Meaningful Work as an Ethical Approach: Shaping the Next Generation of Organizational Gamification

Abstract

Gamified information systems have become widespread in organizations along with unintended ethical consequences. In parallel, recent advances in artificial intelligence and their promise for gamification raise new ethical concerns in the workplace. Building on a generational review of research progress in the field, we draw from work design, affordances, and value-sensitive design literatures to develop a theoretical framework and a related ethical design approach to encourage more meaningful work with organizational gamification. Our frameworks specify how game elements and their associated affordances can help transition organizational gamification from an add-on to an integrated part of instrumental work systems. We discuss how tying an ethical reflection into a historically informed view of progress in the field overcomes limitations in previous generations of gamification research and helps to resolve long-standing as well as emerging ethical concerns.