Nudging in the workplace: moving beyond the traditional management toolbox

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to establish how nudging can be used to influence workplace behaviour: what behaviours at work nudges are targeted at, what types of nudges are used and what are the factors that affect effectiveness of nudges applied in the workplace, i.e. is nudging in the workplace any different than nudging people’s domestic and private lives. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic literature review has been conducted in line with the PRISMA guidelines using Web of Science and Scopus databases. Findings: When nudges are implemented in the corporate context they are frequently used to: improve employees’ health and wellbeing, improve employees’ communication and performance, ensure safety culture at work, and promote pro-environmental behaviours. The following nudges are discussed as the most promising for managerial applications: descriptive social norms to encourage employees to knowledge sharing and re-use, reminders - to reduce sedentary behaviour in the workplace or ensure safety culture at work, and defaults in corporate conservation programmes. Starting dispositions of individuals (employees), situational factors and cultural variations are identified as the three factors affecting the effectiveness of nudges in a workplace. Originality/value: The paper provides a literature review which evaluates the state of knowledge on nudging in the workplace, indicates management implications when and how nudges can be applied to influence work behaviour and outlines promising avenues for future research.