you can also just turn push notifications off for any app including duolingo, and like any app it asks up front whether you want them

i dont get the authors point on a gamified workplace

it really seems like they repeatedly just forget that the alternative to a gamified workplace is a non gamified workplace as opposed to no work

they complain about the focus on creativity as something useful or profitable, and seemingly see this focus as some all encompassing issue infecting every facet of life

ignoring that this is in the context of work, either an employer paying you to achieve a specific goal or you yourself trying to achieve a specific goal through apps like duolingo

the parts of their life being infected by this focus on productivity and profitability were parts that were already explicitly focused on those things, and would continue to be focused on those things without gamification

complaining about creativity not being seen as good unless its productive of profitsble is entirely misplaced, because its only happening within these settings that are already by definition focused on productivity or profitability

gamification of work can be effective and a good thing for workers, the issues arise when it increases stress rather than decreasing it, for instance by introducing serious repercussions for falling behind