Motivating Employees: Raising the Bar on Performance Elite athletes push themselves to the extreme and take pride in doing so. What drives them? And, do top performers in the business world share any common characteristics with these elite athletes? These questions hinge on understanding motivation. Motivated employees mean less turnover and absenteeism, as well as increased morale. In order to design jobs, perks, and compensation systems that have a positive impact on an organization, it is important to understand what motivates employees.

Pharmacy Schools Have Rx for Job Blues

The enticement was hard to refuse: a signing bonus of $30,000. The wad of cash would help with student loans, so who could turn down the extra cash - on top of a nearly $130,000 annual salary? So, straight out of pharmacy school in Chapel Hill, N.C., R.J. Kulyk crossed the country for a job at a Walgreens in Redding, Calif. "It was a no-brainer," Kulyk recalled. Pharmacists remain in short supply across the country, particularly in rural areas.

Obama's Health Care Overhaul Will Have to Wait

Democrats' campaign rhetoric aside, few health care analysts expect the new president and Congress to undertake a sweeping overhaul of the health care industry any time soon.

Motivating a Changing Workforce

With a workforce of people of varying ages, perceptions, and life experiences, companies need to think about how they can help motivate today's generationally diverse workforce. Human resource experts are using evidence-based research to identify characteristics of various generations in the workforce, providing some insight into how to motivate and retain different generations within organizations.