What is reward-based motivation? How can it improve my work performance?

Work. The day in and day out of workplace tasks can feel like a revolving door of never-ending to-do lists.

It is not surprising that at times you may find yourself less than motivated to perform at your highest potential.

So what do you do when your motivation at work slips?

Have you ever thought of rewarding yourself for getting things done? Believe it or not, this seemingly simple activity can be a great way to motivate yourself to be productive.

Reward-based motivation comes from the incentive theory of motivation.

Simply put, the incentive theory of motivation states that we do things in order to get a reward, stating that our behavior is motivated by our desire to be rewarded or to avoid negative consequences.

This idea was developed by psychologist B.F Skinner, who in the 1930s and 40s proposed in his book The Behavior of Organisms that human motivation was driven by the outside influences of punishments and rewards.

Through the years, many have built on his theory. However, the core has stayed the same.

Behaviorists like Skinner believe that humans are motivated to take action when there are outside factors pushing them to do so, either positive or negative.

Examples of Reward-Based Motivation at Work

• Negative motivation: One person will be motivated to finish a project a work so that they don't get in trouble with their manager.

• Positive motivation: Meanwhile, another person will complete a project because they want a bonus or promotion.

You may be asking yourself, exactly what does behaviorism and the incentive theory have to do with helping you find motivation at work?

Do rewards actually lead to an increase in productivity?

The short answer is yes. Rewards, especially ones that you find valuable, release a chemical in the brain called dopamine. This is also called the "feel-good" hormone.

When you do things that are pleasurable, like rewarding your accomplishments, you have a surge in dopamine.

This can help:

• habit creation

• learning

• maintaining motivation

Therefore, when you leverage your own reward-based motivation system and activate your brain's dopamine production, you're more likely to maintain a higher level of productivity.

Photo by Kanhaiya Sharma on Unsplash

Is there a big project at work you need to finish? Are you struggling to find the motivation to get started? Here is a four-step guide to using a rewards-based motivation system.

1. Identify Your Overall Goal

Take a moment and identify a task at work that you need to finish. Now write it down.

Next, break that task down into smaller steps. Write these steps down in order, each step leading to your overall goal.

2. Choose Your Rewards

Now the fun part! Identify what rewards you'd like to work toward. This will be done in two steps:

First, choose your small rewards:

• Buying your favorite drink or meal

• A hike

• Watching a movie or going to the theater

• Hanging out with friends

• Playing video games

These smaller accessible rewards will be what you reward yourself with when you reach each stepping stone goal.

Next, choose your big reward:

• A trip to somewhere you've wanted to go

• Something new you've wanted to purchase

• An experience you've always wanted to have

Remember to ask yourself if your reward is something you can do for yourself in the timeline you have.

3. Choose Your Tracking Method

Decide how to keep track of your progress. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Make a checklist.

• Write each task on a Post-It and display it somewhere, then remove the Post-It when you finish the task.

• Create a sticker chart.

• Make a list of tasks and put a marble in a jar for each one you finish.

Check out this video of a habit tracker set-up to get your creative engine started:

Note: Whichever documentation strategy you choose, make sure it's accessible, visible, and easy to use. This ensures that you don't get distracted or discouraged by the tracking process.

4. Complete Your Reward System

Finally, put it all together:

• Create your progress tracker.

• Assign a small reward to each of the smaller tasks.

• Write down your final goal and what reward you will get when you achieve it.

• If possible, find an accountability partner. Accountability partners are shown to increase your chance of success.

Photo by Kit (formerly ConvertKit) on Unsplash

Bryan is a fabric designer at a large furniture company. His boss gave him a big presentation on trending colors and fabrics, due at the end of the month. He’ll present it to the board to help decide next season’s designs.

He’s excited, but the task feels overwhelming, and he’s struggling to get started.

Outside of work, Bryan enjoys jazz music, good coffee, cooking, and weekend hikes. He also dreams of hiking the Bavarian Alps in Germany.

Help Bryan create a reward-based system to stay motivated and finish his presentation on time.

A: Bryan makes a to-do list on his phone. He writes down each task in order, along with how long it will take him. He decides that if he finishes the presentation on time, he will book a trip to the Alps.

B: Bryan breaks his presentation into small tasks and writes each on a Post-it on his wall. When he finishes one, he takes it down. For every five tasks, he rewards himself with a coffee with a friend. When he’s done, he adds $500 to his trip fund.

C: Bryan uses a habit-tracking app to break his project into smaller tasks. The app sends him daily task reminders with his other notifications. He rewards himself with a nice meal at the end of the day.

D: Bryan makes a chart to track his project tasks. He decides that if he misses a deadline, he won’t allow himself coffee for a week. He plans to reward himself only after finishing the presentation by cooking a nice dinner.