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Workplace competition can spur creativity but it can also backfire if not handled correctly.
In the ideal workplace, highly motivated employees are everywhere — excelling, working well with peers and striving to stand out through superior job performance. To stimulate individual effort, some companies create a cutthroat culture that measures employees against each other. Others opt for a collaborative culture that prioritizes cooperation and consensus-building. Some businesses use different strategies with various employees. For example, they’ll encourage competitiveness in their sales team and collaboration in manufacturing.
Which approach is right? As with many things related to running a business, it depends. We’ll explore competition in the workplace so you can motivate employees without turning your office culture toxic.
Some people feel that competition drives excellence while others believe gamification is the future of the workplace and can improve employee engagement and motivation. In reality, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to motivating employees.
Keep the following six ideas in mind when evaluating competition in your workplace.
In Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing, authors Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman argue that when people are insecure and have self-doubt, injecting some competition can drive creative achievement and team innovation. For example, a contest can spur employees to innovate on a specific product or service or two companies can compete to create a better application, website or consumer device. In these instances, competition works in the context of innovation and creativity.
In today’s workplaces, employees do their best work when they’re motivated by challenges. But if they feel at risk, it can harm their performance. It is critical to recognize this difference. Leverage competitive energy to inspire new ideas and elevate productivity and efficiency, instead of causing conflict among your staff.
Some people wilt and disengage in a competitive environment while others may be motivated and inspired.
Consider adjusting the competitive landscape in your workplace according to your team members’ personalities. Team competitions may motivate some. However, for others, the best motivation methods won’t directly compare individual performances. Instead, you can encourage team members to compete against the team average or an internal goal.
Several dangers are associated with using leaderboards and competition as your only means of employee motivation. Ignoring these dangers can create a toxic work environment, low employee morale, decreased productivity and high turnover.
Here are a few downsides to extreme competition in the workplace:
Research shows that people are less motivated by extrinsic factors ― such as competition and cash rewards ― and more motivated by intrinsic factors. Extrinsic factors may create a sudden performance spike, but intrinsic factors are more likely to generate a long-term behavioral change.
In Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, author Daniel Pink shares research that shows extrinsic motivation, such as competition and cash rewards, doesn’t last. However, intrinsic motivation — including the drive to do well, the urge for a “job well done,” and a sense of fulfillment — genuinely drives performance.
Competition and dialogue about measuring employee performance must happen in an atmosphere of trust. If mishandled, competition can create a sense of fear that derails your workplace, prompting employees to hurt each other instead of fostering collaboration and joint problem-solving.
Use competition judiciously. Ensure you target appropriate goals and avoid unnecessary competition about trivial tasks that will poison the atmosphere. This is especially important if you’re managing a multigenerational workforce with millennials and Gen Z employees — these generations are more focused on culture and meaning, not competition.
People perform best when the competition is close — when they’re competing against people like them. Top performers shouldn’t compete with average or low performers in the company.
When appropriate groups compete against each other, people will be motivated because they have a more realistic chance of winning. They’ll feel the competition is fair. In contrast, competing for first place among 100 employees when you’re new or have no hope of winning is discouraging.
People often push themselves to do better. They do this by setting goals for personal growth or by measuring their performance against others who are doing similar work.
A fitness tracker is an example of competing with yourself. As the device counts your steps, you strive to reach fitness and activity goals, competing against yourself and upping the challenge when necessary.
Here are some ways to create an environment where employees compete against themselves:
Keep the following best practices in mind when monitoring competition in your workplace.
Skye Schooley contributed to this article.