Preferences For Performance Based Employee Rewards: Evidence From Small Business Environments

Rewarding and motivating employees is extremely important to organizations because employees are a critical resource for success. The primary objective of this study was to determine if there are gender based employee preferences for performance rewards in small business environments. The study was conducted using surveys provided to employees and supervisors at small business establishments in Western New York State. The employee survey asked subjects to rank motivational items, situational reward/consequences, and social and economic aspects of work environments based on their preferences. The survey provided to supervisors asked them to rank the same items based on what they thought their employees would prefer. The results of the study indicated that there was no significant difference between male and female employees in terms of reward and motivational preferences. However, there were differences between what supervisors thought employees wanted and what employees actually valued. This study included results from 135 employee and 28 supervisor surveys were distributed, with 100 (74%) employee and 18 (64%) supervisor surveys returned. The results of this study indicate that social rewards were more valuable than economic rewards that would be valuable to small business owners and managers to develop programs to reward and motivate their employees.