Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Employee recognition and work motivation

Employee recognition and work motivation:
What is the impact of employee recognition on work motivation?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Figure 1. Unmotivated employee resigning Case Study: Jessica is a talented software developer at a well established technology company. Despite her skills and dedication, Jessica has been struggling with low motivation and has contemplated leaving. She often feels that her efforts go unnoticed and hasn’t received feedback on a particularly difficult project she has been working on.

• Employee recognition is a form of extrinsic motivation used within workplaces and organisations.
• When successfully operationalised, it can increase an individuals motivation, enhance their contribution to the organisation and minimise employees leaving (see Figure 1).
• Improving retention is a key goal for organisations to reduce turnover costs, protect intellectual property and remain competitive in an increasingly complex environment.

Focus questions: What is recognition and how does it work? Can it change employees' behaviour at work? How can you motivate an employee to want to work harder? Why do some employees respond to recognition differently? Can't I just provide my employees with some perks?

What is employee recognition?

• Employee recognition is a form of extrinsic motivation, or environmental incentive applied to increase an individual's level of motivation within an organisation (Reeve, 2018).
• Recognition can be formal, informal, monetary or non-monetary. It is a symbolic reward and often used as a ‘low cost’ alternative to cash (Long and Shields, 2010).
• Broadly, recognition works because of the positive emotion it elicits. Dopamine is released, generating positive feelings such as hope and enthusiasm which energises and shapes behaviour as it signals the opportunity for personal gain (Reeve, 2018).

Increasing desirable behaviour

Figure 2. Employee being rewarded with cash bonuses

Changing employee behaviour

• Positive recognition and feedback is utilised as a positive reinforcer to encourage improved performance amongst individuals (Susanto et al., 2021). It is a common strategy to increase the future probability of desired behaviour, such as increased productivity and working hard (Reeve, 2018).

Theories

• The mechanism, operant conditioning and underpinning theory of this was developed by B.F Skinner, Reinforcement Theory of Motivation (Gordan & Krishanan, 2014). It postulates that behaviour is a function of its consequences, and that behaviour can be shaped through reward and punishment. Recognition, in the form of verbal or monetary rewards act as an extrinsic motivator.

Organisational application

• Studies have found a positive relationship between rewards and work motivation, but lack of positive relationship between reward and job satisfaction highlighting there are additional factors that need to be considered when seeking to motivate employees beyond behavioural changes (Akafo and Boateng, 2015).
• Examples in the workplace include bonus systems (see Figure 2), spontaneous praise, employee of the month programs and sales commission structures.

Test yourself! Quiz 1. Which of the following forms of recognition is a positive reinforcement? Cash bonus Fine Demotion Revoking of privileges

Enhancing employees intrinsic motivation

Figure 3. Intrinsically motivated employees

What is intrinsic motivation?

• Employee recognition can be a powerful way to enhance employees intrinsic motivation by meeting their core psychological need for competence. Deci and Ryan (2000) state that positive feedback which fosters perceived competence, will enhance intrinsic motivation.

Theories

• Self determination theory identifies three core psychological needs that need to be met in order to achieve the highest level of intrinsic motivation - competence, autonomy and relatedness (Reeve, 2018).

Organisational application

• The more intrinsically motivated an individual is, the more productive they will be in terms of learning, performance and achievement. It is the highest level of motivation that an organisation could hope to achieve from their employees (Ryan and Deci, 2000) (See Figure 3).

Test yourself! Quiz 2. Which of the following rewards would enhance an employee's intrinsic motivation? An annual, programmed pay rise Feedback on how well they handled a difficult work matter Free car parking Chocolate cake in the staff tea room

Increasing self-belief and confidence to enhance motivation and engagement

Connecting at an individual level

• Recognition can help improve employees beliefs, values and self-efficacy, leading to increased motivation and engagement in the workplace.

Theories

• Vroom's Expectancy Theory holds that a person’s work choice and motivation are based on their beliefs that their actions will result in a desired outcome. There are three components - Expectancy, Instrumentality and Valence (Scweiki et al., 2015). Scweiki et al., (2015) postulate that recognition and acknowledgment for one's daily strong performance efforts will lead to trust and belief that increases motivation.

Organisational application

• Developing and nurturing self-efficacy (See Figure 4) in employees will build belief and can motivate employees to cope with difficult situations and persevere (Reeve, 2018).

Test yourself! Quiz 3. Which of the following statements would boost self-efficacy? Your attention detail is one your strongest qualities I can’t believe you missed the deadline again You did a terrible job managing that caseload Jane works a lot harder than you

Challenges to be aware of when providing recognition to your people

• Providing recognition needs to be carefully considered. Too much or poorly communicated can change the motivating effect from adding intrinsic motivation to reducing it. Recognition needs to be carefully dispensed in order to avoid the hidden cost of undermining people's intrinsic motivation (Reeve, 2018).
• Cognitive evaluation theory helps explain this phenomenon through the shift of perceived locus of causality. Too much positive feedback can decrease intrinsic motivation through the employee becoming dependent on it. Too much negative feedback can threaten competence and a reduction in intrinsic motivation (Deci, 1972)
• In addition, studies have found that extrinsic motivators, such as monetary rewards (See Figure 5) can in fact undermine people's motivation and emphasises the need for a sophisticated and  broader approach to motivating employees (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
• Popular employee recognition or incentive programs, such as Perkbox, can be reductionist and might miss the mark, despite their appeal to management (Hancock, 2022)

Conclusion

• Employee recognition is one of the most effective strategies for promoting and enhancing employee motivations levels within an organisation.
• Changing employee behaviour through traditional operant conditioning methods is still effective, but misses the psychological needs.
• Correctly applied, recognition can meet all three core psychological needs.
• Not all individuals value or perceive rewards and recognition the same way, and you will need to individualise your program.
• Employees are human. If you want them to work hard for your organisation, you will need to support their psychological needs.
• Ultimately, motivation shouldn't be seen as a strategy or management task - motivation happens naturally if individuals are being seen, heard and validated during the natural course of running your business.

Case Study: Jessica’s manager, Steve, has just heard from her colleagues that she has contemplated leaving. Steve is devastated as he really values Jessica and frankly, can’t afford to lose her. Steve seeks advice from an organisational psychologist and makes some changes. Steve implements weekly feedback sessions to support Jessica on the complex project. Steve also starts letting Jessica know when she has done a good job and expresses sincere appreciation for her contribution as well as publicly acknowledging this at team meetings.

See also

• Employee motivation (Wikipedia)
• Employee recognition (Wikipedia)
• Organisational change motivation (Book chapter, 2019)
• Workplace motivation (Book chapter, 2013)
• Workplace motivation and autonomy (Book chapter, 2015)

References

Akafo, V., & Boateng, P. A. (2015). Impact of Reward and Recognition on Job Satisfaction and Motivation. European Journal of Business and Management, 7(24), 112-124. https://doi.org/https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/106513702/234626762-libre.pdf?1697083221=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DImpact_of_Reward_and_Recognition_on_Job.pdf&Expires=1723535989&Signature=DtYzuS0oNS1GUBkaWaYVzHqUgJe7sXxjQPtThbfcEIwhS-uB8ye0Rmldo~BXNNRb6ncRzK7LQM5ZVxpnH0sLv08tKe4Ch2zKbAGQVUMcosi4~MXvIH2nbsqFciie8SnxF1LoUSZVZ83kxhdJdIyOs4QZO7XcuaOoFaT4PoYsWDPljhdJ~Sy53uhNi17s~CNLZIDjQD76y5d0QePpe4XrlsheeRk3SMPs1sFWrjwuZvYB25Rd1OtB8jAZlC3wn4ip7KbepC9yITxPLn5M1U4mcMy~KZqb4Q3HmWzzhc-7gTgwwHY8WekXuxDevPzm3PbtFsxOh3qOrYs7DPW3RUFqHA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

Deci, E. L. (1972). The effects of contingent and noncontingent rewards and controls on intrinsic motivation. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 8(2), 217-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(72)90047-5

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “What” and “Why” of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268. https://doi.org/https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/32080529/Deci___Ryan_%282000%29.pdf20131015-29775-1cnk2dt-libre-libre.pdf?1381803120=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DHuman_Needs_and_the_Self_Determination_o.pdf&Expires=1723599427&Signature=C9W8~xkOo0qV~AOLM2QNWYnn724p3rUKVG8~XhOxTF2YCOtC4CoZeHJwCeIV-iKbgQJwkAgHCMErgU4d73iYxTxWKa1zkGd7K~YNmtVu1VKqohnqn0MeD62k1u~~p~alJeK5RiYVBysuPWnuPsTuLqsMR4pX9DDN3faTswZXzqiUN5QmW7lkebeZmceHSQOxugGYXyuoGH13aTkgaoAfQ34Sh3-QGSuQykQQfTsc5zCurtEgtZ3RAf0DDDmNUD5z9PBTXx1maf~LSnXAwKB1HT~t83puoz94X9JmL2HJVVG3QQQYsJqzlLmbE2ZoWK66J~vn6LNS0rhH1d7DfdZFDw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

Gordan, M., & Krishanan, I. A. (2014). A review of BF Skinner’s ‘Reinforcement Theory of Motivation. International journal of Research in Education Methodology,5(3), 680-688. https://doi.org/https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/56471035/A_Review_of_B._F._Skinners_Reinforcement_Theory_of_Motivation-libre.pdf?1525241642=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DA_Review_of_B_F_Skinners_Reinforcement_T.pdf&Expires=1723605894&Signature=Pd1TkzuDuoyH0EP6xGzdVqb1V5J5Rxh0lHXi91N8L5O2RRg~I7HBOSMRQIQlmhPCLyMw~lIDnpB0F8lz5j5n57Qez6tsAIMHLv41NPJTeiwp5XYhi2Acryr5oW8WPCP~HXnKfpHe5jYVrXryXQWV~0TR~CGLsIQBsdZB-OKBcm3yLtr4m9Y9Mn88tGfzZtNcWA4AwMRkKaLFwplwZUYVR2M3DncR9uKd6OdVMaWSo4ZtrZVtPtvBeqDg4C34T5GSLGFTOGWmVNzeG-KB4FMzxMVLmRRIHFKbOiGv8RgYR4CRa9sj6Thvlr8gYL4uudno2wRAxh1uK70ko31HOUVukQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

Hancock, P. (2024). Employee recognition programmes: An immanent critique. Organization, 31(2), 381-401. https://doi.org/10.1177/13505084221098244

Long, R. J., & Shields, J. L. (2010). From pay to praise? Non-cash employee recognition in Canadian and Australian firms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(8), 1145-1172. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2010.483840

Reeve, J.M. (2018). Understanding Motivation and Emotion (7th ed.). Wiley.

Shweiki, E., Martin, N. D., Beekley, A. C., Jenoff, J. S., Koenig, G. J., Kaulback, K. R., Lindenbaum, G. A., Patel, P. H., Rosen, M. M., Weinstein, M. S., Zubair, M. H., & Cohen, M. J. (2015). Applying Expectancy Theory to residency training: proposing opportunities to understand resident motivation and enhance residency training. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 6, 339-346. https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S76587</

Susanto, S., Lim, B., Linda, T., Tarigan, S. A., & Wijaya, E. (2021). Antecedents Employee Performance: A Perspective Reinforcement Theory. Journal of Industrial Engineering & Management Research, 2(4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.7777/jiemar.v2i4</

External links

• AHRI quarterly Australian work outlook - March quarter 2024 (Australian HR Institute)
• An introductory guide to employee recognition (Perkbox)
• Employers’ experiences with retention issues (Australian Government)
• Feeling seen, heard, and understood in the workplace, leaders - are you listening or re-loading? (Psychology Today)
• How to develop an effective employee retention strategy guide (Xero)
• Operant Conditioning: what it is and its usefulness in the workplace (Brad Sugars.com)
• The future of work - what workers want: Winning the war for talent (PricewaterhouseCoopers)