Most Office Workers Think Digital Engagement Would Boost Performance

Survey Shows Majority of Employees Would Welcome Game Elements in Daily Tasks

Employee engagement is one of the biggest challenges in the business world, yet recent numbers show many companies are missing opportunities to increase worker motivation.

A survey conducted by TechnologyAdvice revealed that more than 70 percent of office employees felt digital engagement software would help them perform better at work. In addition, 54 percent of respondents said they would be more likely to perform a task if it incorporated game elements. Despite these preferences, more than two-thirds of those polled say their company was not using any type of digital engagement platform.

“The majority of office workers believed that engagement programs and the introduction of game elements would help them at work,” said TechnologyAdvice Content Manager Zach Watson, who authored the study. “While the buzz around gamification in the business world appears to have reached its peak, adoption rates remain relatively low. Engagement can be a subjective term with room for interpretation, but it’s clear from our data that better recognizing workers for their contributions, making repetitive work more inviting, and providing a visual record of workplace progress are all major opportunities for current businesses to improve engagement with employees.”

One reason for low adoption rates could be the need for greater consideration of employee personalities and job functions when deploying employee engagement software. Fifty-five percent of respondents prefer to work in a predominantly collaborative environment, including more than 60 percent of those who work in customer service. However, office employees who work in sales prefer a far more competitive environment.

Age was also a key consideration for digital engagement platforms and game elements. Ninety percent of 18-24 year olds and more than 80 percent of 25-34 year olds surveyed believed an engagement program would help them at work. Meanwhile, 42 percent of 45-54 year olds and more than half of 55-64 year olds in the survey did not feel they would benefit from an engagement program.

Wellness programs were the most popular use case, with nearly 30 percent of respondents identifying a health and fitness platform as their most preferred engagement strategy. A points-based rewards system (24.7 percent) and a progress-tracking system (17.4 percent) were the next two preferences for participation, ahead of both internal social networks and an office leaderboard ranking system.

The survey was conducted through a random sample of 398 office workers whose main job functions are in marketing, customer service, or sales. To sum up the key findings:

• More than 70% of employees felt engagement software would help them perform better at work. More than 25% said it would help them stay motivated.
• 54% of respondents indicated that they would be more likely or much more likely to perform a task if it had game elements.
• 55% of employees said they would prefer to work in a predominantly collaborative environment. Sales teams however preferred more competitive workplaces.
• Employees expressed the greatest preference for wellness and fitness programs at work (29.6%), followed by a point based rewards system (24.7%).

The full study and more information on its methodology are available here.