Play at work: a new type of management
“When you play, play hard; when you work, don’t play at all.”
― Theodore Roosevelt
Who has never heard that sentence at work, « We are not here to have fun »? For too long play has been presented as the contrary of work. If you’ve ever found yourself engrossed in Angry Birds, Call of Duty, or a plain old crossword puzzle when you should have been doing something more productive, you know how easily games can hold our attention. A colossal waste of time? According to Theodore Roosevelt, it is! But what if we could tap into all the energy, engagement, and brainpower that people are already expending and use it for more creative and valuable pursuits?
The gamification of work, behind that term is hidden a relative new trend of management: game at work. One of the main challenges which companies meet is to have motivated and productive employees. Many methods are based on using pleasure as a source of motivation. In fact, the labor market is full of thirty-year olds who grew in the video games universe. Play is not only essential for children, it can also be an important source of relaxation and stimulation for adults as well.
The benefits of play are plenty. Play relieves stress, triggers the release of endorphins—the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Play also stimulates the mind and boosts creativity. You are likely to learn a new task better when it’s fun.
Gamification cannot boil down to allowing employees to play Candy Crush. There are three main methods.
The first method consists in turning work into a video game.
That method cannot be applied to all types of work. The principle is to improve the social link via an internal platform (like an intranet for example). The consulting firm Accenture has tested that method through its « gaming » platform. It looks like a video game, but the main objective is to improve the knowledge of the company (with 200 questions). The aim of that initiative is to increase the commitment of employees and reinforce the social link in the company. Accenture is not the only company which has tried that method of learning, many firms are creating their own company games. For instance, the Deloitte Business Simulation game is designed to train employees in corporate responsibility and sustainability.
The second method is game apprenticeship
It allows you to train your employees in a more effective and concrete way. A lot of companies has chosen that method. Companies such as IBM decide to train their employees to IT consulting methods with online games. These games make it possible to learn complex things by playing. It is easier to learn more Agile methods playing a video game rather than reading a 120-page book.
That method is the most popular with companies. Gamelearn is a company which develops games for companies. They adapt game learning to each company by creating characters and different scenarios. More of 1,000 companies has set up Gamelearn solutions to train their employees at any level of seniority.
The third method consists in bringing a playful contribution to working situations
In this case, it is advisable to set up a play area with the necessary equipment.
Google open spaces are known worldwide, and many companies have invested in football or a ping pong tables for the purpose of improving team spirit. Today, some companies such as Linkbynet are totally transforming their open spaces by building slides. The objective is to create a playful atmosphere where employees can play together and learn about each other (like kids in kindergarten).
As we can see with those examples, today, game is part of the corporate world to facilitate learning. But having a slide in your office is not always synonymous with happiness at work: bad management or boring missions cannot be solved by gaming only.
Yael GUEDJ & Noémie SAYADA
