Here is one of the games played by Amazon warehouse workers

the Washington Post Greg Bensinger tells a fascinating story about Amazon's attempt to make the physically demanding work of its distribution centers more attractive – and perhaps to increase productivity along the way – by letting the warehouses choose to play at social games transforming being fast in their work playing.

Regarding our recent profile of Beth Galetti, Human Resources Manager at Amazon, I visited the Amazon Distribution Center located in Kent, Washington State, just outside of Seattle. While I was there, an employee picking up products on robotic shelves and putting them in bins showed me Dragon Duel, one of the games mentioned in Bensinger's article. Using a touch screen dedicated to games, she chose to compete with a staff member located elsewhere in the warehouse. They were described as flying dragons, with not so elaborate graphics that reminded me of a video game from the early 1990s. I mentioned it briefly in our story.

Amazon refused to provide the To post with screenshots of his games. But during my visit, I took pictures with the permission of the company. here is a blur of the dragon race, with the players' faces even more unclear to respect their privacy:

The screen indicates that players get 16 points for each product chosen. A table displays the rankings of other employers (represented by Peccy, Amazon's internal mascot). It seems that you can also get statistics on the current change as well as a ranking for BFI4, the warehouse that I have visited. (The dragon game was displayed on a screen next to another, which presented non-gamified data about the employee's work while she was leading it.)

Bensinger's story quotes some experts who have expressed concern about the idea of ​​gamification, for reasons such as the possibility that competition with colleagues may become stressful over time. Again, Amazon workers referenced in the To post This article has approved games as a way to make repetitive work less monotonous. And they did it anonymously, suggesting that their favorable decision was sincere.

Another delicacy that was not mentioned in the Bensinger article: Amazon tells me that workers have the opportunity to play solo games and competitive games. It could also help dispel the feeling that the exercise is only about playing each other in a boring rather than fun way.