In short, "Do this and you'll get that" makes people focus on the "that," not the "this." Do rewards motivate people? Absolutely. They motivate people to get rewards.
Rewards undermine interest. Loving what you do is a more powerful motivator than money or any other goody. No surprise there. What is surprising is that goodies actually undermine personal motivation. The more an executive gets employees to think about what they will earn for doing their jobs well, the less interested they will be in what they are doing.
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Another explanation is that the reward makes the work seem distasteful. "If they have to bribe me to do it," a person might figure, "it must be something I don't want to do."
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If rewards do not work, what does? I recommend that employers pay workers well and fairly and then do everything possible to help them forget about money. A preoccupation with money distracts everyone -- employers and employees -- from the issues that really matter.
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