What games teach us

A year or two ago, we created a game in the family, to participate in a Board game making contest. The game did not win anything, but in doing test play and refining the game, we all loved it so much that it became a regular in the family. 

Its a trading game based in the SIVC. There are traders and producers, about 7 types of commodities, regulated markets that display the buying and selling rates of the commodities being traded on that day in the market, and of course, free price negotiation among players, ability to add warehouses and factories, get a trading license or a factory license, some protectionist laws that protect domestic producers against price hedging by traders in the home port, and some regulation around how many ports a player might visit in each game play, so that monopolistic players do not develop and every trader, big or small, gets the same trading opportunity in every turn. 

Over the last few years, I observed that while 4 of us play the game, everyone has a very different playing style and strategy. But what was amazing is how closely this mirrors our real life business and investment decisions. 

My brother focuses on commodities that are high margin, but low value, so absolute wealth generated is lower, but they are regularly traded at all ports, so they are high frequency trades. In real life also, he tends to enter businesses that are high margin, high volume, and he has patience, just like in the game. He uses his cash wisely. 

My son bets on a single commodity - it has high value and high margins, but low liquidity. In real life also, he only picks up blue chip stocks and sticks with them. 

I, on the other hand, keep cash rolling. So, i make moderate profits on each trade but don't have the patience for the big kill. I also always keep a diversified portfolio of commodities on my boats. My real life investments are also low risk, high liquidity, and low margin. 

Interesting, isn't it? 

Have you ever learnt something about yourself or another person from a game? 

Where Gamification Comes From – The Impact of Millennials in the Workplace

 The Background

This morning, I was at a workshop for parents at my child’s school. We were taught how to make spellings fun for our children. The class was very interesting, with activities and games to help children learn spelling.

At one point, the trainer said, “Our children have a very low span of attention. And this generation does not believe in work. So it is our duty to make learning fun for them. They will learn, but we must make it interesting and ..fun!  Our parents just asked us to learn spelling, and we did. But that’s not how this generation works.”

If the reality of the millennials had never hit me, it did now. The teacher was right – this is a generation that has grown up without the concept of “work”. If its not fun, if its not engaging enough, they wont do it. Suddenly, it is someone else’s job to make the workplace “engaging” and to keep them interested. Remember that famous quote ? The world owes you  NOTHING.? Apparently, the millennials skipped that one in their entire education.

Having said that, the generation is brilliant.. they are capable of creative destruction.. and reconstruction – probably more than any generation before them has been.  They have a very supportive social structure – more than any other generation has had since the Victorian age, at the very least.

The Problem Statement

So, how do we get them to contribute to the grinding mill called “normal work” . How do we get them to understand the concept of “work” ?

The Immediate Solution

Perhaps this explains the ever growing trend of “gamification” of everything. Today, we reward the smallest things – there are “tasks” and “quests” and “points (or eggs or coins or gems) to be won, then reused within the game for higher levels, more advanced digital tools and so on. I would like to make special mention of things like office Vibe, which rewards proof of collaborative behavior, healthy living, et al. There are a lot of other apps, websites and even custom developed tools that do the same.

The generation coming after them is not any different. Increasingly, “Work” becomes a dirty word.

As practitioners, we face a unique problem because of that..

The Problem created by the immediate solution

The colleagues who are not millennials, wonder why the new generation is so “pampered” , while they come and do an honest day’s job and are not rewarded as much as, or on par with their work contribution.

Cause Analysis

As I see it, these different generations derive gratification from different stimuli. As workplace practitioners, we try and provide these stimuli.

For the non millennials, the primary source of gratification is, by and large, how much and how well their work is done, the money they get for it, and the recognition they get for it. The output and the recognition for that output. Also, elements of discipline like being on time, communicating according to protocol et al. Make

For the millennials, gratification comes from “fun”, “enjoyment” and “being engaged”. Having control over their calendars, working out of anywhere, and getting recognised for output alone.

(Of course, these are sweeping generalisations being used to simplify and present the problem we are dealing with in this post. )

So, structurally, both groups are getting what gives them gratification.

The problem comes when we try to create an environment that rewards *both* these behaviors at the same time and also when people try to compare their contribution: reward ratio with that of the other groups.

Solving for the root problem

So, the problem is not just that the 2 generations view the idea of “work” very differently. It is also not that organisations are not willing to provide what they need to create a stimulating and engaging workplace experience.

The real problem arises because:

A. We pretend that we are treating all employees the same: We cannot. Because they are not the same. We are giving each one what they need – broadly. If one gets flexi time , it is because they need flexi time. if the other gets higher fixed bonus, it is not because we penalise flexi time and reward adherence to fixed time. It means that money is not the only kind of reward we give. Money is only one type of gratification. Flexi time and shorts at work is another. When we create this myth of equal treatment for all employees, we are also perpetrating the myth that basically, all employees are the same, they need the same things.

Solving for Perpetrating the Myth:  

To solve for this myth, we need to acknowledge that all employees are different and may need different things. Being different does not make them “flippant” or “undisciplined” or millennials”old fashioned” or “stuffy”. We don’t need to label anyone who is different from us. Labeling happens when acceptance is missing. And acceptance has to start with the employer. Acknowledge differences. Stop the “Everyone gets the same treatment” myth. Acknowledge that policies are differential, but the basis of differentiation is the need of that employee group.

B. People compare with each other.

Solving for Comparisons at workplace

Comparisons happen, mostly in linear reward structures – ones based mostly on money as the reward.

Suppose we were to initiate a multi factor rewards environment, where people could pick the things that work for them – flexi time, informal dressing, tele presence, travel, et al. Each element has a cost to company, and it is published.

Endpoint

We are dealing with multiple age groups at the workplace. We keep thinking of ways to make them work together. This is not THE answer. There cannot be one “THE” answer. But the more we work in this area, the more answers we are likely to have.