I was taking control of a big department in a non-profit where funds were tight but I had a lot of flexibility so I read a book about how to reward employees instead of money. I was hoping for non-tangible rewards like first pick of schedule or Employee of the Month type stuff.

Every single suggestion in the book was something that needed money to be spent first but not given to the employee. It had a whole chapter about how giving cash was rude and terrible and your employees would hate you for it so you had to give gift cards or worthless garbage to give them instead.

This was nonsense advice. Nothing motivates like cash. In the end I just taped my own $20 bills to the back of the ‘Certificates of Achievement’ I have for good work and warned them it was a personal gift and not from the org.