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Small signals of appreciation have a decisive influence on the output and quality of the work of employees. A field experiment of KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) economist Petra Nieken and two colleagues revealed that a combination of performance-oriented piece wage and motivating words increases the performance by 20% and reduces the error rate by 40%.
"Our results are relevant to entrepreneurial practice," Nieken emphasizes. She holds the Chair for Human Resources Management of KIT's Institute of Management. How can staff members be motivated? Theory lists two instruments: Financial incentives, such as bonuses or piece wages, and the capability of executives to motivate their staff members. The question whether and how these two instruments complement, strengthen or weaken each other, however, is not clearly answered by theory. That is why this question was in the focus of the study performed at Bonn University.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Snow on Thursday October 22 2015, @04:19PM
I used to really like my job. I got (and still get) paid pretty decent. I ran/run the systems for one of our areas of business. Everything from the back end servers, to interfacing into SAP, to the front end software. I felt a real ownership of the environment and it was like my baby. I would improve things, and make things better just because I could. I would dig deep into problems, and work them through to completion. I actually gave a shit.
Now, I don't. I got a 'team lead' who is more like a Team Boss who doesn't like to actually solve problems, but rather dumps them onto me. They get to take the credit when things go well, and then if things so wrong, it's my fault (because I developed, tested and deployed everything). So, now, I don't care anymore. If I'm not on call, don't fucking call me because my work phone is turned off. I don't care if the entire place is gong up in flames - call the useless team lead.
Even though I no longer give a shit, every new fix, every new deploy plan, everything that actually requires skill, is figured out by me. I then document it so the rest of the team can fix it next time. I'm the only person that actually knows how the back end software works (and believe me, I have spent hours and hours trying to train the other members). I'm the only member of the team that can actually use a command line to do something useful.
So, now I'm working on getting a MCSA SQL certification with the hope that I'll land another job. I'm pretty bitter, and the money is barely a factor in that. I'm bitter because there is no benefit from actually dong a great job. Instead, I sit around until I am asked/told to do something, and then I will do only what I was told. There is no reason to be proactive anymore.
The worst part of this is that it spills over into my personal life. I used to have passion for my job, now it's a drag. I sometimes feel like my life is missing something. I think its missing passion. I've started backpack camping, and I'm hoping that can be my new passion.
I think that my employer screwed up. If I got even a little appreciation and recognition, my passion would probably still be my job, and as a result I would produce better (and more) work. Now I waste my days here.