SPOTTED // Muzus x Optimalistic: Als verrekenen een beperking is - Serious Game

By Hilde Schram

Photograph: Dutch Design Awards 2021

Did you know that because of the way income settlement is done for people with an occupational disability, 61 percent of people end up in financial trouble? (Muzus, Optimalistic, 2021) Muzus and Optimalistic have made a design that creates more awareness about this among higher institutions.

There are people, young and old, who deal with an occupational disability which is why they can work less. In the Netherlands, it is arranged that you receive a supplementary benefit in addition to the work that you can do. However, these benefits are often not calculated correctly or on time, which means that many of these people get into financial problems. Muzes and Optimalistic created a game called ‘Serious Game’. This game is intended for professionals to put themselves in the shoes of people with an occupational disability. This ensures that these professionals can see what difficulties these people go through with their occupational disabilities and their personal situations in the Dutch system.

Having a disability already causes mental stress about your further career. This is because you live in uncertainty, whether you will ever be able to work again and whether you have enough income to make ends meet. In addition, they also must deal with an unstable contribution from the government, which results in more stress and uncertainty. When a large group of these people also get into financial problems due to uncertain contributions, it only worsens their financial security.

The Game is a good example for the trend See The Unseen, because it shows the professionals what people with work restrictions are going through to give them a better understanding of their lives. The question is: what would have happened if higher institutions knew earlier what the people with occupational disabilities are going through. The game makes the institutions see what they weren’t able to see before.

Find more information about Serious Game here.

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