Who Wants to be a Millionaire…Employee? How to Turn Boring Work Into a Thrilling Adventure

Playing games is as old as humanity itself. From Roman gladiatorial matches to medieval horse battles to today’s video games and casino games, games have evoked many feelings in people, from the excitement of the process to the joy of winning, or even anger and despair after losing. However, what is important is that all of these emotions are immensely powerful. Human beings crave intense feelings of happiness and joy, and experiencing these emotions is associated with the release of hormones.

However, this post is not about video games or the history of humanity. The term “gamification” became popularized about 15 years ago. At that time, the concept of gamification was understood as the incorporation of social and premium aspects of games into non-gaming (primarily software) environments. The non-gaming environment refers to everyday life situations that people have to deal with, such as in family, work, or school (Deterding et al., 2011).

The use of gamification principles has much in common with behavioral economics principles. Behavioral economics is concerned with how real people behave in real situations and what factors influence their decision-making (Camerer, 1999). Gamification utilizes principles of behavioral economics to ensure that employees are motivated to achieve set goals and complete tasks. For example, the use of various challenges and competitions can be based on the principle of “loss aversion,” which is people’s tendency to react more strongly to losses than to gains (O’Donoghue and Somerville, 2018).

Of course, there are many ways in which a HR manager or boss can motivate employees through gamification based on specific organizational and employee goals. Below are some specific ideas that could be beneficial in companies. Their implementation could have a positive impact on employee performance and increase willingness to participate in projects and tasks. So let’s get into it!

1. Reward programs: The HR manager can create a reward program that allows employees to earn points or badges for completing certain tasks or achieving specific goals. These points can then be exchanged for rewards such as vacation days, a day off work, or the ability to work from home.
2. Competitions: The HR manager can organize competitions among employees based on gaming principles. For example, a competition could be held for the number of tasks completed or goals achieved during a certain period of time. Competitions can also be team-based, which could promote collaboration among employees.
3. Virtual training: The HR manager can create virtual training for employees with gaming elements. These elements could include badges or points for completing certain tasks. This way, the HR manager could increase employee motivation to complete training and improve their skills.
4. Virtual meetings: The HR manager can use gaming elements in virtual meetings between employees to increase engagement and collaboration. For example, a virtual meeting could be held with a quiz or competition that could promote collaboration among employees.
5. Games as part of onboarding: A recruiter can use games as part of the onboarding process for new employees. These games could help new employees better understand the culture and goals of the organization, while also providing them with practical information and skills needed for their job. Properly executed onboarding is essential for retaining new employees, according to Jedel and Palmquist. (Jedel and Palmquist, 2021)

There are many different ways to introduce gamification into the company’s operations. However, I would like to stick with number 1: Reward programmes. Within this area, it is possible to introduce elements such as the following in a medium-sized company or department:

Employees could earn points for successfully completing tasks related to their work or the organization’s goals. This program could be designed to encourage employees to achieve the organization’s goals, while also allowing them to earn points for innovative ideas and initiatives:

Competitions and gaming challenges: The HR manager could create gaming challenges and competitions to motivate employees and increase their engagement. These challenges could be focused on the organization’s goals, such as increasing productivity, reducing errors, or improving service quality. Employees could earn points and rewards for participating and successfully completing the challenges.

Rewards for long-term loyalty: The HR manager could create a rewards program for employees who stay with the organization for a certain period of time. This program could be designed to reward employees for their long-term loyalty and contributions to the organization. Rewards could be financial or non-financial, such as vacations or time off work.

Skills development program: The HR manager could create a rewards program for employees who actively seek to improve their skills and knowledge. This program could provide employees with rewards for attending training, courses, or self-study. This program could support employee development and increase their engagement at work.

Overall, it can be said that gamification in companies and behavioral economics influence each other and use similar principles. Gamification can be a highly effective tool for improving employee performance and motivation, thanks to the use of principles from behavioral economics and psychology.

Gamification in companies may seem like a new thing, but more and more companies are starting to use it as a means of increasing productivity and employee motivation. So why not give it a try? Incorporate game elements into your work and see how your employees start to enjoy themselves and complete tasks with new enthusiasm.

Sources:

Camerer, C. (1999) ‘Behavioral economics: Reunifying psychology and economics’, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 96(19), pp. 10575–10577. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.96.19.10575.

Deterding, S. et al. (2011) ‘From game design elements to gamefulness: defining “gamification”’, in Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments. MindTrek ’11: Academic MindTrek 2011, Tampere Finland: ACM, pp. 9–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1145/2181037.2181040.

Jedel, I. and Palmquist, A. (2021) ‘Factors Related to the Use and Perception of a Gamified Application for Employee Onboarding’, in T. Ahram, R. Taiar, and F. Groff (eds) Human Interaction, Emerging Technologies and Future Applications IV. Cham: Springer International Publishing (Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing), pp. 653–661. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74009-2_83.

Landers, R.N. and Callan, R.C. (2011) ‘Casual Social Games as Serious Games: The Psychology of Gamification in Undergraduate Education and Employee Training’, in M. Ma, A. Oikonomou, and L.C. Jain (eds) Serious Games and Edutainment Applications. London: Springer London, pp. 399–423. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2161-9_20.

O’Donoghue, T. and Somerville, J. (2018) ‘Modeling Risk Aversion in Economics’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32(2), pp. 91–114. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.32.2.91.

Thaler, R.H. and Sunstein, C.R. (2011) ‘Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness’, (24).