Rejuvenating the rewards typology: Qualitative insights into reward preferences

Abstract

Orientation: In order to drive desirable behaviour, employees need to feel valued. It is, therefore, important to identify which rewards motivate employees and satisfy their needs.Research purpose: The overarching aims of this study were to explore how South African employees feel rewarded at work and to develop a model depicting how rewards can be categorised.Motivation for the study: There is a dearth of qualitative research on reward preferences, especially on the psychological façade of this construct.Research approach/design and method: Using a phenomenological research approach and in-depth interviewing techniques, 47 South African employees participated in focus group sessions. To analyse the data, a deductive and constructionist thematic analysis was employed.Main findings: The rewards construct is perceived to be multidimensional. Rewards can be categorised into three main categories: (1) extrinsic financial rewards (consisting of the total remuneration package), (2) extrinsic non-financial rewards (inclusive of good relationships, learning and development opportunities, organisational culture, communication, recognition, the physical working environment, feedback and work-life balance) and intrinsic-psychological rewards (encapsulating autonomy, meaningful work, felt competence, task enjoyment and challenging work).Practical/managerial implications: Outdated reward strategies should be re-evaluated to include all three categories of rewards. This means that there should also be a more in-depth focus on intrinsic-psychological rewards in the workplace.Contribution/value-add: This study highlighted the importance of using extrinsic (financial and non-financial) as well as intrinsic-psychological rewards to motivate employees and satisfy their needs. The insights gained from this research study can be used by future researchers and practitioners to construct modernised rewards frameworks.

Personality characteristics, preferences for rewards and the propensity to choose an auditing job

“…Hence, SuppRew target internal factors, enhancing a sense of relatedness with the company (Akingbola and van den Berg, 2019). IntRew are means to design more interesting jobs that favour the inclusion of, for example, learning opportunities and challenging tasks (Victor and Hoole, 2021). Hence, we argue that intrinsic motivation should be positively related to a preference for support rewards (PreSuppRew) and a preference for intrinsic rewards (PreIntRew) as they have an internal nature.…”

“…In our framework, personality characteristics are posited to shape reward preferences, which in turn influence the decision to pursue an auditing job. The significance of rewards cannot be understated when evaluating prospective career paths (Victor and Hoole, 2021), especially in the auditing domain, because rewards play a pivotal role in driving motivation, shaping performance outcomes, enhancing job satisfaction and influencing turnover rates. This is particularly important in the auditing industry, which has high rates of turnover (Nouri and Parker, 2020), especially in large firms (Khavis and Krishnan, 2021).…”

Work Motivation Profiles of the Millennial Generation

“…• Requisition is manifested as behaviors that seek to obtain desired retributions, requesting them from the person in charge within the organization. Two items were employed for this variable: I personally ask my manager to assign me a role that suits my capabilities or interests, and I can convince my manager, not only with words but also with my performance, merits, and capabilities (Toro, 1983;Victor & Hoole, 2021).…”

The development and validation of the Rewards Desirability Inventory

“…The Rewards Desirability Inventory (RDI) was developed to measure preferences towards different types of rewards by asking participants to indicate how important each type is to them. Based on a literature review and the qualitative findings from phase 1 (Victor & Hoole, 2021), the researcher devised 372 items. After reviewing these items, 100 of the best items (underlying three dimensions, namely, financial rewards, non-financial rewards and intrinsic psychological rewards) were chosen to be retained for expert and layperson evaluation.…”