More people gaming at work

Coffee breaks and watercooler chitchat are out when it comes to office stress relief. Now, video games are all the rage.

Almost a quarter of white-collar workers play video games at work, and 84 percent say they feel more relaxed after indulging, according to a recently released survey.

Some workers admitted to gaming during business meetings or conference calls, but most played during breaks or intermittently throughout the day, according to the nonscientific survey by video game provider PopCap Games.

"To me, it's akin to doodling," said Garth Chouteau, a company spokesman. "You really don't use all the mental bandwidth you have when you're playing these games."

More than a third of higher-level executives admitted to playing video games at work, compared to 23 percent of other white-collar workers.

The online survey was conducted in June and included more than 2,800 PopCap Game users. White-collar workers were identified as those in professional, clerical, middle management, technical and senior management fields.