Gamified rewards and bonuses not only introduce an element of fun in to the workplace, but also increase employee performance – could this be applied to UK healthcare workers?
According to new research, healthcare was identified as the industry that would have most increased productivity from the introduction of gamified rewards, with trades (52%) and hospitality and leisure (51%) both close behind. Could this be the news strategy to boost productivity levels with UK healthcare workers?
UK healthcare workers and productivity
A survey of 1,096 UK workers, by workplace incentives and rewards provider, One4all Rewards, published in the Workers on Top of Their Game Report, surveyed employees from diverse age groups, genders and industries and revealed that 1 in 2 (56%) UK workers in the healthcare industry would feel more motivated to work hard and 1 in 5 (20%) would increase their performance if their employer introduced a points based rewards and bonus system.
Gamification is increasingly being used in workplaces, with Gartner reporting 40% of Global 1000 organisations are doing so to motivate and encourage positive behaviours.
The technique works by setting small rewards for desired actions and then inviting workers to repeat that behaviour, which they do in anticipation of the same result.
More than 1 in 3 (38%) UK workers in the healthcare industry said they would work harder to unlock rewards and bonuses in this way.
Benefits of gamified rewards
There are also clear softer benefits of gamified rewards systems, with 47% of UK healthcare workers claiming this would also increase their happiness at work, while more than 1 in 3 (37%) said it would make them feel more engaged with their company.
Finally, 2 in 5 (42%) of those in healthcare surveyed said that working towards rewards and bonuses would make work more fun – could this be the revolutionary new option for the health workforce?
Alan Smith, UK managing director at One4all Rewards, explains: “In SMEs, finding the budget for a rewards scheme can be tough, but gamified rewards can be more flexible in some ways and they don’t have to involve large budgets.
“While some might think that these kinds of rewards are more complex to implement, this isn’t necessarily the case and there are many companies out there that can help with implementing these rewards.
“As we can see from the survey data, and the sheer number of healthcare workers who said that the implementation of a gamified reward system would make them work harder, the cost of implementing this kind of rewards could soon be recouped by the increased productivity employers would benefit from.”
