To identify these intrinsic rewards, we began by analysing the nature of today’s work. Basically, most of today’s workers are asked to self-manage to a significant degree—to use their intelligence and experience to direct their work activities to accomplish important organizational purposes. This is how today’s employees add value—innovating, problem solving and improvising to meet the conditions they encounter to meet customers’ needs.

In turn, we found that the self-management process involves four key steps:3

1. Committing to a meaningful purpose
2. Choosing the best way of fulfilling that purpose
3. Making sure that one is performing work activities competently, and
4. Making sure that one is making progress to achieving the purpose.

Each of these steps requires workers to make a judgment—about the meaningfulness of their purpose, the degree of choice they have for doing things the right way, the competence of their performance, and the actual progress being made toward fulfilling the purpose. These four judgments are the key factors in workers’ assessments of the value and effectiveness of their efforts—and the contribution they are making.

When positive, each of these judgments is accompanied by a positive emotional charge. These positive charges are the intrinsic rewards that employees get from work, ranging in size from quiet satisfaction to an exuberant “Yes!” They are the reinforcements that keep employees actively self-managing and engaged in their work.

The following are descriptions of the four intrinsic rewards and how workers view them:4

• Sense of meaningfulness. This reward involves the meaningfulness or importance of the purpose you are trying to fulfil. You feel that you have an opportunity to accomplish something of real value—something that matters in the larger scheme of things. You feel that you are on a path that is worth your time and energy, giving you a strong sense of purpose or direction.
• Sense of choice. You feel free to choose how to accomplish your work—to use your best judgment to select those work activities that make the most sense to you and to perform them in ways that seem appropriate. You feel ownership of your work, believe in the approach you are taking, and feel responsible for making it work.
• Sense of competence. You feel that you are handling your work activities well—that your performance of these activities meets or exceeds your personal standards, and that you are doing good, high-quality work. You feel a sense of satisfaction, pride, or even artistry in how well you handle these activities.
• Sense of progress. You are encouraged that your efforts are really accomplishing something. You feel that your work is on track and moving in the right direction. You see convincing signs that things are working out, giving you confidence in the choices you have made and confidence in the future.

Source: Ivey Business Journal