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Uncovering the dark side of gamification at work: Impacts on engagement and well-being

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  • Hammedi, Wafa
  • Leclercq, Thomas
  • Poncin, Ingrid
  • Alkire (Née Nasr), Linda

Abstract

Rethinking the workplace experience as a means for enhancing the well-being of frontline employees (FLEs) represents a key priority for services. The well-being of frontline employees leads to improved performance and better customer service, such that it enhances the firm’s overall competitive advantage and revenue. Therefore, engagement-facilitating technologies that can increase FLEs’ well-being, such as gamified work, hold promise in terms of their effects on job satisfaction and engagement. Using a mixed-method design, including in-depth interviews with FLEs and their managers, and two large field experiments, this research considers two key sectors in which FLEs are critical: retailing and telemarketing. The results highlight the negative impacts of gamified work on employee engagement and well-being, although the willingness of employees to participate in such gamified work moderates these negative impacts. By revealing how gamification affects FLEs’ well-being, job engagement, and job satisfaction, this research provides actionable insights for managers.

Suggested Citation

  • Hammedi, Wafa & Leclercq, Thomas & Poncin, Ingrid & Alkire (Née Nasr), Linda, 2021. "Uncovering the dark side of gamification at work: Impacts on engagement and well-being," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 256-269.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:122:y:2021:i:c:p:256-269
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.032
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    3. Bitrián, Paula & Buil, Isabel & Catalán, Sara, 2021. "Enhancing user engagement: The role of gamification in mobile apps," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 170-185.
    4. Xu, Hui & Wu, Yang & Hamari, Juho, 2022. "What determines the successfulness of a crowdsourcing campaign: A study on the relationships between indicators of trustworthiness, popularity, and success," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 484-495.
    5. Zhou, Fei & Lin, Youhai & Mou, Jian & Cohen, Jason & Chen, Sihua, 2023. "Understanding the dark side of gamified interactions on short-form video platforms: Through a lens of expectations violations theory," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PB).
    6. Pilar Martín-Hernández & Marta Gil-Lacruz & Ana Cristina Tesán-Tesán & Amalia Raquel Pérez-Nebra & Juan Luis Azkue-Beteta & María Luz Rodrigo-Estevan, 2022. "The Moderating Role of Teamwork Engagement and Teambuilding on the Effect of Teamwork Competence as a Predictor of Innovation Behaviors among University Students," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-16, September.
    7. Lubart, Allan & Capelli, Sonia, 2024. "Gamification of the point of sale using hybrid-reality games: Non-players' negative influence on players' service experience," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    8. Žigimantas PeÄ iÅ«ra & Irena ŽukauskaitÄ—, 2024. "A Preliminary Investigation of the Relationship Between Gamification and Organizational Socialization Outcomes: Does Gamification Live Up to Its Expectations?," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(1), pages 21582440231, February.
    9. Zaneta Nejman & Joanna Sadlowska-Wrzesinska & Anna Albrychiewicz-Slocinska & Agnieszka Filipek, 2024. "Health Crisis and Work Motivation: The Psychosocial Context of Sustainable Work," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 673-695.
    10. Behl, Abhishek & Jayawardena, Nirma & Bhardwaj, Shikha & Pereira, Vijay & del Giudice, Manlio & Zhang, Justin, 2024. "Examining the failure of gamification in implementing innovation from the perspective of problematization in the retail sectors of emerging economies," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    11. Jiaxing Chen & Guangling Zhang & Qinfang Hu, 2022. "Research on the Impact of Pro-Environment Game and Guilt on Environmentally Sustainable Behaviour," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-14, October.
    12. Elena Bakhanova & Jaime A. Garcia & William L. Raffe & Alexey Voinov, 2023. "Gamification Framework for Participatory Modeling: A Proposal," Group Decision and Negotiation, Springer, vol. 32(5), pages 1167-1182, October.
    13. Marikyan, Davit & Papagiannidis, Savvas & Rana, Omer F. & Ranjan, Rajiv & Morgan, Graham, 2022. "“Alexa, let’s talk about my productivity”: The impact of digital assistants on work productivity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 572-584.

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