Inês Pratas
15th January 2020
Over the years, salary has played a major role in motivating and attracting professionals, being the main element that recognizes their performance. Today, this concept is not so restricted and goes far beyond monthly remuneration. Based on the concept of Gross Internal Happiness (GIH), the emotional salary refers to anything that is made available by the company, but that does not count financially. These are aids/resources that the employer makes available to its workers and can take on many different forms, as long as it is seen as a benefit by the employee.
These positive emotional incentives are what cause, in practice, the well-being, personal satisfaction, commitment and productivity of workers.
Among the numerous incentives, we list the following five:
- Ease of Communication: it is essential to invest in ways of communication and internal information such as discussion forums, brainstorming sessions, coffee breaks, training, proximity to leadership, among others.;
- Flexibility at work: whether in a flexible hourly model or a telecommuting model, this is one of the main facilitators of the balance between personal and professional life;
- Career development and training programs: one of the factors that contribute to turnover is the feeling of professional stagnation. To avoid this demotivation, career plans, participation in conversations, workshops, events, congresses and professional training must be designed (investing in the training of employees, means developing their skills and their full potential).
- Recognition: According to Maslow’s Needs Pyramid, recognition is one of the main motivations of the human being, contributing directly to their self-esteem. When practising it, the company highlights the employee’s commitment and dedication while demonstrating their appreciation, boosts their self-confidence and helps to build a vision of future and continuity within the organization.
- Activities on commemorative dates: commemorative days (be it Christmas dinner, the company’s anniversary, etc.) where workers come together in a more relaxed environment for celebration, development of activities or reaching a common goal, highly raise positive emotions, strengthen ties and interpersonal relationships and promote a sense of belonging in the employee, which, in turn, reinforces talent retention.
Most importantly, each person must reflect and keep in mind for themself what they value in an organization beyond the salary.