The Role of Financial and Non-Financial Compensation in Improving Employee Job Satisfaction and Performance
A Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52103/jms.v7i1.2316Keywords:
Employee Job Satisfaction, Employee Performance, Financial, Compensation, Non-Financial CompensationAbstract
This literature review examines how financial and non-financial compensation improve employee job satisfaction and performance. The findings show that financial compensation strengthens satisfaction when employees perceive pay as fair, transparent, competitive, and linked to contribution. Non-financial compensation improves satisfaction by fulfilling psychological needs for appreciation, competence, autonomy, and belonging. Job satisfaction often mediates the relationship between compensation and performance, but this effect depends on organizational justice, leadership, resources, sectoral context, and performance measurement The review concludes that organizations should design integrated total reward systems instead of separating monetary and non-monetary rewards. Balanced compensation systems can strengthen satisfaction, motivation, commitment, and performance when they combine fair pay with meaningful work experiences.
References
Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267–299). https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60108-2
Alkandi, I. G., Khan, M. A., Fallatah, M., Alabdulhadi, A., Alanizan, S., & Alharbi, J. (2023). The impact of incentive and reward systems on employee performance in the Saudi primary, secondary, and tertiary industrial sectors: A mediating influence of employee job satisfaction. Sustainability, 15(4), 3415. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15043415
Alnsoura, A. S., & Kanaan, O. A. (2021). The impact of financial and non-financial incentives on the job tenure of university academics: Evidence from Jordan. Management Science Letters, 11(2), 685–696. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2020.10.036
Ardianto, Y., Riskarini, D., Baharuddin, G., & Handayani, S. P. (2024). The impact of job satisfaction on mediating compensation and performance impact on productivity. Jurnal Bina Praja, 16(2), 377–388. https://doi.org/10.21787/jbp.16.2024.377-388
Ariani, D. W. (2023). Relationship model of compensation, motivation, job satisfaction and employee performance. International Review of Management and Marketing, 13(4), 9–13. https://doi.org/10.32479/irmm.14464
Ariani, M., Tamara, D., Malik, A. R., & Darma, D. C. (2024). With job satisfaction or not? The impact of training and rewards on productivity through employee satisfaction. Economics, 12(3), 293–320. https://doi.org/10.2478/eoik-2024-0035
Auer, E. M., Behrend, T. S., Collmus, A. B., Landers, R. N., & Miles, A. F. (2021). Pay for performance, satisfaction and retention: Evidence from personnel selection and compensation research. PLOS ONE, 16(1), e0245460. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0245460
Chi, H., Vu, T. V, Nguyen, H. V, & Truong, T. H. (2023). How financial and non-financial rewards moderate the relationships between transformational leadership, job satisfaction, and job performance. Cogent Business & Management, 10(1), 2173850. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2023.2173850
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The what and why of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
Elrayah, M., & Semlali, Y. (2023). Sustainable total reward strategies for talented employees’ sustainable performance, satisfaction, and motivation: Evidence from the educational sector. Sustainability, 15(2), 1605. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021605
Fulmer, I. S., Gerhart, B., & Kim, J. H. (2023). Compensation and performance: A review and recommendations for the future. Personnel Psychology, 76(2), 687–718. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12583
Ghasemi, M. (2025). The impact of financial and non-financial incentives on the motivation and job performance of community health workers in Iran. BMC Health Services Research, 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-025-13543-6
Grund, C., & Soboll, A. (2025). Monetary rewards and hierarchy level as drivers of employees’ self-evaluations. Review of Managerial Science, 19, 729–756. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-024-00771-z
Gupta, V., Mittal, S., Ilavarasan, P. V, & Budhwar, P. (2024). Pay-for-performance, procedural justice, OCB and job performance: A sequential mediation model. Personnel Review, 53(1), 136–154. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-11-2021-0782
Hamzah, N. M., & Matkhairuddin, S. (2023). Impact of non-financial rewards on employees’ job satisfaction. E-Academia Journal, 12(2), 119–132. https://doi.org/10.24191/e-aj.v12i2.23628
Husnah, A., Sari, Y., & Kenamon, M. (2024). Pengaruh kompensasi non finansial terhadap kepuasan kerja dan dampaknya terhadap kinerja karyawan Universitas Baturaja. Studi Ilmu Manajemen Dan Organisasi, 5(2), 239–255. https://doi.org/10.35912/simo.v5i2.3458
Inayat, W., & Khan, M. J. (2021). A study of job satisfaction and its effect on the performance of employees working in private sector organizations, Peshawar. Education Research International, 2021, 1751495. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/1751495
Kossyva, D., Theriou, G., Aggelidis, V., & Sarigiannidis, L. (2024). Retaining talent in knowledge-intensive services: Enhancing employee engagement through human resource, knowledge and change management. Journal of Knowledge Management, 28(2), 409–439. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-03-2022-0174
Lawarang, R. U., Rajak, A., Kamis, R. A., & Arilaha, M. A. (2023). Non-financial compensation, job satisfaction, and employee performance at PT. Rum East Great Ternate. International Journal of Accounting & Finance in Asia Pacific, 6(2), 14–27. https://doi.org/10.324735/ijafap.v6i2.1790
Li, C., Naz, S., Khan, M. A. S., Kusi, B., & Murad, M. (2023). Total reward satisfaction profiles and work performance: A person-centered approach. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1091591. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1091591
Lydiksen, N. (2023). Job satisfaction and firm earnings: Evidence from matched survey and register data. LABOUR. https://doi.org/10.1111/labr.12240
Manzoor, F., Wei, L., & Asif, M. (2021). Intrinsic rewards and employee’s performance with the mediating mechanism of employee’s motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 563070. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.563070
Memon, A. H., Khahro, S. H., Memon, N. A., Memon, Z. A., & Mustafa, A. (2023). Relationship between job satisfaction and employee performance in the construction industry of Pakistan. Sustainability, 15(11), 8699. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118699
Riyanto, S., Endri, E., & Herlisha, N. (2021). Effect of work motivation and job satisfaction on employee performance: Mediating role of employee engagement. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 19(3), 162–174. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.19(3).2021.14
Tarigan, J., Cahya, J., Valentine, A., Hatane, S. E., & Jie, F. (2022). Total reward system, job satisfaction and employee productivity on company financial performance: Evidence from Indonesian Generation Z workers. Journal of Asia Business Studies, 16(6), 1041–1065. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-04-2021-0154
Tenhiala, A., Chung, D. J., & Park, T. Y. (2024). Procedural pay transparency, motivational climate, and employee outcomes. Compensation & Benefits Review, 56(2), 83–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/08863687231216135
Tobing, A. R. D. H. L. (2025). The influence of financial reward and non-financial reward on job performance mediated by job satisfaction at PT. X. International Journal of Economics Accounting and Management, 2(2), 62–73. https://doi.org/10.60076/ijeam.v2i2.1388
Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. Wiley. https://archive.org/details/workmotivation0000vroo