The Perfect Rewards and Incentives Program
2. If the program is designed to motivate a task participants have a high interest in, overjustification can become an issue. Reward thresholds that are too hard to reach or too few in number can feel exclusionary or demotivating, and can even damage participants' self-esteem and their faith in their abilities. (Think of that scene from "Glengarry Glen Ross" with Alec Baldwin screaming: "The leads are weak? You're weak!") On the other hand, rewards that are too easy to reach can drastically drop motivation and cause once-enjoyed tasks to become dreaded and commoditized (this is the heart of "overjustification," and was the primary finding of the Leper study). You need to find that happy middle of rewards planning right between too easy and too hard. Goals that are challenging, yet not impossible. Rewards that are plentiful, yet still exclusive. Competition that pushes the limits of performance, yet doesn't demoralize those who fail. It can be a tough balance to strike, and is worth discussing with your client when planning a program.