This document proposes design patterns for gamifying work. It introduces the problem of employee disengagement and the concept of using game elements to reinforce work goals. The author argues that gamification needs specific patterns as general elements are too abstract. 21 patterns are presented covering what work is done, when/where, how, and why. Patterns include things like autonomy over tasks, rewards for routines, location-based rewards, and social recognition systems. The goal is to provide practical guidance for gamification designers to engage employees.

1. Design Patterns for
Gamification of Work
JAKUB SWACHA
KAROLINA MUSZYŃSKA
UNIVERSITY OF SZCZECIN, POLAND

2. Agenda
Introduction
Why do we need design patterns for gamification of work?
Design patterns in gamification perspective
Patterns for gamification of work
What-Patterns
When-Where-Patterns
How-Patterns
Why-Patterns
Conclusion

3. Introduction
The problem of disengagement of employees with their work
Gamification of work concept (from the employer’s
perspective)
„An employer-imposed game in a work environment where the goals
of the game are designed to reinforce the goals and purpose of the
employer”
Gamification design vs. game design
Gamification design patterns provide solutions for a different class of
problems than game design patterns

4. Why do we need gamification design
patterns?
Gamification design elements instead of patterns
Too general, superficial and abstract current gamification
design patterns
Need for gamification design patterns to support gamification
designers, analogically to how it is provided by design
patterns in other domains (e.g. software development)

5. Design patterns in gamification
perspective
Existing or expected issue with
the way the work is performed or
how it is experienced by
employees, or an emerging
opportunity to improve work
performance or employees'
experience
context problem solution
Design patterns approach
Goal to be achieved, solution
to a work-related issue,
including explanation how
solving it can affect the context
How the problem can be
solved = how the goal can be
achieved, using game-inspired
constructs, like rewards,
challenges, etc.
The perspective of a gamification of work designer

6. Patterns for gamification of work
Classification of gamification design patterns
What-Patterns – what an employee does
When-Where-Patterns – when or where an employee does what he/she
does
How-Patterns – how the employee does what he/she does
Why-Patterns – why an employee does what he/she does

7. Patterns for gamification of work –
what-patterns
Name Context Problem Solution
Autonomy
Employee can do various tasks but is often
assigned with the type he/she likes the least
Provide some freedom of choice for
employee
Provide sets of tasks from which only one is to be
chosen for realization at once
Cleaning
Employee proceeds to new tasks without
doing supplementary work (e.g. documenting,
cleaning) concerning the completed ones
Ensure supplementary work is also
done
Do not give rewards for completed tasks before
supplementary work concerning them is finished
Combo
Employee’s duties include tasks he/she likes
and dislikes, and he/she neglects the latter
Link the tasks employee likes with
those he/she dislikes
Define a reward for completing a specific mix of
tasks of various types
Prize pacing
Employee starts many tasks but completes
few
Link the value of reward with
completion stage of a task
Define an increasing reward for completing
subsequent task stages and an additional bonus
for finishing a task
Quest
Employee performs especially good at a
specific type of task
Let employee specialize further in
handling such tasks
Define a reward for completing a large number of
tasks of one type
Schedule
Employee neglects small routine works that
should be done regularly
Ensure small routine works are done
on schedule
Define a reward for completing a full schedule of
small routine works

8. Patterns for gamification of work –
when-where-patterns
Name Context Problem Solution
Appointment
Something should be done at
specific time and/or place
Provide an incentive for employee to do it on
time and/or at the specified place
Define an extra reward for doing the appointed thing,
which will diminish with delay and recurrently remind
employee about the time left and/or distance to the
specified place
Countdown
Employee neglects doing
something
Provide an incentive for employee to start
doing it
Define an extra reward for doing the delayed thing, which
will quickly diminish with time and recurrently remind
employee about it as the time passes
Explorer’s
treasure
Employee is reluctant to do
his/her work outside of the
office
Provide an incentive for employee to work at
other locations
Define a random extra reward for doing work at various
locations (with a higher possible reward value for distant
or unpopular locations)
Happy hours
Employee’s productivity falls on
certain weekdays or time of day
Provide an additional incentive for employee
to better focus on work during the ‘low-
productivity’ time
Define weekdays or time of day during which extra bonus
is added to each earned reward
Seasons
Employee perceive the work
environment as stolid and
boring as it never changes
Instill a constant change in the gamification
system, with phases changed with the time
of year and/or for few days before holidays
If possible, define special tasks that could only be done in
the specific time of year. If not, at least provide special
bonuses and modify the system’s user interface

9. Patterns for gamification of work –
how-patterns
Name Context Problem Solution
Challenge
Employee performs the appointed
task with low speed or low success
rate
Improve employee’s engagement
on the performed task
Define a desired level of productivity and/or quality and provide
a point reward for meeting it and a bonus for surpassing it on
daily/weekly/monthly basis
Choice of path
Employee feels the task he/she is
assigned to makes little sense, and
its goal could be effectively achieved
in another way
Let employee find his/her own
way of achieving the goal
Define a reward for attaining desired outcome instead of
completing specific task
Group challenge
Employee struggles with tasks that
could be done fast in collaboration
Make employees collaborate with
each other
Define tasks that can only be assigned to teams, not individual
persons, with reward equally shared among team members
Postage fee
Employee keeps asking others for
help even with simple tasks
Make employee do his/her duties
without interfering with others’
work
Issue a virtual currency that has to be spent to ask a question on
a forum or via an instant messenger, and limit the quota by
which every employee’s stock is replenished every day
Record
Employee’s performance dropped
significantly
Let employee remember he/she
can do the given task much
better or faster
Register various type of personal records (e.g. the fastest
execution of specific type of task, number of tasks completed in
a week) and remind employee about those relevant to the
current tasks. Define a reward for setting a new personal record

10. Patterns for gamification of work –
why-patterns
Name Context Problem Solution
Badges on
display
Employee considers he/she
achieved something important but
nobody cares about it
Let employee boast about their
achievements
Award badges for record quantity or quality of executed tasks and
make the collected badges visible in the employee’s profile
Contest
Employee considers his/her own
effort to be larger than that of
other employees and that it is not
recognized adequately
Make employees able to
compare their respective effort
among themselves
Provide a leaderboard showing the top contenders, let every
employee see his/her own position in the ranking, define end dates
when the contest is finished or restarted, and the top players
become winners: real-world rewards can be given to the winners
and/or their names can be archived in the hall of fame
Higher
meaning
Employee does not see the place
of his/her work in the grand
scheme of things and questions its
moral value
Make employee aware of the
importance and positive role of
his/her work
Provide employee with an introductory background story and
multiple short stories which are presented to him/her on completing
specific tasks (in a scheduled or random but contextual manner)
that inform him how his/her actions contribute to the organization’s
mission, society or natural environment
Sense of
progress
Employee sees no direct result of
his/her actions, considers them
futile and fruitless
Make employee aware that
every action he/she performs is
a step in progress
Reward employee with points even for simple tasks, define point
levels marking stages of progress, visualize progress bars showing
the distance to the next level
Social
Employee generously helps other
employees but does not receive
due gratitude
Make the recipients able to
reward those who helped them
Provide virtual rewards (e.g. reputation points) that can be given by
one employee to another as an act of gratitude, and limit the
number of rewards that every employee can give every day

11. Format for gamification patterns
Practical classification of patterns
21 patterns of gamification of work
Conclusion

12. Thank you for your attention 
Contact details
Jakub Swacha
jakub.swacha@usz.edu.pl
Karolina Muszyńska
karolina.muszynska@usz.edu.pl