Given the struggle that many organizations face hiring and retaining talent in today’s tight labor market, it is critical to understand how to effectively reward employees. To address this question, we review relevant evidence that explains the importance of workplace rewards and recognition. Based on a review and synthesis of the current literature, we make the case that organizations should move beyond salary and traditional cash rewards to place greater emphasis on nonpecuniary, tangible and intangible rewards and recognition initiatives. We further highlight the importance of aligning rewards with universal psychological needs. Finally, we discuss the need to conduct more research to understand when and for whom cash and noncash rewards increase intrinsic motivation, organizational commitment and optimal functioning in order to improve the design and implementation of existing reward programs.
Purpose
This study aims to advance the understanding of the relationships between employee engagement (EE), satisfaction and turnover intention (TI) beyond their known linear functions by providing a set of significant empirical evidence on nonlinear functions including quadratic, cubic and interactive effects.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used four 2 × 2 between-subjects experiments sampling 640 hospitality sales professionals through online data collection methods. EE and employee satisfaction (ES) were examined in disaggregation into personal and organizational dimensions. Residual regression models controlling for age and gender as covariates were the main approaches for analyzing data for nonlinear effects.
Findings
Both EE and ES consistently have significant negative quadratic and positive cubic effects on employees’ TI. EE and ES have a negative interaction effect, that is, complementing each other, on TI such that the effect is more pronounced at higher levels than lower levels of EE and satisfaction.
Practical implications
Organizations need to understand some threshold phenomena that may exist in the widely believed linear effects of EE and satisfaction on TI. Doing so may help allocate resources more effectively for EE and satisfaction.
Originality/value
This study examined the nonlinear as well as interactive nature of the relationships between EE and TI and ES and TI to expand our understanding of these relationships beyond the known linearity and add new empirical evidence to the literature.
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