The Danger of Too Many Reward Choices

February 16, 2014 | By Mike Ryan

Choice. The very word conjures up feelings of autonomy and independence. It connects us to a value we hold so dearly, freedom; or in this case, the freedom to choose.  But when does choice—or at least the act of choosing—become more of an imposition than anything else? When do too many choices create stress and anxiety instead of feelings of happiness and fulfillment?

If you are a provider of sales incentive and/or employee recognition programs and you rely on the appeal of non-cash rewards to inspire and motivate your workers, sales people and channel distributors you need to know the answer to that question. More specifically, you need to understand why oversaturated reward catalogues can actually have an adverse effect on your program’s effectiveness. This Performance Perspective will examine how certain emotional and behavioral triggers can be activated by too many choices and will outline how the consequences can affect participants.