What is Gamification?
We started with an open floor office and now we have the gamification of the workplace. Will mixing work and online gaming increase production in the workplace? Every learning-related journal, magazine, and blog seems to want to link their name with the term, citing the merits of gamification in making employees work more efficiently. Can gamification in the workplace deliver the wonders the industry promises?
Gamification is not just a trendy buzzword. It can provide outstanding results in the workplace and is the latest way to engage staff and inspire employees. Companies of all shapes and sizes are gamifying their workplaces to support workers. Gamification in the workplace can build engagement and enhance company culture, contributing to more effective and satisfied teams. Also, improving work skills and production are becoming necessary for both employees and clients, as many industries have moved to remote working situations over the last year.
People started thinking about gamification in the workplace in 2010. They wondered whether using online gaming methods at work could provide quality in other areas of workers’ lives. Fast-forward to 2022 gamification reached organizational levels. Gamification in the workplace will have far-reaching outcomes in the future. It will surpass any other learning methods used in the past. Saving industries millions, gamification is a big step in the right direction.
Gamification creates experiences similar to online gaming. Using gamification keeps workers engaged in their work while encouraging healthy workplace competition. It motivates employees to engage in tedious work. Then promises to make the hard stuff fun! Gamification in the workplace drives changes in staff and achieves specific workplace goals. What’s not to love?
The Psychology of Gamification
Gamification works by creating an addiction to learning. Our brains want to repeat pleasurable actions from the past. So by adding game-like elements to mundane tasks, we form a unique method of gaining information. It can happen almost without you realizing it by increasing your knowledge and skills. Imagine your workplace asking you to do tasks using a fun gaming method, with rewards! A Bonus or reward will drive a worker to want to take action, making the entire process more enjoyable. The complete process subliminally increases workplace innovation, fun, and productivity. By rewarding your employees for doing their tasks, you create a cycle of natural highs. Employees use behaviors at work that have a positive outcome. It is a brilliant way to use psychology.
Online Gaming
Online gaming is a video game offering online interactions with other players and includes fun, joy, teamwork, and collaboration. Online gaming can provide many positive attributes, such as boosting your memory and speeding your brain and will improve concentration and multi-tasking skills. Not only that, but online gaming can also help build skills (think Minecraft) for future careers, with teamwork giving social benefits. Problem-solving is also another bonus you can gain through online gaming. Human Development studies found online gaming increases the gray matter in your brain. The gray matter includes regions of your brain driving muscle control, seeing and hearing skills, memory, emotions, speech, decision-making, and self-control. So online gaming is good for your brain!
Motivate Employees
Maintaining employee engagement is not a new problem. It’s just an increasingly important one, which offers feedback from management to motivate employees. With gamification in the workplace, staff can check their performance and where they stand with management. Another bonus to this process in the workplace is real-time job performance feedback. No one likes to be surprised by their annual review. Employees won’t have to work toward goals that are often irrelevant—or forgotten. Instead, they can work toward real-time targets having feedback as they reach those targets motivating employees. The psychology of online gamification makes so much sense, especially if it is helping workers to motivate employees instead of leaving them feeling bored and useless. Using online gaming methods will help create internal competitiveness in the workplace. Engaging employees in a healthy race while integrating scores, levels, and bonuses as an extra incentive. Using gaming skills to motivate employees will create regular participation and action. Which helps make learning fun and interactive. More work usually gets done because the workday just flies by. Consider using gamification in your workplace to improve your business production and staff morale.
