Rewards and Recognition in Employee Motivation

Reward and recognition are usually regarded as synonyms. They are, however, quite distinct and represent a fundamental duality in human motivation. Despite the overwhelming theoretical and research support for this duality, it continues to be ignored in the actual practice of designing and implementing employee motivation initiatives. Consequently, motivation programs are ineffective and may even erode employees’ ability to engage with their work. More important is the adverse impact on the ability to understand and learn about human motivation. Only when recognition and reward are treated as two distinct phenomena will the effectiveness of employee motivation initiatives be improved. This article clarifies the differences between the two distinct subsystems of human motivation and describes the different strategic role played by each subsystem. Specific recommendations for the design and implementation of employee motivation programs, given the recognition-reward distinction, are discussed.