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I left "a certain threshold" undefined on purpose, because it varies from person to person. The point is that the reward must be meaningful to the person being

I left "a certain threshold" undefined on purpose, because it varies from person to person. The point is that the reward must be meaningful to the person being rewarded, otherwise it is much worse than no reward; the person will become cynical, demoralized, and unmotivated. The main problem is conflicting valuations of the work in question, which holds true whether the the payment is money or recognition. Who is to define how much recognition is satisfactory? Take the Microsoft "ship it" award[1] as an example of a formal recognition plan, which failed. My evidence, like the evidence in this thread and the presentation, is just personal experience. [1] http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000070.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000070.html

gruseom 16y ago
My evidence, like the evidence in this thread and the presentation, is just personal experience. On the contrary, I was referring to the work of Dan Pink and others on the science of motivation, which was mentioned elsewhere in the thread. I don't usually discount personal experience but this is one area where the empirical findings are surprising. A pretty important one, too, considering the implications for good organizations and happy lives.