Four Apps to Gamify Your Life

As gamification continues to be a prominent topic of discussion in the workplace, it is simultaneously growing in the social world. With smart phones becoming a necessity in our lives, apps have become a useful tool to keep us organized, entertained and up to date in our fluctuating world. There are now apps that are designed to help you live the lifestyle you desire, and will reward you for every step towards that direction. Here are some notable apps that can help gamify your personal life. 

AchieveMint: If you have been struggling to keep a healthy lifestyle, this app may be exactly what you need. Whether you walk the dog, take the stairs over an elevator, shop healthy, or even tweet about something healthy, you get rewarded with points. Five thousand points earns you twenty five dollars, and you will soon be eager to do the activities that earn you the most points, like go on extensive runs or do yoga. Just link it up with mobile apps like RunKeeper, Fitbit, Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook and your healthy activities will be sent to AchieveMint.

RecycleBank: Similar to AchieveMint, this app rewards you with points and discounts for going green in any way possible. Bike to work, recycle, donate clothes, buy environmentally friendly products, share green tips and you will get rewarded. Even taking online ecology quizzes can earn you points.

#NwPlyng: Bringing gamification into the music world makes perfect sense. Rewarding people to share their favorite songs and artists with friends (something they do anyway) will give them even more of an incentive to do so. This app does precisely that.  You can share the current song playing on your iPhone with others, and as a result you are rewarded with “records” (badges). The more plays and shares of a certain artist, the higher title you are given (a different “record”), legitimizing your love and knowledge of that artist for people to see. You are also urged to share an artist’s lesser known songs and will get uniquely rewarded with special artist “records” for doing so.

Mobee: Companies who are in dire need of accurate feedback from their customers can turn to the gamification tactic for a solution. Mobee, a mobile app started by an MIT student, lets you, the “secret shopper”, take a unanimous survey of your current location about the experience you are having. A quick survey earns you a discount or free item, depending on the place.  It’s a win-win for both the company that needs consumer data and the shopper that can always use a discount.

The high ratings of the apps can be credited to the natural success of gamification. We are all instinctively competitors in one way or another, and want people to know what we have mastered and how educated we are in certain fields.  This system can be applicable to employees at work. Creating a system for employees to earn badges and rewards that praise them for their knowledge, skills and accomplishments raises morale and brings positive energy, confidence and diligence to their work ethics.  Gamification motivates employees to demonstrate their competencies and achievements, while continuing to develop their skills.  Through gamification work can become a place where we have a chance to show off our talents and create opportunities for our hard work to receive attention and recognition from managers and peers.

5 Tips to Help Your Employees Beat Office Stress

Increasing stress levels amongst workers, especially Millennials who are in the earlier stages of their careers, should be a cause for concern amongst employers. According to the American Psychological Association, a total of 76 percent of American Millennials report work as a significant stressor. This is compared to 62 percent for Baby Boomers. We've put together five tips for helping your employees minimize stress levels while maximizing productivity.

1. Focus on your organizational culture. Clearly, and repeatedly articulate your culture and values.   Facebook, for example, has posters hanging throughout their offices with messages such as “Done is Better Than Perfect.”

2.  Set clear expectations on when you expect your employees to be reachable.  Senior leaders can alienate their staff by sending emails at 5 a.m.  Set expectations and adhere to them yourself.

3. Encourage fun, this downtime is often when the magic happens.  When employees are able to connect with each other on different levels, through a friendly game of Candy Crush or a beer after work, team productivity and congeniality also increases.

4. Offer flex time.  Younger generations, such as the Millennials, are more apt to work less during the day (arriving later and leaving earlier), and are more receptive to working after leaving the office. Offering a flexible work schedule, which appeals to workers of all ages, will increase morale while also increasing productivity.

5.  Offer health and wellness initiatives.  Focusing on employee wellness, by offering perks such as yoga classes held at the office after work, gives employees an outlet for built up stress.  Google is a great example, they provide employees with three wellness centers, basketball courts and even horseshoe pits.

While technology offers many benefits, such as giving us the ability to complete tasks more quickly and professionally, it has also produced expectations from employers that are becoming more and more difficult to keep up with.  It is clear that stress in the work place has increased, and is an issue that employers need to address.  If you are interested in learning more about increasing productivity in the work place, visit our website at www.inwardconsulting.com.