Are bonuses driving the behaviour you want?
Bonuses are everywhere, over 90% of organisations use them to motivate performance. But what if bonuses don’t just fall short of motivating and encourage the very behaviours leaders are trying to avoid?
Research tracking more than 1,000 employees in a large organisation examined how bonus size, certainty, and frequency influence motivation and behaviour. The findings are worth attention:
- Bonuses don’t create lasting motivation
Last year’s bonus had little impact on this year’s effort. Financial rewards alone rarely sustain drive. - Certainty matters more than size
When employees were unsure whether they would receive a bonus, motivation declined and corner-cutting increased. - Bigger bonuses can backfire
Higher expected bonuses sometimes led to more risk-taking and shortcuts, especially when outcomes felt outside employees’ control.
In short, bonuses don’t drive performance, they drive behaviour and it’s not always the behaviour you want.
Sustainable performance is designed, not bought
If you use bonuses as incentives, consider:
- Do employees genuinely control the outcomes being rewarded?
- Are criteria clear, consistent, and perceived as fair?
- Are individual rewards undermining team performance?
High performing cultures are built less on incentives and more on clear expectations, autonomy, and meaningful accountability. Evidence-based performance systems drive engagement, ethical behaviour, and sustainable results, not just short-term spikes.
If you’re rethinking motivation, reward, or performance frameworks in 2026, it’s worth a conversation.
