{"id":62363,"date":"2022-03-09T16:55:58","date_gmt":"2022-03-09T20:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=62363"},"modified":"2022-03-20T17:08:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T21:08:12","slug":"gamification-in-the-workplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/gamification-in-the-workplace\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Gamification in the Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is gamification? What are some examples of gamification in the workplace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gamification is the practice of using gaming elements such as scores, leaderboards, and achievement badges to make work more engaging. In their book The 4 Disciplines of Execution<\/a><\/em>, Chris McChesney, Jim Huling, and Sean Covey suggest using a scoreboard to gamify workplace dynamics and improve team engagement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s how to use gamification in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Discipline 3: Engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Discipline 3, the authors tell you to engage your team by making the 4 Disciplines into a game that they can win. <\/strong>You already did some engagement work in the previous two disciplines by consulting your team members about the team goal and lead measures. When people choose their own goals and feel ownership, they\u2019re more engaged. They\u2019re also more engaged when they enter a competition their team can win\u2014humans have a natural urge to compete and love to win.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

McChesney, Huling, and Covey suggest designing a scoreboard to go with the game; better yet, have your employees design and create it. <\/strong>This scoreboard must tell your team if they\u2019re winning (if they\u2019re on track to meet the goal), and it\u2019s a constant reminder of the game you\u2019re all trying to win. For example, the scoreboard might be a graph with two lines: one that goes from your starting situation to your desired situation over the time allotted (as stated in Discipline 1) and another that shows your actual progress toward that goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The authors recommend creating a separate visual for your effort measurement\u2014perhaps a chart where each team member tracks what they\u2019ve accomplished so far that week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Counterpoint: Gamification Is Unproven<\/strong>

Gamification started with the observation that gamers will happily spend hours doing repetitive tasks\u2014superficially similar to what they might do at work\u2014with no tangible<\/em> reward. If managers and executives could make work similarly enjoyable by applying gaming elements, the theory goes, they\u2019d reap benefits in employee morale and productivity\u2014the workers would be happier and the company would be more profitable, creating a win-win<\/a> situation. 

Unfortunately, gamification has had underwhelming results. Common criticisms of gamification in the workplace include:

It\u2019s a new name for old ideas.<\/strong> Employee competition and leaderboards are hardly new ideas (for example, \u201cEmployee of the Month\u201d awards existed long before gamification). 

It can feel condescending. <\/strong>Employees work for money; trying to boost engagement with prizes and badges can feel like you\u2019re trying to win them over with cheap gimmicks instead of increased wages. 

It misses the point. <\/strong>Gamers play games because they\u2019re fun. Applying gaming mechanics to something that isn\u2019t <\/em>inherently fun won\u2019t get people engaged, so gamification is doomed to fail.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is gamification? What are some examples of gamification in the workplace? Gamification is the practice of using gaming elements such as scores, leaderboards, and achievement badges to make work more engaging. In their book The 4 Disciplines of Execution, Chris McChesney, Jim Huling, and Sean Covey suggest using a scoreboard to gamify workplace dynamics and improve team engagement. Here’s how to use gamification in the workplace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":13355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,14],"tags":[199],"class_list":["post-62363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-management","tag-the-4-disciplines-of-execution","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Use Gamification in the Workplace - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gamification is a relatively new idea in management theory. One way to use gamification in the workplace is with a scoreboard. 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