When
you think more money will
motivate your employees.
Think again...
A recent
study by several prominent psychologists on happiness
and major life events seems to support the notion that
raises and bonuses will have only short-lived effects.
The study argues that only life events which occurred
within the past three months have any influence on one's
happiness...or more specifically, on one's "feelings
of subjective well-being."
Among
the life events mentioned is a raise. Study results suggest
to us that a raise is like a martini, inducing optimism
and elevating the spirit - but only temporarily.
Previous
studies seem to concur. Researchers tell us that only
1-2% of people's difference in happiness is attributable
to their difference in income.
Is
it in some way the employer's fault?
>Research
says no. One study says that even lottery winners aren't
significantly happier than the rest of us. Men and women
are essentially the same on subjective well-being, or
self-rated happiness, and so are young and old, black
and white.
In
fact, a study done recently by the University of Minnesota
on twins indicates that happiness is in large measure
due to genetics - not money. The stable component, or "set-point" of
happiness, is 80% gene-driven, say scientists.
The
life event study concludes that after a major external
life event (either positive or negative) one's degree
of subjective well-being "reverts to a level predetermined
by an individual's personality as soon as the pattern
of life events regains its equilibrium"...generally
within less than three months.
Ed
Diener, Department of Psychology , University of Illinois
at Urbana - Champaign, coauthored the study of the short-lived
effect of life events on subjective well-being. "A
raise just won't have an effect on employee satisfaction
long-term," says Diener. "It may be forgotten
by next week."
Although
Diener's study was conducted on a sampling of recent
college graduates, he and fellow researchers theorize
that the personality stability they observed is likely
to be even stronger in older adults.
In
discussing the study results, Diener cites other studies
in the subjective well- being field and points out that "successful
pursuit of personal goals does play an important role
in maintaining and increasing one's psychological well-being."
"During
the goal striving process, one uses life events as a
cue for checking one's rate of progress. Positive events,
like a promotion, are a sign of progress toward one's
goals and are likely to increase the sense of well-being,
even if only for a short while,"
says Diener.
Smart
Workplace Practice: Like rungs on a ladder, smaller,
frequent rewards and short-term attainable goals are
more likely to motivate and encourage employees to
keep striving for better skills and greater productivity.
Use a compensation and rewards system that provides
frequent and continual encouragement rather than one
based solely on relatively far-distant raises or promotions.
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