{"id":51646,"date":"2021-11-02T10:19:32","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T14:19:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=51646"},"modified":"2024-12-13T02:55:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T07:55:20","slug":"employee-bonus-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/employee-bonus-alternatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Show Me the Money: Employee Bonus Alternatives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jerry Maguire famously asked people to show him the money. Business owners may think that\u2019s the mantra of their employees and new recruits, too. Yet, even in this tight labor market<\/a>, there are plenty of good employee bonus alternatives to consider as well.<\/p>\n

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Different types of employee bonuses have various goals. Typically, performance bonuses are thought to motivate productivity and encourage quality work. Hiring bonuses, on the other hand, are meant to appeal to potential candidates and sway them to join your business over another.<\/p>\n

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Yet there are some possible drawbacks to both these types of bonuses. When it comes to the new hire bonus<\/a>, you could be enticing a less excited employee to work with you based on the money alone. Well, once that bonus is spent, they realize they really wanted to work for that other company after all.<\/p>\n

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Performance bonuses also have issues. Employee bonuses can set unrealistic expectations for employees and encourage competition between them, which undermines valuable business collaboration. For the employee, too, there can be a disadvantage in the bonus compensation. According to the IRS<\/a>, bonus pay can be subject to 25-35 percent tax withholding. \u201cWhen you add in Social Security tax, Medicare and state taxes, withholding on bonuses can exceed 40 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Especially while the economy continues to recover from the global pandemic, employee bonuses are getting fresh attention. Who doesn\u2019t want the\u00a0happy employees<\/a>, increased morale, and improved company reputation that comes from generously rewarding employees? Yet, not every organization has the cash flow to make bonuses possible. Fortunately, there are many employee bonus alternatives to consider.<\/p>\n

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Encourage work-life balance<\/h2>\n

Globalization and digital technology have increased the need for employees to be always on. The pandemic only exacerbated the problem. A\u00a0September 2021 Harris Poll with the American Psychological Association (APA) found that:<\/p>\n

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