Exploring Reward Alternatives to Money - Non-monetary rewards and employee engagement in the online travel market

Abstract: Title: Exploring Reward Alternatives to Money - Non-monetary rewards and employee engagement in the online travel market Subject: MGTN59, Degree project - Management Challenges Authors: Eirini Argyrouli and Theodora Saade Advisor: Rikard Larsson Keywords: Non-monetary rewards, Engagement, Travel Industry, Career Model, Career Motives, Career Awareness, Online travel Market, Employee Engagement Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe and explain employees’ preferences for non-monetary rewards. Based on employees' career concepts and motives and other aspects of their personal life, the study looks into the individual needs for non-monetary rewards as a lever that increases engagement at work. Theoretical perspectives: The theoretical chapter firstly presents theories about engagement and non-monetary rewards. Subsequently, the career model is described and the chapter ends with a background on the travel industry. Methodology: A qualitative approach has been used. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions and questionnaire-like questions were performed with employees in the online travel market. Empirical foundation: The empirical data consists of the answers and results we got from the interviews. Conclusion: We have found a wide variety of different types of non-monetary rewards and individual preferences for them. One found pattern is that different career orientations and aspects of personal lives impact employees’ preferences for non-monetary rewards. The understanding of what kind of non-monetary rewards a person needs is closely related to how aware they are of their career orientation and the motives they truly have. For example, while Expert specialists tended to prefer rewards to refine their skills and get recognition, broader generalists preferred more improved work environment rewards.