Non cash incentives and motivation in the workplace
When you ask employees what they'd rather have, cash or a gift, many times they will say, "Oh, just give me the money." However, this is not always the case. A survey of 1000 adults working for Fortune 500 organizations revealed that salary and bonuses are not the key factors to job satisfaction. The people who conducted this survey found that these 1000 individuals placed greater value on benefits that impact their overall quality of life. (Turner, 2000). Why the discrepancy between these two viewpoints? I think it was very well put by Nigel Cover when he said "The heaven of each is but what each desires." There will always be differences of opinion in whether non-cash or cash incentives are the most desirable and even the most motivating. There are four major types of compensation. These are pay, benefits, learning and development opportunities and work environment. The former two are cash based incentives. In this report I will be focusing on non-cash incentives!. I will be talking mainly about rewards and recognition, employee empowerment, and workplace amenities. These types of incentives are relational in nature. They enhance the value of cash incentives. Before getting into a discussion on the three afo
It is obvious to me after this research that cash is an important factor, however to elicit additional, desired behaviors, non-cash is necessary. These incentives don't have to be costly. They can range form simply saying thankyou, to the more extreme addition of a gym in the workplace. As stated earlier, these types of incentives are relational in nature. They enhance the value of cash incentives. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Employee appreciation doesn't have to be complicated or expensive", states Karen Rubin. The key to recognition programs is to be timely, creative and consistent. (Sunoo, 1999) Studies have shown that what tends to motivate employees to put forth their best effort and to perform at higher levels are praise and recognition. (Nelson, 2000). Another survey showed that a handwritten note from a manager was the form of feed back that meant the most to employees. (Sunoo, 1999). Making a big deal over individual achievements can go a long way in lifting morale. Also, recognition programs are a statement about what is of value to an organization. Public recognition is often important because not only does it put an employee in the spotlight, it also relays a message to other employees about the type of performance that gets noticed in an organization. Recognition is even more motivating when employees know how the performance effects the organization's bottom line. "Give peo! London, Manuel. (1993, March). Relationships Between Career Motivation, Empowerment and Support for Career Development. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. P55 Recognition and work place amenities both touch upon the Relatedness needs in Alderfer's, Existence, Relatedness, and Growth theory. Recognition and rewards add to a worker's self esteem, which is a prerequisite to having pride in one's work. The work place amenities provide increased social interaction, by making employees workspaces smaller, and closer together. It also provides increased socialization by placing employees in recreational situations in which they may not normally be in with fellow employees. Therefore these two types of incentives can provide employees with satisfaction of their relatedness needs. Now that these three categories of non-cash incentives have been explained I would like to discuss how an employer could potentially incorporate them into existing motivational theories to motivate their employees. Some of these motivational theories are Herzberg's Two-factor theory, ERG theory, and The Job Characteristics Model. Also, workplace amenities lead to a reduction of stress. They provide social companionship, which is "spending time with others in leisure and recreational activities". They also provide Instrumental support, which consists of material resources and needed services. Child care, a concierge and some of the other amenities definitely fit under this category. Support buffers the effects of stress. Also as employees stated, Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said that a gym would decrease stress and improve their quality of time spent on the job. In my personal experiences, I have found that simple recognition is the most effective incentive for me. At my current job, managers simply say thankyou after you have finished a shift, or if you have gone out of your way to do something helpful. They also write us little notes. We also have a board in the back room where we can recognize fellow employees. I know that all of these factors have kept me at my current job. They have also made it a pleasant place to work and have motivated me to do a better job than I might have otherwise done. This is because I know I am being appreciated and I also know that they are paying attention to what I do. If I was a manager I think I would have a program very similar to this one. Nelson, Bob. (2000, November). Top 10 Ironies of Employee Motivation Progr
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Approximate Word count = 2831
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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