Effect of gaming on absenteeism rate

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Behavioral Science
• Workplace Productivity

Background:

• Employee absenteeism presents a significant challenge in healthcare settings, impacting operational efficiency and costs.
• Behavior modification techniques, such as gamification, are increasingly explored to address workplace issues.
• Absenteeism in dietary departments can affect patient care and departmental workflow.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a gamified intervention in reducing absenteeism within a hospital dietary department.
• To assess the impact of a lottery reward system on employee attendance.
• To determine the administrative and potential financial implications of decreased absenteeism.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a gamified behavior modification strategy using a lottery reward system for perfect attendance.
• Targeted intervention in the dietary department of a 426-bed medical center.
• Statistical analysis using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for significance at the 0.05 level.

Main Results:

• The absenteeism rate decreased from 2.46% to 2.03% following the intervention.
• The observed reduction in absenteeism was not statistically significant at the 0.05 significance level.
• Despite non-significance, the decline indicated potential monetary savings from an administrative perspective.

Conclusions:

• Gamification, specifically a lottery reward system, showed a trend towards reducing absenteeism in a healthcare setting.
• While not statistically significant, the observed decrease in absenteeism warrants consideration for its potential administrative and financial benefits.
• Further research may be needed to explore optimal gamification strategies for sustained behavioral change in healthcare employees.