Page 60 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

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Reward and Recognition Programs Don’t Work

programs aren’t motivating anyone, removing the program is
likely to cause a decrease in morale. Employees get upset when
they don’t get what they feel they deserve—even if they didn’t
do anything to earn it. Depending on how long the program has
been in place and how much it costs, you may just want to leave
it intact—let people have their tube socks. Bottom line, if you’re
going to create such a program, make sure the reward is contin-
gent on performance.

Reason 13: Programs Reduce Creativity and
Risk Taking
When it comes to the possibility of winning a reward, most peo-
ple are risk-averse. They don’t want to risk losing because they
tried some new, clever approach that did not pan out. Tradi-
tional reward and recognition programs reinforce doing it by the
book—not experimentation. Thus, employees go with tried and
true approaches that have worked in the past. Such programs
may get people to work harder but discourage innovation, cre-
ativity, and risk taking—the very behaviors that actually make a
long-term difference in your organization.

Reason 14: Extrinsic Reinforcement Reduces
Intrinsic Motivation
Research dating back nearly forty years to the work of social
psychologist Edward Deci demonstrates that one’s intrinsic
motivation for a task decreases when it is reinforced with a mate-
rial reward such as money. Intrinsic motivation refers to activi-
ties that people find rewarding on their own. For most people,
these are best exemplified by hobbies such as playing a musi-
cal instrument, reading, writing poetry, and gardening. While
some people might find pulling weeds a chore, others enjoy it
immensely. Just like extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation
depends on the individual.