ABSTRACT
In recent years, various scholars and professionals have paid attention to the study’s reward system and employee performance, but this study focuses on the evaluation of intrinsic reward and employee performance in deposit money banks in Akure, Ondo State. Based on this premise, the study examined the effects of intrinsic reward on employees’ performance in DMBs in Ondo State. The objectives of the study are to examine the influence of intrinsic reward on employee performance in DMBs with respect to job autonomy, praise and recognition, challenging work, and promotion on employee performance in Akure, Ondo State. The survey method was used to collect data, and the collected data was carefully analyzed using descriptive statistics, multiple linear regression, and ANOVA for hypothesis testing. The study shows that only promotion (=0.444, p = 0.05) as a variable of intrinsic reward has the significant and highest effect on employees’ performance as compared to bonuses and fringe benefits. Also, praise and recognition (=0.442, p = 0.05) have the significant and highest effect on employees’ performance. The study concludes that amidst all the intrinsic rewards adopted by the organization, praise and recognition increase employee performance more than others used in DMBs. The study suggests that workers should be given more difficult tasks to bring out their best, that staff should be promoted when they deserve it, and that employees should get more benefits like health care, a place to live, clothes, and free lunch to encourage them to work harder.