6 Ways to Decrease Intrinsic Motivation

In The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace, author Ron Friedman reminds us that when work itself is rewarding, emphasis on external rewards actually reduces intrinsic motivation. And the greater the reward, the more damaging its impact.

Some well-meaning, yet misguided benefit (and even wellness) professionals somehow believe the same principles don’t apply to behavior change. The apparent thinking is that this year’s premium discount or cash is enough of an enticement to change poor habits. However, they are often habits that may have been etched in an employee’s lifestyle for years, even decades. 

We’ve long argued that when you attempt to make behavior change an economic — do this, get that — transaction, you’re not only decreasing intrinsic motivation. Instead, you’re robbing those you serve of autonomy in acting in their own best interest. According to Friedman… the value of autonomy is that it allows people to fully embrace their goals and see the investments they make as their own choice. It’s that feeling of personal ownership that inspires employees to be driven by their own interests, curiosity, and desires to succeed. If there’s anything in life that requires people to “fully embrace their goals,” it’s behavior change. 

But that’s not all. In some instances, it appears organizations are going out of their way to decrease intrinsic motivation. Here then are our top 6 demotivators:

1. Cash incentives. 
2. Premium discounts. Rewarding “healthy” people with decreased healthcare premiums for lower risk seems to make sense on the surface. However, you must consider that 2 people living the exact same lifestyle can have completely different risks. And for those who could actually lower their risk through lifestyle changes, the threat of paying more than their coworker is clearly demotivating.
3. Wellness programming centered on risks rather than interest and readiness. Almost no one believes they’re at risk — regardless of your bar charts or risk scores.
4. Unrealistic workloads. In many workplaces, when layoffs or natural attrition happens, those left are just expected to pick up the slack. It’s hard to get excited about your employer’s wellness offering when they’re oblivious to workloads. 
5. The overly-quantified self. The obsession in some circles for tracking “verifiable” data through wrist-worn devices is beginning to create backlash. What started out as a fun way to be accountable to yourself by tracking steps, exercise minutes, sleep, or other vitals has morphed into elaborate schemes to collect data and “reward” people for the desired behavior. 
6. Winner-take-all. Some groups have replaced premium discounts and cash incentives with a competition model. The model rewards the best of the best, which is good for them but deflating for the other 99%. Alternatively, some organizations have switched to a “chance-to-win” model. This particular model rewards meeting a minimum threshold which puts you in a pool for the prize. This works pretty well for the first year, then it hits home that your chances of winning are almost nil.  

Take some time this week to examine your policies and practices. Are you increasing or decreasing intrinsic motivation?