The effects of a gamified human resource management system on job satisfaction and engagement

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12272
• Author: Giacomo Marzi,Andrea Caputo,P. Matthijs Bal,Mario Silic
• Published date: 01 April 2020
• Date: 01 April 2020

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

The effects of a gamified human resource

management system on job satisfaction and

engagement

Mario Silic

1

| Giacomo Marzi

2

| Andrea Caputo

2

|

P. Matthijs Bal

2

1

Institute of Information Management,

University of St. Gallen, St. Gallen,

Switzerland

2

Lincoln International Business School -

University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool,

Lincoln, UK

Correspondence

Mario Silic, Institute of Information

Management, University of St. Gallen,

Mueller-Friedberg-Str. 8, 9000 St. Gallen,

Switzerland.

Email: mario.silic@unisg.ch

The pressures associated with the speed of competition,

including the digitalization of workspaces, are increasing the

need for modern organizations to drive employee satisfac-

tion and engagement. Integrating gamification into the

workplace has been identified as a possible strategy to pro-

mote employee participation, engagement and loyalty.

Gamification is defined as the application of game design

elements in a non-game context, which, in this case, is the

workplace. This article presents a 12-month longitudinal

study designed to investigate the role of gamification in fos-

tering job satisfaction and engagement. The findings from a

sample of 398 employees, including both treatment and

control groups from a large multinational company that

introduced a gamified human resource management (HRM)

system, revealed the effects of certain gamification experi-

ential outcomes related to driving employee satisfaction

and engagement at work. Overall, our study highlights the

possibilities of employing gamified HRM systems to influ-

ence employee attitudes and behavior at work.

KEYWORDS

flow, gamification, gamified, HRM, HRM system, job engagement,

job satisfaction, longitudinal study, workplace gamification

1|INTRODUCTION

Nearly 40% of the Global Fortune 1000 organizations have implemented gamification in their workplaces (Cherrie,

2018; Rivera, 2013). This makes gamification one of the most prominent modern trends in the management of

Received: 4 July 2018 Revised: 24 November 2019 Accepted: 25 November 2019

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12272

260 © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Hum Resour Manag J. 2020;30:260–277.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj

organizations (Gruman & Saks, 2011; Strobel, Tumasjan, Spoerrle, & Welpe, 2017). Gamification involves the use of

game design elements in non-gaming contexts (Hamari, 2017). Gamification is defined as the application of game

design elements in the workplace environment, which takes advantage of the interactivity created by modern digital

technologies and the principles of entertainment. It represents a tool capable of conveying various messages and

encouraging peopleto reach specific personal or organizational goals (Cardador, Northcraft,& Whicker, 2017). At the

center of this approach are the user and their active involvement in the task, the system, or the activity that is central

to the game. Typical objectives achieved through gamificationinclude the improvement of customer service, the con-

solidation of brand loyalty and the improvement of student, employee and partner performance (Hamari, Koivisto, &

Sarsa, 2014; Harman, Koohang, & Paliszkiewicz, 2014). Several companies (e.g. Cisco, Deloitte and IKEA) have also

included gamification in their human resources (HR) processes, including recruitment, training and HR management

(HRM) systems, in an effort to achieve similar positive effects (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2015; Cherrie, 2018). However,

despite the increasing use of gamification,management research on thesubject of gamification in HRM is stilllacking.

In the HRM realm, gamification consists of integrating gaming features and behavior-motivating techniques

(e.g. points, leaderboard, challenges) into the HRM system to develop everyday tasks and processes that are per-

ceived by users as game-like experiences (Cardador et al., 2017). For example, giving recognition badges to

employees may promote higher levels of engagement among users (Hamari, 2017). Gamification is not effective per

se, but rather the specific game design elements influence the user's psychological state and motivation (Sailer,

Hense, Mayr, & Mandl, 2017). The effects of gamification in organizations ultimately depend on whether employees

are motivated to use it, and whether gamification enhances their positive attitudes regarding their work. If

employees experience more satisfaction and engagement in their work as a result of gamification, it will also be more

likely to benefit organizations (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004).

The impact of gamification of HR practices on job satisfaction and engagement can be explained by flow theory

(Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Flow theory predicts that employees can reach flow by experiencing immersion, absorption,

enjoyment, intrinsic motivation and interest when performing a task or activity. Flow is the mental state of operation

in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement and enjoy-

ment in the process of the activity. (Ghani & Deshpande, 1994). It has been suggested that flow is key to employee

engagement at work (Shuck, 2011), and it is also associated with job performance (Bakker, 2008). Flow at work arises

under conditions with clear goals, where feedback is provided, and there is a sense of control combined with chal-

lenging tasks (Csikszentmihalyi, 2004). In line with flow theory, our study focused on four ways through which

gamification impacts employees' perceptions of their HRM system. More specifically, gamification is beneficial when

people enjoy it, feel recognized through it, find it useful and are motivated to use it, which will increase job satisfac-

tion and engagement (Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).

Accordingly, the present study investigates the use of gamification in HRM using a longitudinal study to investi-

gate the effects of gamification antecedents (i.e. enjoyment, recognition, usefulness and motivation) on job satisfac-

tion and job engagement in the HRM system. A total of six hypotheses were developed for this study, which

focused on employee perceptions of different factors associated with a gamified HRM system and their relationship

to job satisfaction and engagement. Our results revealed that recognition, motivation, usefulness and enjoyment of

HRM gamification enhanced job satisfaction and engagement.

2|THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

This study focuses on investigating the longitudinal role and impact of a gamified HRM system in the workplace

where gamification is defined as the application of game design elements in the workplace environment, and specifi-

cally within the HRM system (Shuck, 2011). More specifically, in this study, gamification was integrated into the

company's HRM system using existing HRM procedures and practices that included new elements of engagement,

such as sharing stories, which is a typical element stemming from the game world (Cardador et al., 2017).

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