Pokémon GO swept through workplaces in 2016, transforming millions of employed adults into dedicated hunters during business hours. Workers across industries invented creative pretexts to venture outdoors—car sales staff claimed inventory inspections whilst secretly catching virtual creatures, valets maximised their lot patrols by playing simultaneously. The productivity drain became so evident that managers everywhere had to actively discourage participation.

Not all organisations resisted the phenomenon. Some employers, including healthcare nonprofits and local churches, recognised opportunity and attempted to leverage the game's cultural pull by hosting community events or becoming in-game locations themselves. Though the craze proved remarkably fleeting despite its intensity, it left a lasting cultural imprint as an unusual moment when a single application temporarily reshaped workplace dynamics and social behaviour across multiple demographics.