Motivating Generation X and Y with Gamification

Shashakjain

There’s a reasonable quantity of research into motivation at work being undertaken nowadays and it’s interesting to see where gamification fits into the film. Richard Boggis-Rolfe, Chairman of Odgers Berndtson contended “The retirement of the present generation of corporate leaders will lead to cultural influences that many organisations are unprepared for. To be able to flourish in the post-baby boomer landscape, companies will need to put significant thought and effort into smoothing the intergenerational transition for leaders out of generations X and Y.”

Jane Sunley, CEO of Purple Cubed (a consultancy company specialised in office involvement) explains, “The baby boomers will be the generational cohort born between 1945 and approximately 1961, generation X have been created between approximately 1962 and 1981 and production Y from approximately 1981 to 2001… Do not get too hung up on the dates, however, because everybody says they’re different. The main thing is to appreciate that each and every generation was influenced by the surroundings of their upbringing: schooling, parents and — in the case of generation Y — the largest influence has been engineering.”

In accordance with Sunley, there are five key differences between the upbringing, personality and motives of every generation that influence their working styles:
Decision-making — Baby boomers prefer to make their own conclusions, generation X will take direction but like to be left to get on with it and creation Y demand continuous direction and collaboration.

Motivating Generation X and Y with Gamification
Motivating Generation X and Y with Gamification

Feedback and response to work — Baby boomers know when they’ve done a fantastic job, generation X such as regular feedback and creation Y need continuous feedback.
Sharing remarks — Baby boomers like to keep their opinions to themselves, generation X discuss their opinions and creation Y presume others want their remarks.
Attitude to modify — Baby boomers are resistant to change, generation X enjoy change and generation Y are elastic.
Can This Cause Problems?

According to the Cass Business School study, “Only 41 percent of respondents considered that their businesses are prepared for changing workplace demographics of age, gender and diversity.” Many respondents to the analysis also remarked that “the retirement of baby boomers from leadership positions could lead to a mass exodus of talent over the next 20 years, which will intensify the global war for talent among present executives”.

Obviously organisations will need to adapt their leadership plans, corporate culture and so to adapt to the new generations of leaders and workforce in addition to the 21st century as a whole. Sunley asserts that understanding the differences between the generations could give organisations the advantage when handling the change in their workforce. Appreciating the five important differences could help supervisors form a more successful leadership strategy.

The Cass study suggested that, “Foremost among the new leadership abilities will be emotional intelligence, people skills and flexibility, which will be required to attract and inspire a more diverse and mobile workforce… This more collaborative type of leadership will be crucial to assisting executives navigate the 21st Century workforce.”
Professor Cliff Oswick, Cass Deputy Dean, believes, “The increasing diversity of the global workforce will have to be taken into consideration by corporate leaders.

I’ve been reading about this subject over the past week or so and it struck me that gamification resembles another way that businesses are dealing with a number of those new generational styles in addition to the 21st century world of work as a whole. The likes of Google are producing new ‘gamified’ offices that appeal to the often youthful, innovative, creative types they want to attract and inspire. They frequently include things like fitness centers, gourmet cafeterias, dogs, hair stylists, scooters, massage parlours, slides, stores etc to encourage the lifestyle and motivational needs of generation Y (amongst other things).

The fact that creation Y prefer to work together and collaborate is frequently encouraged by gamified solutions in addition to new office spaces. Rewards for cooperation can be encouraged by group leader boards, badges etc. and collaborative games used to train, evaluate, build teams and so forth. ‘

Gamified’, 21st century offices also encourage creation Y’s demand for cooperation. By way of instance, offices are often made out of places specifically for people to bump into each other or act as the proverbial water cooler and invite individuals to spark off one another and innovate. Many offices now produce open plan areas with smaller pods or seating areas inside them to make cooperation natural, simple and enjoyable. By way of instance, white board walls, pianos, ping pong tables and so forth are usually included in offices to promote team bonding and cooperation.

Perhaps most strikingly, gamification is a way that creation Y can get immediate feedback. Members of generation Y will have been brought up around video games and to have amassed plenty of hours playing them. Games offer immediate feedback that could be why creation Y come to expect it from all facets of life. Gamification can allow immediate feedback to happen and give workers a virtual ‘pat on the back’ for completing tasks. This could be time consuming for their supervisors or peers to perform and might not come naturally to them (particularly if they’re baby-boomers).
What could be gamified.

Motivation is vitally important at work, both for the workers and the organisations. The infographic below sums up quite nicely how generations X and Y may be moved differently to the baby boomers and how gamification could be utilized to engage and inspire the workers of today and tomorrow.

About Me

Experienced writer with a passion for anime and games. Adept at creating informative and engaging content, including articles, reviews, and features. Deep knowledge of the anime and gaming industries and always up-to-date with the latest news and trends. Committed to sharing insights and enthusiasm with fellow fans through writing.

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