The kind of engagement industrial psychologists have shown can produce optimal performance relates more to a state of mind than to increasing participation in programs or motivating a workforce with financial incentives. In the context of quality improvement methodologies, the health promotion profession has yet to discover when, where and how large financial incentives should be and how they best fit in our processes. That is, there is no “standard work” for the use of extrinsic motivators. Yet, to argue against incentives given evidence to date has more to do with polemics than science.
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