• Editorial Team
• On January 4, 2010

Managers at large and small companies can’t afford traditional carrots — large raises or promotions — to squeeze more from lean, recession-battered staffs. Instead, they’re coaxing more productivity via cheap rewards such as praise, thank-you-notes and $25 gift cards, The Wall Street Journal reports. They’re also scrutinizing employees’ duties to nix unecessary tasks, freeing staffers for higher-impact work.