Job recognition seems to be an important motivating factor for employees in Middle East. A study conducted by Byat.com concluded that in this region’s workplace the bigger barrier to employees’ productivity is the lack of job recognition. A high percentage of the respondents, 41% more exactly, confessed that their efforts at work are not appreciated enough and this affects the level of their productivity in a negative way.
Another aspect that has a bad influence over the employees’ productivity is the ambiguity of roles. For 31% of the respondents of the poll this is a big barrier to their professional development as their productivity is negatively affected.
Other important conclusions of the study of performance appraisals are:
- having no say in the decision making process stops 14% of the respondents from giving their best at work;
- 50% of the employees do not receive any feedback regarding their work - this is a serious problem which can lead to numerous misunderstandings and productivity losses;
- only 11% of the productivity poll participants are stopped from being productive because of the difficulty of finding a balance between work and personal life;
- only 6% of respondents felt that being understaffed was the biggest barrier to their productivity levels (regardless the fact that employees may have to work even harder to cover the human capital deficit).
An interesting conclusion of the study was a final question that asked respondents what would make them more productive. Unexpectedly, 40% stated that an increase in salary and benefits would “help them” while only 25% considered as important to receive recognition for their efforts and accomplishments. So, in the end, it is about the money or the job recognition?
I have to underline that the study was conducted for the Middle East. What about your region? What motivates you: money or appreciation of your work? Read the entire poll results here.
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Global consulting firm The Hay Group recently issued advice on things employers should AVOID, including this nugget:
“Reward only with cash: Many employees work in organizations for reasons other than money - and there are a number of ways to reward employees besides salary increases and bonuses. Recognizing and showing an appreciation for employee’s efforts in ways other than monetary compensation can go a long way.”
I agree. We do not advocate cash-based recognition programs, which neither maintain program consistency on a global scale nor ensure local participants feel motivated and involved in the organization. Additionally, people become habituated to cash no matter how much you give them, viewing it as an entitlement. A study finalized in August 2008 and recently highlighted in the New York Times found that in eight of nine tasks, the promise of a bigger bonus actually significantly decreased people’s performance.
Non-cash recognition programs save money by reducing manual intervention and eliminating the paper chase while also creating a positive work environment where employees see that best practices, strong ethics and exceptional performance are recognized and rewarded consistently, openly and fairly – an environment that encourages loyalty, commitment and honesty of effort. It is this kind of environment that drives greater morale and productivity when company leaders need it most.
More on this topic of recognition and rewards is available on my blog here: http://globoforce.blogspot.com/search/label/recognition%20in%20an%20ailing%20economy?updated-max=2009-01-21T05%3A31%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=20