Question

slide 9- How positive reinforcements affect/benefit the prison staff

Answer 1

The power of praise in the workplace can move employees from apathy or resentment to happiness and productivity. Positive reinforcement makes people feel appreciated and encouraged, which can be motivating and rewarding. Knowing the pluses and minuses can help you implement an effective positive reinforcement program that maximizes productivity and contentment at your workplace.

Significance

Positive reinforcement at work occurs when a person is rewarded to encourage a behavior. In the workplace, positive reinforcement can occur in the form of praise, awards and recognition, bonuses and promotions. The most common, simplest form of positive reinforcement is commending someone for a job well done. Managers may dole out praise for completing a project in a timely manner, handling customers well, rising to the occasion when challenges come up, successfully leading a team on a project or performing exceptionally well.

Advantages

Positive reinforcement can improve employees' performance, writes Aubrey C. Daniels on Entrepreneur.com. Employees can tolerate much more stress in the workplace and perform for longer periods if they are guided by positive reinforcement, Daniels states. Positive reinforcement builds confidence and helps employees have a more pleasurable experience at work while avoiding the negative side effects associated with punishment or negative reinforcement, such as frustration, anger, anxiety and depression.

Considerations

Positive reinforcement is designed to increase desirable behaviors, so in the workplace, positive reinforcement encourages better performances, increased productivity and positive project results. Positive reinforcement can produce lasting, positive change in the workplace, states Central Michigan University professor Heather Kchodl. Positive reinforcement must be consistent and frequent and occur immediately after the desired behavior for the best results, Kchodl states.

Disadvantages

Positive reinforcement is not always good, and negative reinforcement is not always bad, according to West Virginia State University professor Michael Perone. Perone suggests that the line between positive or negative reinforcement is not always clear, which makes measuring the results difficult. Too much positive reinforcement can lead to fatigue or praise overload, Perone states, which can diminish the results. Positive enforcement that is administered haphazardly can also cause problems, Perone states, as workers receive the same signals no matter what they do, which reduces the power of the signals.