Do Incentives Work?

No doubt most employees are happy (if not thrilled) to have jobs these days, especially in our industry. Long gone are the halcion days of huge bonuses based on stratospheric profit participations... but no one seems to be complaining too much about the loss of incentive income. Now that profits are flatlining in most markets, should companies adjust their incentive programs or stay the course? And, to what degree do incentives (cash or otherwise) drive employee performance in the first place? Before you try to answer these questions, check out out "Why Incentives Are Effective, Irresistible & Certain to Backfire", from the January issue of Fast Company. Another one worth checking out is "Punished By Rewards" by Alfie Kohn.