furthermore, in a volatile world, individuals need the capacity to solve challenges creatively. Building on previous research, we suggest that online escape rooms (OER) could serve as means towards teambuilding and creativity.
We designed an OER that required participants to solve puzzles by thinking out-of-the-box to escape within an hour. Data was collected from 130 subjects, nested in 40 groups. We measured cohesion, creative self-efficacy, and affect before and after the OER.
96 of 130 participants successfully solved the OER within sixty minutes. Pairwise t-tests showed that cohesion (t(129) = 2.80, p = .003), creative self-efficacy (t(129) = 4.84, p < .001), and positive affect (t(130) = 4.63, p < .001) increased after the OER. Analysis of variance indicated no main effect of successful completion on the dependent variables.
We lacked a control group and the majority of our sample were adhoc teams.
Results support the notion that OER are an immersive tool that fosters cohesion, creative self-efficacy, and positive affect. We suggest that OER should be applied regularly to boost team climate and especially when new members enter a team to smoothen the onboarding process. To our knowledge, this is the first study that examines the effects of an OER. It thereby offers an engaging possibility how the “social glue” necessary for successful teamwork can be established in virtual environments.
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Background and purpose:
Today's pharmacists must be "team-ready." While team-based learning is ubiquitous in pharmacy education, little data exists for fostering team-building skills in healthcare education. This study evaluates the effect of an escape room-themed team-building exercise on pharmacy student experiences and perceptions of working in teams using StrengthsFinder 2.0 as a framework.
Educational activity and setting:
Second and third professional year pharmacy students were divided into teams of four to five. Each team competed in a puzzle-based simulated "escape room". Students completed pre- and post-surveys regarding perceptions of working in teams and team dynamics after reviewing their StrengthsFinder 2.0 results. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a related-samples McNemar test for statistical significance. Qualitative data from open-ended questions were analyzed to determine common themes among student answers.
Findings:
Of the 137 enrolled students, 127 participated in the activity and surveys. Sixty percent of teams successfully completed the activity on time. All but one statement ("I am an integral member of the team") showed a statistically significant increase in those strongly agreeing or agreeing pre- to post-exercise. The largest shift was seen for the statement "I enjoy working in a team environment". Thematic analysis of qualitative data revealed that students felt harnessing their individual talents made the teams stronger.
Summary:
This exercise positively impacted student perceptions of working in teams. Further research should determine the effect of pre-requisite team-building exercises on team-based learning outcomes.
Teamwork, a skill critical for quality patient care, is recognized as a core competency by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). To date, there is no consensus on how to effectively teach these skills in a forum that engages learners, immerses members in life-like activities, and builds both trust and rapport. Recreational ‘Escape Rooms’ have gained popularity in creating a life-like environment that rewards players for working together, solving puzzles, and completing successions of mind-bending tasks in order to effectively ‘escape the room’ in the time allotted. In this regard, escape rooms share many parallels with the multitasking and teamwork that is essential for a successful emergency department (ED) shift.
A pilot group of nine emergency medicine (EM) residents and one senior EM faculty member underwent a commercial escape room as part of a team-building exercise in January 2018. The escape room required participants to practice teamwork, communication, task delegation, and critical thinking to tackle waves of increasingly complex puzzles, ranging from hidden objects, physical object assembly (i.e., jigsaw puzzles), and symbol matching. Activities required members to recognize and utilize the collective experiences, skills, knowledge base, and physical abilities of the group. After the game, players underwent a structured ‘game-master’ debriefing facilitated by an employee of the commercial escape room; this was followed by a post-event survey facilitated by a faculty member, which focused on participants’ feelings, experiences, and problem-solving techniques.
Escape rooms afford learners the opportunity to engage in an activity that rewards teamwork and effective leadership through experiences that directly link to specific ACGME milestones and educational learning theories. EM participants were engaged in the activity and felt that the escape room reproduced an environment analogous to the ED. The debriefing that followed the activity provided a satisfactory conclusion to the experience; but learners preferred a more organized debriefing format that provided them with constructive and specific feedback on their performance.
The present study examines the mediational role of collective engagement in the relationship between team cohesion and team creative performance. A reciprocal process was expected to unfold across creativity task episodes: (a) team cohesion leads to collective task engagement, which in turn has a positive effect on team creative performance (perceived team performance and independently rated creativity), and (b) perceived team creative performance predicts the development of future team cohesion. The study relied on a longitudinal three-wave research design through an organizational simulation exercise, in which 118 project teams (605 individuals) were charged with three creativity tasks. This study advances collective task engagement as an important mediational process explaining team performance in creative activities.
The six-item Perceived Cohesion Scale (PCS) was created to measure perceived cohesion in groups. However, only large groups were used to assess the validity and reliability of the measure, leaving in question the use of the PCS with small groups. This study adapts the measure of cohesion to the small-group arena. Results provide support for the validity and reliability of the adapted measure for use within the small group.
Virtual groups, that communicate and coordinate their activities using information technology, continue to become prevalent as an organizational form (Ahuja & Carley, 199 9). Research in this area, however, is still in its infancy. Specifically, extant research provides little insight into how new members are socialized into virtual groups using electronic communication. This paper examines the influence of member tenure on individual communication patterns in virtual groups. A content analysis of e-mail communication among members of the group during a 3-month period showed that in virtual groups, newcomers primarily exhibit an information seeking mode in their communication and established members exhibit an information providing mode. Interestingly, and contrary to expectations, newcomers did actively engage in discussions regarding cognitive information, perhaps helped by the comfort provided by a lean and faceless electronic communication medium. However, the limited anonymity provided by the electronic media did not translate into newcomers seeking normative and regulative information in explicit ways, implying a need for organizational mechanisms aimed at virtual member socialization.
Recent research reveals that playing prosocial video games increases prosocial cognitions and helpful behaviors [Gentile el al., 2009; Greitemeyer and Osswald, 2009; 2010; 2011]. These results are consistent with social-cognitive models of social behavior [e.g., the "General Learning Model," Buckley and Anderson, 2006]. The social-cognitive learning models suggest that in addition to influencing cognitions, media content may also influence affect. However, past studies on prosocial video games have failed to find a significant effect on affective measures [Greitemeyer and Osswald, 2010]. The present research examined the effects of prosocial, neutral, and violent video games on state hostility and positive affect. Also examined were moderating effects of trait aggressiveness, trait altruistic helping, and trait egoistic helping. Prosocial games reduced state hostility and increased positive state affect. Violent video games had the opposite effects. These effects were moderated by trait physical aggression. Altruistic participants reported relatively more positive affect and less state hostility. Egoistic participants reported relatively more aggravated and mean feelings. Aggr. Behav. 00:1-9, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An experiment (N = 74) was conducted to investigate the impact of game difficulty and player performance on game enjoyment. Participants played
a First Person Shooter game with systematically varied levels of difficulty. Satisfaction with performance and game enjoyment
were assessed after playing. Results are not fully in line with predictions derived from flow and attribution theory and suggest
players to (1) change their view on their own performance with its implications for enjoyment with increasing game experience
and (2) to switch strategically between different sources of fun, thus maintaining a (somewhat) positive experience even when
performance-based enjoyment is low.
This article explores video game enjoyment originated by games' key characteristic, interactivity. An online experiment (N=500) tested experiences of effectance (perceived influence on the game world) and of being in control as mechanisms that link interactivity to enjoyment. A video game was manipulated to either allow normal play, reduce perceived effectance, or reduce perceived control. Enjoyment ratings suggest that effectance is an important factor in video game enjoyment but that the relationship between control of the game situation and enjoyment is more complex.
The recent need for social-distancing caused by COVID-19 resulted in working remotely, which can cause loneliness and disconnect from the organization. The pandemic stimulated people to look for novel ways to interact and, at the same time, socialize with each other. The change to home office increased the number of people using digital video calls; however, these impose restrictions on social bonding. In this commentary, we argue that the social bonding capacity of video calls can be increased by using games. Playing games can create a common object with shared goals, which can give players the feeling of being in the same environment, belonging to the same organization, working on joint objectives, and give an enjoyable experience. All work activities will unlikely return to the office after the pandemic is over, and preparing for remote working and socialization is needed. We recommend several avenues for research, including researching the concepts of online socialization and evaluating the effectiveness of gaming.
Purpose
This paper theoretically and empirically aims to explore customer group flow experiences with an urban adventure game called “escape rooms”.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive model of group flow antecedents and consequences is proposed and empirically verified by means of survey research and SEM methodology.
Findings
The results indicate that key determinants of group flow experiences are the collective challenge/skills balance, and theming and storytelling. Group flow, in turn, significantly affects participants’ revisit intentions and word-of-mouth communications, as well as group cohesion and subjective quality of life.
Practical implications
The supported research model provides an insight into how group flow experiences can be facilitated by means of gamification and yields important managerial implications. These are systematically discussed in regard to antecedent and consequence constructs.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the first papers to systematically examine the antecedents and consequences of group flow experiences at adventure game-based attractions. It contributes to the understanding and management of peak experiences in contemporary hospitality and tourism.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to theoretically and empirically explore tourist experiences with the niche-like, yet global phenomenon of escape room attractions.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory empirical study of visitors’ experiences with selected top-rated escape rooms in the USA and Europe was carried out by means of netnographic research and automated content analysis.
Findings
The results show that this attraction provides new, peak, unique and fun experiences through the challenging activities and social component of the game play. The findings provide an insight into both the authenticity of experiences with novel attractions and the group aspects of fun and flow concepts.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are restricted to online reviews on the TripAdvisor website and are possibly biased because of the use of a non-random sample.
Practical implications
Theoretical implications are discussed and explicated as future research questions. They are relevant for the conceptual development, research and management of playful experiences within urban and special interest tourism. Societal implications are also addressed.
Originality/value
This paper is a preliminary in-depth examination of the escape room phenomenon from the customer experience standpoint. It is of relevance for the conceptualisation and improvement of tourist experiences with new and fun attractions.
Using data from two different firms, this study tested a new construct, creative selfefficacy, tapping employees' beliefs that they can be creative in their work roles. Results support the discriminant validity of the construct and indicate that job tenure, job self-efficacy, supervisor behavior, and job complexity contribute to creative efficacy beliefs. Creative self-efficacy also predicted creative performance beyond the predictive effects of job self-efficacy. Differences in results between white-collar and blue-collar samples suggest considerations for both theory and practice.
This article reports the development and validation of a 10-item international Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) Short Form (I-PANAS-SF) in English. A qualitative study (N = 18) and then an exploratory quantitative study (N = 407), each using informants from a range of cultural backgrounds, were used to identify systematically which 10 of the original 20 PANAS items to retain or remove. A same-sample retest study (N = 163) was used in an initial examination of the new 10-item international PANAS's psychometric properties and to assess its correlation with the full, 20-item, original PANAS. In a series of further validation studies (N = 1,789), the cross-sample stability, internal reliability, temporal stability, cross-cultural factorial invariance, and convergent and criterion-related validities of the I-PANAS-SF were examined and found to be psychometrically acceptable.
A meta-analysis of 62 experimental and 10 non-experimental studies was conducted to evaluate the positive-mood-enhances-creativity generalization. While the results demonstrate that positive mood enhances creativity, the strength of that effect is contingent upon the comparative or referent mood state (i.e., neutral or negative mood) as well as the type of creative task. Further, the pattern of effect sizes supports a curvilinear relationship between affective intensity and creative performance. In general, a contextual perspective of mood-creativity relations is supported.
A series of interrelated hypotheses has been presented to account for data on informal social communication collected in the course of a number of studies. The data come from field studies and from laboratory experiments specifically designed to test the hypotheses. Three sources of pressures to communicate have been considered: (1) communication arising from pressures toward uniformity in a group (2) communications arising from forces to locomote in a social structure [and] (3) communications arising from the existence of emotional states.
Peeking behind the locked door: A survey of escape room facilities
- S Nicholson
Nicholson, S. (2015). Peeking behind the locked door: A survey of escape room facilities [White paper].