Non-Monetary Rewards in The Workplace

“Money cannot buy you happiness”, is what my grandmother used to say to me when I was younger. After hearing these words over and over I still entered the workplace, as a young adult, with only one thing on my mind – money. Always striving for the best, working long hours, weekends, and getting myself involved with special projects. It wasn’t until recently that I realized how many other things in life should be valuable to us and that we usually take them for granted. Self-fulfillment, personal development, and growth are the alternatives to monetary rewards in the workplace.

            I have met many supervisors, managers, and directors in my professional career so far. They all have similarities in management styles; yet differ due to the lack of or incomplete soft skills. Every year, unless a person receives a promotion, we all wait for the merit increase. It’s always based on individual performance but how can one assess another’s performance based on the third parties evaluation? Usually, it leaves many discouraged or betrayed when their increases are not what they had expected. Naturally it causes issues within departments, especially between the immediate supervisors and the staffers, which impacts the productivity and quality of work. Tardiness and missed days become more frequent affecting everyone’s workload. The group may also see a high turnaround due to the circumstances. Employees cannot be taken for granted or mistreated. Poor management skills can have a bad effect on many people within the organization.

            In order to create a stable and comfortable working environment, management has to find other ways of rewarding their employees. Supervisors don’t have much control over pay increases anyway, so considering non-monetary rewards in the workplace should be the organizations’ top priority. Implementing new ideas, especially if they come from the employees, helps management in keeping their subordinates satisfied. People don’t necessarily look for more money in their paychecks. Personal development is one of the biggest aspects of an individual’s career. Everyone wants to get to a certain point in both his and her personal and professional lives, having the freedom of choice, in case of a termination or a career change. The ability to grow within an organization; setting up a long-term plan and following it through by completing short-term goals. Self-fulfillment is a great feeling of completion in each of our lives. Management that can help individuals get to that point is considered a successful one. Companies that can keep a low annual turnover ratio will have more success with their projects and better customer service results. They will also save money on hiring and training new people.

Providing more ways to improve resumes and make people more valuable is another way of creating a positive attitude. Building relationships amongst staffers and middle management assists in opening a line of free communication. In case of an issue, they will seek help in each other resulting in a faster solution to the problem. This would also help in building the person’s confidence ultimately developing their public speaking and/or presentational skills. The quality and productivity levels automatically go up.  Most people spend the bulk of their time at work; co-workers become friends, bonding with each other. Building communities at work instead of the conventional departments will assist everyone in the day-to-day work. Gifts are a great way to make people feel better. A simple birthday cake can put a smile on someone’s face or a luncheon with friends at work. Depending on a profession, there are many ways to reward your employees without hurting the budget. Young adults, many times, look for reference letters from distinguished members of the organization. Proof of their experiences and newly acquired skills comes in handy when applying for new jobs. Many people often seek educational opportunities. Having your company pay for school provides a sense of job security and an encouragement to do more. Knowing that they are worth something to the company makes employees work harder and provide better results.

      In general, it seems that everyone is striving for money. However, the reality is that people need to feel important and recognized. They spend time on tasks in order to satisfy the company’s needs, sacrificing their personal lives and affecting their families. Unless hard work and dedication is rewarded, in any way or shape, then the employees will feel discouraged and not wanted. Many people leave their jobs in search for something better, not realizing what their personal needs and desires really are.