Antecedents to verbal reward salience

The aim of this research is to examine when verbal rewards are salient among personnel in workplaces, with a specific interest in how this relates to the behavior of superior managers. The study investigates several antecedents to verbal reward salience using a cross-sectional survey (n = 483). The findings indicate that verbal rewards tend to be more salient for personnel when their manager frequently provides them, when rewards are accompanied by specific attributes, when they are performance-contingent, and when personnel find the rewards attractive. While the study does not provide information about causality, the results are largely consistent with a conceptual model suggesting that certain managerial practices could potentially be linked to personnel perceiving verbal rewards as incentives. A subgroup analysis suggests that managerial practices related to verbal rewards differ in their association with verbal reward salience between the private and public sectors. • Salience of verbal rewards is associated with the behaviors of superior managers. • Salience of verbal rewards is associated with the extent of exposure to these rewards by personnel. • Salience of verbal rewards is associated with rewards that include specific attributes. • Salience of verbal rewards is associated with their attractiveness to personnel. • Salience of verbal rewards is associated with their performance-contingency.