Understanding Incentives as Workplace Motivation

Workplace Motivation Driven by Incentives

Every person has a motivating factor that makes them go to work. Some people go to work for the paycheck or the benefits, others go to work for the social aspect or experience, these are incentives. Incentives are the most common motivating factor for people to complete tasks. This is also called, work motivation. Work motivation is defined as “A force that drives people to behave in a way that energizes, directs, and sustains their work behavior” (Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., & Shapiro, D. L., 2004). In contrast to the benefits of incentives, incentives are commonly counterproductive because they undermine the intrinsic motivation of an individual, this is the overjustification effect.

Motivation can be presented in two different ways, internally

This form of reward is in the form of VIP access, giving the employees power, promotions, or offering trips or getaways. These types of rewards give the employers something to look forward to, it also gives them a new exciting opportunity. Privileges and rewarding events fall into the esteem need of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This form of reward also falls into the Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, relating to motivators. The reward acts as a motivator where it gives people reinforcement for a job well done and interesting work or responsibility.

Rewards can have a positive influence on work motivation and performance. They contribute to fundamental human needs such as esteem or self-actualization, create a basis for communication amongst co-workers, and push employees to complete work related tasks. Rewards such as recognition, monetary payments, and privileges have many advantages and uses but also have some drawbacks. An example of a drawback of rewards is when the rewards reduces intrinsic motivation, this relates to the overjustification effect.

Overjustification