Inspired-Leadership & Big-Vision Entrepreneur Series
CAN YOU BUY AN EMPLOYEE'S MOTIVATION OR MORALE?

Consider this the next time you review your approach to employee motivation and incentive programs:

"Despite decades of widespread reliance on pay-for-performance schemes, I know of no controlled study demonstrating that rewards improve the quality of workplace performance on a long-term basis," Alfie Kohn, an expert on human behavior, education and social theory, whose books have become required reading for their information and insights into motivation and compensation.

In addition to the dozens of studies that have shown that monetary rewards do not lead to higher long-term motivation and performance, what about the fact employees are paid an agreed upon salary in exchange for their performance of specific duties? I'd suggest that the paycheck (and the rest of the total compensation package) is a central part of an employee’s financial incentive package — or at very least constitutes an agreement to provide a baseline level of services, at a minimum level of excellence and reliability, in exchange for compensation.

The idea that an employee is paid to perform a service and fulfill a responsibility, and then needs to be paid more money to carry out the responsibility to an acceptable degree, borders on the ridiculous. The assumption here, of course, is that the pay is fair, the responsibilities have not expanded outside of the original agreement, and the workplace is not inhospitable or dehumanizing.

With those assumptions verified, and fair and respectful employment conditions in place, financial bribes shouldn't be needed to produce excellent work. Indeed, such approaches can — and have — back-fired. Think of the "dot-com" era, where the total focus became who could offer the highest pay, and just about everything else (including loyalty, skillfulness, sustainability, etc.) plummeted.

On the employer’s side, those same surveys suggest that you can't gloss over or "balance out" unacceptable or unpleasant workplace norms with a dollar figure, at least not for a sustainable period of time. This practice might create a backlash for employer when the core-level problems — which are creating the low morale, motivation or performance level — rear their ugly heads in new ways. Will the plan then be to increase the dollar figure once again as morale sinks even further? Again, not a sustainable gameplan (or a reasonable one, frankly).

TIP:

Use this article as a dialogue-starter for your team. Allow plenty of time to discuss, listen to, debate and advocate for differing perspectives and solutions about what creates the most balanced, and motivating, work environment, including both tangible and intangible factors.

Copyright, Jamie S. Walters, Ivy Sea, Inc. Want to reprint this article? Contact us for single-reprint permission, or become a VIP member to access a wealth of VIP-only resources.

Ready to transcend old limits and step into new realms of vision and creativity? Ivy Sea Founder Jamie Walters and Ivy Sea collaborators work with clients to help them to understand, clarify, and articulate their own "transcendent" vision and values; and then integrate those values and insights into their entrepreneurial or livelihood endeavors, leadership styles, and organizational transformation efforts.

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