Amazon is expanding an employee gamification program that aims to make warehouse work less monotonous and encourage productivity – a move that has potential implications for the promotional products industry, not least of all because branded merchandise is part of the initiative.

As reported by The Information and then other media outlets, Amazon now plans to implement its FC Games program in its fulfillment centers in at least 20 U.S. states. The initiative includes using as many as six arcade-like micro-games to fuel faster completion of tasks in a fun way.

The program, which employees can participate in on a voluntary basis, has been in use since at least 2019 but is now set to roll out to more warehouses. Games reportedly include MissionRacer, which sees a car fly around a track in time with the work of a picking employee who’s sorting products into boxes, according to a report from The Washington Post.

“Another of Amazon’s mini-games is called Tamazilla, a play on the popular Bandai digital pet product Tamagotchi, while others are more competitive and pit employees’ scores against workers at other warehouses around the country,” The Verge reported.

Employees can reportedly use rewards earned on FC Games to get virtual pets, which The Information said includes digital penguins and dinosaurs. Especially notable for promo, employees have also used their game performance to obtain “swag bucks,” a currency internal to Amazon that workers can exchange for branded merchandise that includes T-shirts and other small items, like water bottles.

Exclusive: @amazon is expanding a program to ‘gamify’ its warehouse work, where workers earn digital currency by playing games during shiftshttps://t.co/jzCLWRMju1

— The Information (@theinformation) March 15, 2021

“Employees have told us they enjoy having the option to join in these workstation games, and we’re excited to be taking their feedback and expanding the program to even more buildings throughout our network,” Kent Hollenbeck, an Amazon spokesperson, told The Information. “Even with this expansion, the program remains completely optional for employees; they can switch in or out of different games depending on their preference, can play anonymously, or not play at all – the choice is theirs.”

Amazon isn’t the first or only company using tech-driven gamification strategies. That’s been happening for a variety of purposes, from skills training to workplace safety to, yes, productivity enhancement, across different industries in both production and corporate settings. Still, Amazon is an unequivocal trendsetter, and its increased use of gamification could bellwether that such tactics could come into greater use in workplaces in the years ahead, particularly once gaming-mad millennials and Gen Zers dominate the workforce.

In that, there’s possible opportunity for promotional products distributors. As evidenced by Amazon’s “swag bucks,” merch can serve as a worthwhile, tangible reward for high performance in workplace gamification initiatives – with such performance meaning, of course, that the employee has improved at something, be it learning a new skill, coming up with a creative solution or increasing productivity. Furthermore, promo companies can explore options for introducing gamification, potentially with swag awards, in their own workplaces.

Sure, things can go wrong with gamification if it’s not done right. And, there are definitely critics who see productivity-focused gamification as signs of a dystopian future in which employees are compelled to labor ever harder and faster under an oppressive system that tracks them at every second.

Regardless, there’s a reasonable chance that gamification in the workplace will be on the rise. Forward-thinking promo pros should consider exploring opportunities in the niche.