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Redemption Through Play? Exploring the Ethics of Workplace Gamification.

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Title: Redemption Through Play? Exploring the Ethics of Workplace Gamification.
Authors: Butler, Nick1 (AUTHOR) nick.butler@sbs.su.se, Spoelstra, Sverre2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Business Ethics. Aug2024, Vol. 193 Issue 2, p259-270. 12p.
Subject Terms: *Play, *Gamification, Business ethics, Work environment, Organizational performance, Faith
Abstract: Today, it is becoming increasingly common for companies to harness the spirit of play in order to increase worker engagement and improve organizational performance. This paper examines the ethics of play in a business context, focusing specifically on the phenomenon of workplace gamification. While critics highlight ethical problems with gamification, they also advocate for more positive, transformative, and life-affirming modes of organizational play. Gamification is ethical, on this view, when it allows users to reach a state of authentic happiness or eudaimonia. The underlying assumption, here, is that the 'magic circle' of play—a sphere that exists entirely for its own sake—should be protected in order to secure meaningfulness at work. However, we argue that this faith in play is misguided because play, even at its most autotelic, is ethically ambivalent; it does not lead inexorably to virtuous work environments, but may in fact have an undesirable impact on those who are playing. Our study thus contributes to research on the 'dark side' of organizational play, a strand of scholarship that questions the idea that play always points toward the good life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Redemption Through Play? Exploring the Ethics of Workplace Gamification.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Butler%2C+Nick%22">Butler, Nick</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> nick.butler@sbs.su.se</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Spoelstra%2C+Sverre%22">Spoelstra, Sverre</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Business+Ethics%22">Journal of Business Ethics</searchLink>. Aug2024, Vol. 193 Issue 2, p259-270. 12p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Play%22">Play</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Gamification%22">Gamification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Business+ethics%22">Business ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Work+environment%22">Work environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organizational+performance%22">Organizational performance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Faith%22">Faith</searchLink>
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  Data: Today, it is becoming increasingly common for companies to harness the spirit of play in order to increase worker engagement and improve organizational performance. This paper examines the ethics of play in a business context, focusing specifically on the phenomenon of workplace gamification. While critics highlight ethical problems with gamification, they also advocate for more positive, transformative, and life-affirming modes of organizational play. Gamification is ethical, on this view, when it allows users to reach a state of authentic happiness or eudaimonia. The underlying assumption, here, is that the 'magic circle' of play—a sphere that exists entirely for its own sake—should be protected in order to secure meaningfulness at work. However, we argue that this faith in play is misguided because play, even at its most autotelic, is ethically ambivalent; it does not lead inexorably to virtuous work environments, but may in fact have an undesirable impact on those who are playing. Our study thus contributes to research on the 'dark side' of organizational play, a strand of scholarship that questions the idea that play always points toward the good life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Business Ethics is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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