Why use incentives
In class today we asked the question, Why use incentives? Some felt that incentives should not be needed if the employees we responsible. It was suggested that if these were quality employees they would not need added benefits to get them to produce quality products at a good rate. These benefits are, in this sense, bribes.
I do not believe they are bribes. They are simply a means to express an employer's appreciation. If you consistantly improve your work and do quality work, you should be compensated, and if you're not, you may not feel appreciated which could lead you to think, Why try hard at all?
This does not mean that the person is lazy or has poor work ethics, it simply means that after a while, even good employees will get sick of watching employees who slack off receive the same benefits as them.
These incentives benefit the employer more than the employees. If there are workers who produce a quality product the employer will want them to stay there and will show appreciation for their work in order to keep them from finding a company who will.
The idea that these benefits are simply nothing more than bribes to get unmotivated workers to produce at their optimal level comes from lack of experience in this field. When you work in a business you are able to see how these incentives actually benefit the company and that the employees really do appreciate them.
I have worked at two different insurance companies as an intern. The first company I worked at offered less benefits than the second, however, it was a better company in general. It was more stable and less likely to have major lay-offs. On the other hand, the second company was on its way to a merger with two other companies which would result in mass lay-offs. However, the employees were still very pleased with their work environment due to the benefits they were receiving. To show their appreciation for our hardwork to ensure the merger would go smoothly, the administrators held multiple company cookouts over the summer. These greatly improved company morale, especially after the first series or lay-offs.
So, even though the first company was much more stable and no one was in immediate danger of losing their job, the employees at the other company were happier with their work environment.
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Comments
Posted by: Danny Pho
Posted on: October 12, 2005 12:31 AM
I completely agree with you about how incentives are not bribes. I would love to say that everyone would work at their optimal level without the need for a reward but that is just not human nature. People need things to look forward to. Incentives are a great way to motivate the employees to reach a certain goal. The employees are not being bribed into doing something because they are already expected to reach a certain goal or work at a certain level. The incentive is just a way to show appreciation for the work they have done.
Posted by: Danny Pho
Posted on: October 12, 2005 12:31 AM
I completely agree with you about how incentives are not bribes. I would love to say that everyone would work at their optimal level without the need for a reward but that is just not human nature. People need things to look forward to. Incentives are a great way to motivate the employees to reach a certain goal. The employees are not being bribed into doing something because they are already expected to reach a certain goal or work at a certain level. The incentive is just a way to show appreciation for the work they have done.
Posted by: Shawn White
Posted on: November 2, 2005 12:14 PM
I think incentives are great motivators in the workplace. I agree with your ideas on incentives and believe they should be used often. At work I found even the smallest incentives a great motivator. It is important for people to have goals, and incentives force employees to have a goal. Many set no goals for themselves, because they are not self-motivated. Incentives are an external force that will start to drive unmotivated employees.
Posted by: Raffi Pounardjian
Posted on: November 6, 2005 03:32 PM
Alison, you are right about incentives being good motivators for employees. I think that the reason for this is best described by the movie “Office Space” where the main character explains why he has been not working hard lately. He says that if he works his hardest and Initech makes more money, he does not see any of the money. Therefore, he works just hard enough so that he does not get fired and so that he does not get bothered by his bosses. I believe that this man displays how most people feel about a job that does not reward them for hard work. This is probably the reason that communism failed; people had an incentive to work, but no incentive to work hard.
Posted by: Raffi Pounardjian
Posted on: November 6, 2005 09:25 PM
Alison, you are right about incentives being good motivators for employees. I think that the reason for this is best described by the movie “Office Space” where the main character explains why he has been not working hard lately. He says that if he works his hardest and Initech makes more money, he does not see any of that money. Therefore, he works just hard enough so that he does not get fired and so that he does not get bothered by his bosses. I believe that this man displays how most people feel about a job that does not reward them for hard work. This is probably the reason that communism failed; people had an incentive to work, but no incentive to work hard.