The Impact of Rewards & Punishment on Job Commitment

Motivation

• Motivation is a key component to job commitment. Motivated employees tend to be more committed to the job than unmotivated employees, according to a study by Edward A. Locke and stated in "Library Philosophy and Practice 2007." Finding the right motivation is not easy. Some employees respond to rewarded behavior for motivation, while others work best with punishment behavior. A key element to motivating is to dispense rewards and punishment fairly. Locke’s study also showed if employees feel unfairly treated, the level of their job commitment tends to decrease.
  
  

Rewards

• Rewarding good job performance affects job commitment in some employees. When an employee feels valued and understands his contributions are both noticed and rewarded, the employee may feel a strong connection to the company. This does not hold true for all employees. Some employees, even if they are rewarded, might not feel a stronger sense of job commitment. It is important to reward employees after they have performed their tasks. Rewarding prior to completion of tasks does not necessarily mean the tasks will get accomplished.
  
  

Punishment

• Punishing poor performance does not work if the employee cannot accomplish assigned tasks because of poor training or a lack of acquired skills. In order to keep the employee committed to the job, make certain the employee is able to handle the assigned tasks. If she cannot do them, providing additional training and support might result in improved results. On the other hand, if an employee is assigned unfavorable job assignments as punishment for certain behavior, she might cease that behavior, knowing the consequences are being assigned to those tasks she does not want to do.
  
  

Organizational Behavior

• Finding ways to both reward and punish employees in order to emphasize job commitment is known as modifying organizational behavior. A key element to maintaining a high level of job commitment is knowing the best way to deal with each employee. While some employees operate best when rewarded, other employees may respond to punishment. For example, if an employee knows that behaving badly will have him assigned to some of the less favorable jobs, the employee’s behavior might improve. Understanding employee motivation helps to improve job commitment.
  
  

Previous Management

• Some schools of thought assumed that the only way to motivate people was through punishment and fear. This kind of business leadership was prevalent in prior generations, before the importance of job satisfaction and job commitment became fully understood. Eventually, managers and employers learned to find a balance between reward and punishment in order to maintain a high level of job commitment.