What is your policy on Nerf Guns being used at work?

I come to this as an avowed Nerf enthusiast. I only have a small collection, but I enjoy disassembling the weapons, modifying them (yes, making them more powerful and far more dangerous) and then painting them to resemble props from sci-fi movies. They are realistic enough that I can't take them out in public and am barred from selling my surplus on eBay.

Having said that I'm an enthusiast, if I were approached and asked about the use of them at work, my answer would be "hell, no".

It's not a case of their danger. Unmodified, they are considerably less dangerous that paper planes or elastic bands. They are also a *lot* of fun. I love having Nerf battles with my children (unmodified weapons only) and occasionally have like-minded friends around with their kids for a running battle.

Nor do I actively oppose their presence in the workplace.

There's a popular game called "Assassin" in which participants receive the name of another participant and a tiny (but surprisingly powerful) Nerf pistol called a Jolt. The idea is to shoot your target before whoever has your name shoots you. If you are "assassinated" you hand your target's name to your assassin. There are usually rules about where you can and can't assassinate a target (not at their desk, not in the toilet, not in the canteen and not in a meeting). Within a consenting group it can be a welcome stress-release.

The problem is partly, as others have mentioned, "enforced fun". But the main danger I would highlight from an HR perspective is that "Nerf battles" are a fundamentally exclusive activity. People who find such conflict alienating are either forced against their will to join in or are consciously or unconsciously excluded from the participating group. It's an activity that favours male participation groups (although there is a rather nifty range designed for girls) and offers an bullies and bigots a legitimized outlet to pick on their favoured targets.

Finally, I think even in environments where it appears to be both welcome and successful, it's a concealing activity. People may appear to be positive and engaged at work because they enjoy the non-work events and activities, but are, in fact, disengaged from the reason you're paying them to be there. It's a cheap gimmick of the sort that tech start-ups favour but which fails to actually achieve useful or measurable business goals.

If your business thinks it needs something like this, then I suggest that instead of asking HR if it's OK, they ask HR if they can provide some constructive ideas of how to get staff engaged positively in a low-cost fashion. I'm sure you could come up with better ideas than Nerf battles.

For heaven's sake, though, don't ban it on H&S grounds unless you want HR to be forever tarred as the corporate party-pooper.

As a final note, my rule for games of Assassin is "you don't talk about games of Assassin". If I find out, game's over. That's part of the game: play it, by all means, but unobtrusively. If someone complains, it stops. If I see it happening, it stops.

Which is a shame, because I would *rock*.

I come to this as an avowed Nerf enthusiast. I only have a small collection, but I enjoy disassembling the weapons, modifying them (yes, making them more powerful and far more dangerous) and then painting them to resemble props from sci-fi movies. They are realistic enough that I can't take them out in public and am barred from selling my surplus on eBay.

Having said that I'm an enthusiast, if I were approached and asked about the use of them at work, my answer would be "hell, no".

It's not a case of their danger. Unmodified, they are considerably less dangerous that paper planes or elastic bands. They are also a *lot* of fun. I love having Nerf battles with my children (unmodified weapons only) and occasionally have like-minded friends around with their kids for a running battle.

Nor do I actively oppose their presence in the workplace.

There's a popular game called "Assassin" in which participants receive the name of another participant and a tiny (but surprisingly powerful) Nerf pistol called a Jolt. The idea is to shoot your target before whoever has your name shoots you. If you are "assassinated" you hand your target's name to your assassin. There are usually rules about where you can and can't assassinate a target (not at their desk, not in the toilet, not in the canteen and not in a meeting). Within a consenting group it can be a welcome stress-release.

The problem is partly, as others have mentioned, "enforced fun". But the main danger I would highlight from an HR perspective is that "Nerf battles" are a fundamentally exclusive activity. People who find such conflict alienating are either forced against their will to join in or are consciously or unconsciously excluded from the participating group. It's an activity that favours male participation groups (although there is a rather nifty range designed for girls) and offers an bullies and bigots a legitimized outlet to pick on their favoured targets.

Finally, I think even in environments where it appears to be both welcome and successful, it's a concealing activity. People may appear to be positive and engaged at work because they enjoy the non-work events and activities, but are, in fact, disengaged from the reason you're paying them to be there. It's a cheap gimmick of the sort that tech start-ups favour but which fails to actually achieve useful or measurable business goals.

If your business thinks it needs something like this, then I suggest that instead of asking HR if it's OK, they ask HR if they can provide some constructive ideas of how to get staff engaged positively in a low-cost fashion. I'm sure you could come up with better ideas than Nerf battles.

For heaven's sake, though, don't ban it on H&S grounds unless you want HR to be forever tarred as the corporate party-pooper.

As a final note, my rule for games of Assassin is "you don't talk about games of Assassin". If I find out, game's over. That's part of the game: play it, by all means, but unobtrusively. If someone complains, it stops. If I see it happening, it stops.

Which is a shame, because I would *rock*.

There was a particularly hard-fought game of Assassin on our third floor recently - all our advisers got involved as well as our press and policy teams! They loved it and used to post daily updates on our intranet. You've got to make your own fun at work sometimes!

Ha! Didn't see *that* on the CIPD twitter feed! :D

Well said Robey.

There are reasons why I work remotely most of the time ;)