02 “游戏化”真是管理神器吗？

初步研究证实，游戏化可以提升员工的参与度，但管理者必须警惕，随着竞争加剧及绩效压力增加，可能产生意外的负面影响。

全文共816个词，by Cassandra Chambers

Even before Covid-19 forced employees to work from home, many businesses were moving to more remote working. While this offers flexibility, autonomy and cost savings, it makes managing staff more challenging. Without frequent face-to-face contact, organisations need to become more creative in their approaches.

早在新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19，即2019冠状病毒病）迫使员工在家工作前，许多企业就开始在更大程度上转向远程办公模式。虽然这提供了灵活性、自主性并节省了成本，但也使管理员工更具挑战性。没有了频繁的面对面接触，组织需要在做法上变得更有创造力。

One option is the use of a fast-growing technique for motivating and managing employees. Gamification is the process of introducing design elements from games into other contexts. Advanced computing now gives organisations the ability to track staff behaviour. Programs such as reputation point systems, badges, leader boards ranking staff by performance and online training resembling board games can inject fun into everyday work.

选择之一是使用一种迅速发展的方法来激励和管理员工。游戏化(Gamification)是将游戏中的设计元素引入其他情境的过程。如今，先进的计算赋予组织追踪员工行为的能力。声誉积分系统、徽章、按绩效给员工排名的排行榜，以及类似棋盘游戏的在线培训等程序，都能给日常工作注入乐趣。

New staff can enter elaborate fantasy worlds to complete training. Sales teams used to working alone on the road may be connected through platforms simulating sports, where a sales lead is as an “assist” and closing a sale is a “goal”.Employees who complete reports can earn points toward achievement badges—reputational signals of their value.

新员工可以进入精心设计的幻想世界完成培训。习惯孤军奋战的销售团队可以通过模拟体育运动的平台联系起来，其中，一条销售线索就像一记“助攻”，而完成一单销售则是一粒“进球”。完成报告的员工可以通过获得积分来走近“成就徽章”——关于他们的价值的声誉信号。

Gamification is part of the human resources strategies of many large businesses, including PwC, Cisco, Deloitte and Ikea. Walmart tested it to raise awareness about safety and cut accidents. In a pilot, when employees played games and earned badges after answering safety questions, incidents fell by 54 per cent.

游戏化是许多大型企业——如普华永道(PwC)、思科(Cisco)、德勤(Deloitte)和宜家(Ikea)——人力资源战略的一部分。沃尔玛(Walmart)对此进行了测试，以提升安全意识，减少事故。在一个试点项目中，员工们玩了游戏，并在回答安全问题后获得徽章，结果事故减少了54%。

But do such programs really work? Most research indicates that they increase engagement. For example, multiple studies show that in online communities where members ask questions and answer other people’s queries, they increase activity when awarded reputation points and badges. Online communities have similarities to remote work, with geographically dispersed members interacting.

但这种程序真的起作用吗？大多数研究表明，它们可以提高参与度。例如，多项研究表明，在线上社区（成员们提出问题并回答他人的问题）中，在被奖励声誉积分和徽章的情况下，成员们的活跃度会增加。线上社区与远程工作有相似之处，地理位置分散的成员可能进行互动。

Despite such benefits, researchers know less about the potential dark side of gamification. For example, many programmes digitally record and publicly display information about employees, so unexpected negative consequences may arise if they overly intensify pressures for performance and competition between staff. Research in psychology and organisational studies shows a link between performance pressures and reduced willingness to help and share information with others and an increased likelihood of lying, cheating and even sabotage of others’ work.

尽管有这些好处，研究人员对游戏化的潜在阴暗面了解较少。例如，许多程序以数字方式记录并公开显示员工的相关信息，因此，如果这些程序过度加强绩效压力和员工之间的竞争，就可能产生意想不到的负面后果。心理学和组织行为学研究表明，绩效压力与帮助他人、与他人分享信息意愿的降低，以及说谎、作弊甚至破坏他人工作可能性的增加之间存在联系。

In a recent study of more than 6,500 online community members’ data spanning nine years of activity, I explored the unintended negative consequences of a reputation system. Members earn reputation points for contributing questions and answers. More valuable contributions, as rated by members, earn more points. To discourage negative behaviour, members who exhibit counterproductive behaviour such as spamming for commercial gain or being excessively impolite are temporarily suspended.

在最近一项针对6500多名在线社区成员历时9年的活动数据的研究中，我探索了一种声誉系统的意外负面后果。成员们通过提问和回答赢得声誉积分。按照成员们的评定，比较有价值的贡献获得较多的积分。为劝阻负面行为，表现出适得其反行为（如出于商业利益滥发垃圾邮件或过分无礼）的成员将被暂停资格。

I found that counterproductive behaviours increased when a member was near a reputation threshold — a key point before gaining extra benefits and prestige. This suggests that such systems — and by extension other gamification programs — can cause negative consequences.

我发现，当一个成员接近获得额外利益与声望的关键点，即声誉门槛时，适得其反的行为就会增加。这似乎表明这样的系统——及其他游戏化的程序——可能会造成负面后果。

Do these unintended negative outcomes undermine the goal of increasing engagement? When I compared members who were suspended for counterproductive behaviours with others, I found they contributed more than their average amount when engaged in counterproductive behaviours.

这些意外的负面结果是否会有损提高参与度的目标？当我将那些因做出适得其反行为而被暂停资格的成员与其他成员进行比较时，发现他们在从事这类行为时的贡献超出自己的正常水平。

Psychological theories of moral cleansing explain that employees generally want to maintain a positive image that they are good citizens. Engaging in counterproductive behaviours threatens that image, so it prompts employees to contribute more often to make up for these practices.

有关道德清洗(moral cleansing)的心理学理论解释称，员工通常希望保持自己是良好公民的正面形象。从事适得其反的行为会威胁到这种形象，因此这会促使员工更频繁地作出贡献，以弥补这些做法。

Jointly, these findings suggest that reputation systems — and gamification more broadly—can be effective in maintaining employee engagement in remote-work environments. But managers should be on the lookout for unintended consequences that may arise with increased competition and performance pressures.

把这些发现放在一起看，声誉系统——以及更广泛的游戏化——可能有效保持员工在远程工作环境中的参与度。但管理者应该警惕随着竞争和绩效压力的增加而可能产生的意外后果。

Employees take it upon themselves to correct for these behaviours, reducing concerns about their ultimate impact. Other forms of gamification could trigger more negative unintended consequences, however. In particular, the use of leader boards and contests that confine rewards to a small, select group of employees can trigger unhealthy levels of competition and more pernicious behaviours such as sabotage.

员工可以自行纠正这些行为，从而减少对其最终影响的担忧。然而，其他形式的游戏化可能会引发更为负面的意外后果。特别是，采用将奖励局限于一小群精选员工的排行榜和竞赛，会导致竞争发展至不健康的水平，甚至引发更有害的行为，如蓄意破坏。

Unrelenting performance pressures can lead to higher levels of burnout, so managers need to actively assess employees’ reactions to gamification. Periodic use of anonymous surveys that track sentiments about helping others, job satisfaction and engagement could serve as early warning signs of gamification’s unintended consequences.

无休止的绩效压力可能导致更高程度的职业倦怠，因此管理者需要积极评估员工对游戏化的反应。定期进行匿名调查，把脉员工对帮助他人、工作满意度和参与度的感受，可以作为游戏化的意外后果的早期预警信号。

The widespread popularity of gamification programs suggests they are here to stay. Initial research confirms they can positively boost employee engagement, especially if staff have a choice in how they use them and if they are designed to align with the organisation’s goals. It is clear, however, that managers must remain vigilant about the potential downsides of increased competition and the performance pressures that accompany them.

游戏化程序的广泛流行似乎表明它们将继续存在。初步研究证实，它们可以提升员工的参与度——尤其是如果员工可以选择如何使用这些程序，如果这些程序从设计上确保符合组织的目标。然而，很明显，管理者必须警惕竞争加剧以及随之而来的绩效压力的潜在负面影响。

Cassandra Chambers is assistant professor of management and technology at Bocconi University, Milan

卡桑德拉·钱伯斯(Cassandra Chambers)是米兰博科尼大学(Bocconi University)管理与科技助理教授

本文12月17日发布于FT中文网，英文原题为 Gamification at work creates winners and losers x9oSrvArdkNa8pd+mk4QfARbwXYUwLQnGH7ZjJfN2Tieas+RcxLElQMGB4yqF9f4