Australian workers feel there’s very little incentive to go the extra mile in the workplace, with one third (33%) saying organisation does not reward hard work, or they are unsure if it does. Meanwhile a majority (57%) believe that any incentives they do receive are not very meaningful. However, senior managers seem highly disconnected from the views of their employees, with over 90% believing the work of their staff is rewarded, and 66% saying that the reward is meaningful to their team.

Both employees and managers were aligned on the importance of rewards in the workplace. Roughly two thirds of both employees (67%) and managers (62%) say an effective rewards program would encourage them to go above and beyond in their work responsibilities. Additionally, over half of both employees (55%) and employers (51%) said it would encourage them to stay longer at their organisation.

The findings come from a new study by Perkbox Australia and YouGov examining reward, recognition and motivation in the workplace, surveying over 1,026 employees and 512 managers in Australia, stratified to the population.

“This study shows that Australia is fast becoming a country of thankless work,” said Ross McDonald, country manager of Perkbox Australia.

“There’s a pervasive culture that simply ticking a box is enough, and that’s short-changing both employees and employers. For employers, it's creating a culture of mediocrity but also eroding workplace loyalty among their staff. For employees, on the other hand, it’s giving them little incentive to do their best work and excel in their career.

“Rewarding your team and recognising milestones should be a key component of any company’s retention toolkit. We’re genuinely surprised by the result of this study, as in a market where unemployment is at a near-generational low, companies should be pulling out all the stops to keep their team motivated and engaged.”

Mona Akiki, chief people officer at Perkbox added: "While these results are focused on the Australian market, we have also observed a shift in employee mindsets globally over the last few years. Another one of our recent global surveys not only showed that rewards were more important to employees, but that 87% of them said they wanted the ability to choose their own rewards.”

“At Perkbox, we work with over 4,000 companies worldwide, and many of them realize the growing importance of recognising and rewarding their people in a consistent, meaningful and personal way. While companies want to do well by their people, they are also quickly realising that achieving their purpose and vision requires specific employee behaviours, which can be celebrated and ultimately influenced by a proper rewards strategy.”

“This has a positive impact on all of the key organizational goals — whether it's attraction, retention, driving revenue, or ensuring employees are motivated to go the extra mile.

Those companies who have a well-planned reward and recognition program are the ones who'll win the hearts and minds of top talent."

The study also examined other factors that motivate employees. In the midst of sharp increases in the cost of living, salary and remuneration ranked as the most important factor for employees in the workplace. In addition, both employees (74%) and managers (63%) said a higher salary would be the most motivating factor for them changing.

For employees, this was followed by flexible work hours (45%), career development (40%), and then reward and recognition for good performance (34%).

Perkbox helps organisations establish a culture of recognition by providing an easy-to-implement, currency-agnostic rewards solution with over 2,500 items for managers and teams to choose from globally.