As the saying goes, ‘Money makes the world go round’; although some may not like to admit it this sentiment is very true in today’s society. Money is in high demand but short supply, so when an employee makes an effort and gives his or her all for the company they expect more than a ‘well done’.
Praising an employee’s work is a great way to motivate them and perhaps even win their loyalty, but it is not a suitable motivational technique. Although in theory people may say that they would rather be valued and given recognition or praise, in practice the majority would quickly opt for a pay rise or bonus in exchange for a few words of praise. There are many people in different professions all around the world who don’t expect or wait to be thanked for the service that they provide, instead some public service employees get abused by customers and passengers. People working in customer service jobs spend most of the day listening to complaints, rarely receiving a ‘thank you’, so do you really think that they want you to tell them that they did a good job or would they rather receive a bonus or hourly rise? Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself the same question – for most the answer is quite straight forward. When you have a long day of people complaining you want to receive something for it, something worthwhile that actually means something. A bonus may mean that they can purchase a new pair of shoes or a jacket which will cheer them up and show them that you appreciate their hard work. This may cause them to work harder and hold their job and employer in a higher regard.
Money motivates and this is well known in the field of sales, where sales people earn monetary bonuses for each selling goal that they reach. This means that they are rewarded for making the effort to sell more goods. They may get a bonus for selling a hundred different products, with another bonus after they have sold an additional fifty. Sales is a very competitive market and sales people from the same firm often compete against each other in order to earn bonuses each month or year.
The current recessions and increase of living expenses can make it difficult for employees to find the motivation to work for a company who are not noticing or rewarding their efforts as they feel fit. Even people who really enjoy what they do as a profession wouldn’t do it for free, because everyone needs a place to live and food to eat. The vast majority of the world’s population would not work for free, with many people stating that they wouldn’t take a job which paid poorly, even if it was something that they loved to do and had a real passion for. This shows that money plays a vital role when it comes to people choosing their occupation and because of this employee’s feel that they should be rewarded for the extra effort and hours that they spend working for a company.
Employers must realise that life isn’t always a bed of roses and living expenses can quickly rise above what people can comfortably pay. Taking this into account it is important to show employees that you are there to take care of them, if they take care of you and your company. Everyone wants to feel valued and treating each employee as an individual with needs and wants is an important way to make them feel appreciated. Acknowledge their efforts and reward them suitably to ensure that your employees are motivated to put extra effort into their day job. This isn’t to say that money should be the sole way that you show your employees your appreciation because everyone likes to be told that they have done a good job or are one of the hardest working employees in the office, so verbal or written recognition is always a great way to ensure that your employees are happy within their job role and helps to feed their ego.
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