What is intrinsic reward (internal reward)?

A gift

Intrinsic reward or internal reward is a feeling of satisfaction an employee or a person gets or experiences after accomplishing a certain task successfully or after achieving the goals.

In motivation, there are two main types of rewards in which an organization can use to boost employee's working morale which are intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. 

Intrinsic reward can be defines as an internal force that drives a person to do something or to engage in a certain behaviour, this type of motivation is called intrinsic motivation.

In contrast, extrinsic rewards or external rewards are the external forces that brings a person a desire to perform a task or to change his or her behavior, this type of motivation is called extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic rewards are intangible in nature, this means that they can't be touched, counted or seen. They are also non monetary (They don't have monetary value) and they are usually affordable by almost every business or organization.

An organization can promote intrinsic rewards to its employees through the following ways;

1. Recognition 

This is an act of acknowledging and appreciating the contribution of an employee he or she offers in an organization. It involves thanking, praising and giving feedback to the employees about the task they have performed. Recognition motivates an employees to work, knowing that their contribution has meaning and is valued by an organization.

2. Autonomy

This is to give employees a freedom of selecting the tasks to perform, inputting their ideas, designing the process on how to do their tasks and setting a schedule. Employees are highly motivated when have a freedom in their jobs.

3. Team work and social interaction 

Some employees would like to work in a team with other colleagues, while sharing ideas for accomplishing the tasks they are assigned as a team or department rather than working individually. Promoting team work and social interaction in a workplace can results to increase in performance since working in a team encourages personal growth, increases job satisfaction, and also reduces stress.

4. Training and development

This is a process of improving competence, knowledge and skills of the employees. Training (whether is on-job or off-job training), is very important to employees because it makes them feel more competent and knowledgeable, this will boost their working morale and increase the performance.

Last word

The preferences and needs differs from one person to another. Thus, not every employee will be motivated by the same reward, that's why managers are recommended to understand the needs of their workers so as to reward them accordingly.