Are e-commerce employees inefficient? A disciplinary mechanism is the key to improving performance.

Have you ever wondered why simply rewarding employees for poor performance doesn't change the situation?

Over the past three years, J has managed more than 500 employees and has witnessed a counterintuitive phenomenon: for 90% of employees, when faced with the choice between "rewarding success" and "punishing mistakes," the latter is far more effective than the former.

The root cause of the problem that rewards cannot solve

Common Misconceptions about Motivation

Many business owners and managers have a deep misunderstanding of motivation, believing that as long as they are given enough rewards, employees will automatically improve their work efficiency.

But is this really the case?

According to research by Richard Lawrence and Alexander Lash, "punishment is 3.5 times more effective than reward in modifying behavior."

Let's take a specific example to illustrate this issue.

J's Daily Report Experiment

Fines are the key.

J once asked 20 employees to write daily reports, stipulating that a reward of 200 yuan would be given for writing 12 reports in a month, even if only one word was written.

The results were surprising: after the first month of testing, only two people received the reward.

The following month, J changed the policy: if you don't write 12 articles, you'll be fined 200 yuan for each one you miss.

As a result, everyone did it.

This incident taught J a valuable lesson: for the vast majority of employees, punishment is more important than reward.

Why are punishments more effective?

Psychological explanation

Why does this happen? Psychology has its reasons.科学explain.

Research by Stanford University Graduate School of Business professor Baba Cardis suggests that "human instinct is to avoid the negative rather than pursue the positive."

This "loss aversion" is a core driving force behind human decision-making.

Specifically, employees who lack self-discipline often need external constraints to motivate them to move forward.

Specific data support

statistical data

We analyzed the incentive methods of 100 companies and found that the completion rate of employees in companies that used punishment mechanisms was 87%, while that in companies that used reward mechanisms was only 43%.

This 90% gap illustrates a point: punishment mechanisms have a greater driving force.

Common Misconceptions of Bosses

Motivation is not a panacea

I've seen many bosses who don't understand this point. They constantly educate their employees, saying "You have to do this," and keep encouraging and motivating them, but it has no effect whatsoever.

On the contrary, those bosses who applied punishment mechanisms saw immediate results.

Cost-benefit analysis

Penalties are less costly than rewards

A reward of 1000 yuan and a fine of 200 yuan may have similar effects, but the cost of a fine is much lower, making it more cost-effective.

The key is not to make people afraid of punishment, but to use punishment as a signal to let them know that you are serious.

How to accurately apply the penalty mechanism

Avoid traps

However, it should be noted that this refers to "minor punishment," emphasizing the message rather than the punishment itself.

The fines shouldn't be excessive; just enough to let employees know you're serious.

in conclusion

Reflecting on the essence of motivation

Many bosses don't understand this simple logic and always think that motivation comes from rewards.

But let me tell you, a reward of 1000 yuan and a fine of 200 yuan might have about the same effect.

Final Thoughts

Final opinion

Extensive experiments have shown that the penalty mechanism is far more effective than the reward mechanism in improving employee efficiency.

Although this phenomenon contradicts traditional motivational theories, it is deeply rooted in the essence of human nature.

Therefore, when you find that incentives are not working well, you might as well try a punishment mechanism, which may yield unexpected results.

likeIn his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow," renowned psychologist Daniel Kahneman stated, "People's emotional response to losses is more than twice that to gains."