Employee Profiles and Preferences towards IoT-enabled Gamification for Energy Conservation

IoT-enabled gamification serves as a strategic tool for fostering long-term energy conservation within multicultural corporate environments. By leveraging personalized behavioral interventions, organizations can move beyond generic sustainability initiatives to address individual employee motivations. The core thesis posits that mapping specific gamification mechanics to distinct user profiles—categorized via the HEXAD framework—significantly enhances engagement and the likelihood of sustained behavioral change regarding energy consumption.

Research conducted across three European countries involving 99 participants reveals that Achievers and Philanthropists represent the most prevalent user types in the workplace. Across these demographics, progression, levels, and points consistently emerge as the most effective game elements for driving participation. These findings support the development of a modular, rule-based framework that utilizes real-time IoT data to deliver tailored feedback. By aligning energy-saving recommendations with the psychological drivers of specific user types, the proposed system aims to optimize the impact of sustainability interventions.

The scope of this initiative encompasses a diverse professional landscape, focusing on the intersection of behavioral psychology and smart building technology. While current insights rely on validated survey instruments and the HEXAD scale, the project is transitioning toward longitudinal pilot testing. Future efforts will prioritize real-world experimentation in IoT-enabled facilities to move beyond self-reported preferences and empirically confirm the effectiveness of these personalized gamification strategies in reducing actual energy usage. This approach establishes a scalable model for integrating digital engagement tools into corporate sustainability programs.