#Hot streaks boost productivity, study shows

If you’re an employer looking to improve your team’s performance, it might be a better idea to offer “streak incentives” rather than single payouts as a reward, according to a new University of Alberta study.

In businesses that offer bonuses or additional compensation beyond base pay for productivity, employees will complete more work when given “streak rewards” (that incentivize consecutive completion of tasks) than when given the same amount for each work task, even if it means marginally less pay in the long run, says marketing professor Katie Mehr, assistant professor in the Alberta School of Business and co-author of a study published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.

“There seems to be something about achieving things consecutively that makes people want to keep going,” says Mehr, who studies motivation and prosocial behavior.

The series of six studies with more than 4,500 participants is the first to demonstrate the effectiveness of streak incentives, she says, which boost commitment and motivation, providing “a simple, low-cost way to enhance persistence and productivity.”

Mehr and her team conducted experiments in which participants chose between performing simple tasks for which they were paid or not working at all, opting for something more recreational like watching a video.

People in one group, the streak incentive group, were paid slightly more each time they performed a task consecutively—such as one cent for the first task, two for the second and three cents for three or more times in a row.

Participants in another group, the stable incentive group, were paid a fixed amount, such as three cents, for each non-consecutive task they completed, but earned slightly more overall for the same work than those in the streak incentive group.

“You’re getting paid six cents in the streak condition but nine cents in the control condition, and we still find that the streak condition leads to a higher number of work tasks completed. It goes against standard economic theory, which would suggest that if you pay people more, they’ll do more.”

The study also suggests there’s a deeper satisfaction that comes with a streak, says Mehr. Streak incentives boost people’s commitment to a goal of maximizing their earnings, so encouraging them to complete their work consecutively might make them more likely to strive for that goal.

“You can’t have a payment scheme where the difference in the amount of compensation is huge (between stable payouts and streak incentives),” she adds, or it is likely that one will override the other. “In our case, the difference wasn’t that big.”

Mehr adds that previous research by her co-author, Jackie Silverman of the University of Delaware, shows that people think someone with a recent streak is more committed to their goal.

“A lot of new research suggests that streaks can really affect our behavior and be a powerful, motivating tool,” says Mehr.

Mehr’s research shows that incorporating streak incentives can increase productivity “above and beyond a controlled incentive scheme that pays more,” at comparatively low cost to the employer.

As with slot machines, online gambling and sports betting, the desire to hit a hot streak may come down to fundamental human nature, says Mehr.

“People may intuitively believe streaks are motivating, but we’re finding more and more evidence that it’s true.”