eBusiness Weekly
Chipo Sabeta
Participating In a sport can be a helpful way of reducing stress. In business circles, darts present a good opportunity for stress detox after hectic working days.
Why?
Well, basically, the most important reason for playing darts is to have fun! It is not just for people who want to be competitive, it is also an event you can do after hours to relieve stress.
Joining a local dart league or club can expand your social and professional network, and if you are new to town, it is a great way to meet new people. As a stress reducer, darts can help you relax in the middle of a busy day. A quick game against a friend or a solo practice session during a break at work can do wonders for your mental clarity. According to sports medicine guru Nicholas Munyonga, darts can help decrease mild symptoms of depression and anxiety.
“Simply by getting your mind off work, you can immediately begin to relax and get a mental and physical breather. As a leisure activity, darts are a positive diversion that allow you to mentally take a break from being on the job, whether at work or at home.
“Playing darts will improve your stress management, strategy thinking, social skills, relaxation and non-verbal communication.
“I know darts play an important role in terms of relieving stress. We usually play darts after hours and turnout can be dominated by non-professional and the executive which can help certain mental health disorders like depression and anxiety. Anxiety and depression are often triggered or exacerbated by excessive levels of stress.”
In terms of socialisation, playing darts present a chance to make new friends and develop a feeling of camaraderie by working toward a mutual goal.
Mr Simon Mupindu, a Harare-based lawyer said he play darts to socialise with colleagues and business associates as well as stress detox.
“Participating in a group or team sport can provide a powerful medium for acquiring the stress-relieving benefits of social contact. By joining a team sport, you may feel more motivated to exercise regularly,” he said.
“Darts is a huge stress reliever. There are so many professions today that are huge stress producers. Business executives, policemen and women, politicians, air traffic controllers, any type of public service career, armed forces, and there are more professions than there is space to put them down.”
Human resource experts believe that darts can play an important role in “team work” building.
They believe that in every work place across this country there are employees that develop social and competitive relationships with their fellow employees. In both cases, they also claim, it is good for business.
Well, on a smaller level, darts would be a good training ground for these people to learn these skills on a social and more personal level.
A company that had a lunch time “Team Darts Tournament” that gave prizes, days off or added vacation days to winners, might find that their employees actually all start working well together.
