Compensation, literally money earned at the end of the month, is by far the most important factor which motivates Americans to work hard, meet goals, and improve.
Money is not everything
Do you want to pay your employees a bonus? Beware, this might not be a good idea: Studies show that extra money can hurt employee motivation and job satisfaction.
What is the ideal salary? Even if funds were unlimited, pinpointing the ideal salary would be difficult. The first intuition is: the higher the salary, the better the work results. But studies show that the connection between compensation, motivation and performance is much more complex. In fact, there is some evidence that people would not be happier in their jobs if they had control over their salary.
Work-Life Balance
Until recent years work-life balance had been of far less importance to Americans. It is not embedded in their labor laws. U.S. companies do not yet see it as their responsibility. Work-life balance has, however, become a topic of intense discussion within American society.
Subject Matter
Americans want to work in subject matter areas which offer solid compensation, a clear path for advancement, and increasing opportunities and options. The American economy, therefore American companies, value the generalist more than the specialist.
Job Security
Americans know that no job is truly secure. Job security comes only through being valuable to the organisation, continuous skills development, steady career advancement, and constant exposure to new opportunities.
Advancement
In the U.S. career advancement is second to compensation in importance. Americans strive to move up the hierarchy. In fact, advancement often brings with it a significant increase in compensation. Advancement and compensation go hand-in-hand.
Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance is of such extraordinary importance to Germans that it is embedded in their labor laws, in how their companies treat their employees, in their expectations as a society.