What is employee motivation? A discussion from real world

You may have heard the following quotes in your day to day life.

"That person is motivated person".

"He is not motivated".

"Companies should motivate their employees".

Then what is really

 

Motivation is derived from the Latin word, "Movere" which means needs, desires, wants or drives within the individuals. It is the process that guide people to actions to achieve the goals. (Ramlall, 2004)

Motivation has been discussed through decades. Many researchers have their own definition for motivation. Some of them are,

According to Michael J. Jucius “Motivation is the act of stimulating one or oneself to get a desired course of action to push the right button to get desired results”. Similarly, Dale Beach says “Motivation can be defined as willingness to expend energy to achieve a goal or a reward”. (Rina, 2022)

The essence of the above definitions portrays motivation as a human behaviour and to achieve the desired goals and objectives, we must channelise those goals and objectives. Motive is the basic force for a person to act in a particular way.

Hence, we can define motivation as the process that influence people to achieve goals. Therefore, motivation is an essential part of work life. In the present market, most people choose an organization for employment believing that its motivation factors will help them achieve their own personal goals and this motivation process will prevail throughout the entire work life of an employee.

Why should companies motivate its employees?

Motivation is nothing but an action of inducement. The skill of motivating people is one of the most important works in an organization. Hence it is vital to understand people and the way to handle human resource, so that people work to the best of their ability. Psychologists define motivation as that which arouses behavior, sustains it, and channelises the behaviour into a specific course. (Rina, 2022)

The staff of any organization are key resources to that organization’s success. Human asset in the 21st century is considered the most important asset of any company (Hafiza, Shah, Jamsheed & Zaman, 2011)

We can segregate motivation to 02 types. They are

1. Intrinsic motivation

2. Extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is that an individual is motivated from within him or herself. In other words, it refers to performance of an action purely because of enjoyment he or she get from it. Researchers have found 03 basic needs which should be met to complete intrinsic motivation. They are relatedness, autonomy, competence.

Followings are examples for Intrinsic motivation factors we can observe in real world,

I. Give free time to employees to explore something which interests them
3M allowed its technical staff to spend 15% of their time on projects of their choosing.

II. Motivating the employees by granting non-financial benefits.
In 2004 a study based on major US bank cooperation found that employees were motivated from meeting their psychological needs other than salary and bonus

III. Focus on volunteer work.
Employers can allow employees to use their free time to volunteer work. Allowing that autonomy will act as motivation factor.

(Sutton, 2022)

Extrinsic motivation is that an individual is motivated by external factors such as rewards and recognition. There are people who are motivated from external motivation only (Employee motivation: Definition, types, importance, and ways to improve it | QuestionPro, 2022).

Followings are examples for extrinsic motivation factors we can observe in real world,

I. Compensation
Employee works for an organization based on the agreement that the employer will pay a salary at a previously agreed rate. In addition, they may feel inspired to take up more responsibilities or produce high quality work as they face potential pay raise.

II. Advancement
Employees get motivated when they are given an opportunity for an advancement in their career.

III. Rewards
The promise on tangible rewards such as bonus, extra vacation, or new office.

(Extrinsic Motivation in the Workplace: 5 Strategies & Examples to Motivate Employees, 2022)

Organizations must be mindful that its employees are people with different personality traits. Therefore, to gain maximum results from a motivation process, organizations must recognise the different traits and aspects of their employees (Employee Motivation: The Complete Guide | QuestionPro, 2022).

Motivation consists of 03 main aspects. They are needs, drive and goals. A need is deficit of some necessity while drive can be defined as the requirement produced by a need. An incentive encourages employees to achieve goals while it reduces the tension on the employee (Shrestha, 2017)

This continuing process is known as the Motivational Cycle

Figure 01

(Shrestha, 2017)

From above definitions we can identify followings as characteristics of motivation

1. It is a psychological concept

2. Employee is motivated as a whole

3. Motivation is always goal oriented

4. Motivation is a continuous or endless process

5. Motivation can be positive or negative

(Rina, 2022)

References:

Alexander, s., 2013. How to Motivate Employees in Less Than 5 Minutes. [online] entrepreneur. Available at: <https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229788> [Accessed 16 April 2022].

Boye, K. and Kwesi, A., 2015. Employee Motivation and Work Performance: A Comparative Study of Mining Companies in Ghana. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Man, [online] Available at: <https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/188771/1/v09-i02-p0255_1530-8688-1-PB.pdf> [Accessed 16 April 2022].

Fringe. 2022. Extrinsic Motivation in the Workplace: 5 Strategies & Examples to Motivate Employees. [online] Available at: <https://www.fringe.us/news/extrinsic-motivation-in-the-workplace> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Hafiza, N.S., Shah, S.S., Jamsheed, H. and Zaman, K., 2011. Relationship between rewards and employee’s motivation in the non-profit organizations of Pakistan. Business intelligence journal, 4(2), pp.327-334.

Indeed Career Guide. 2021. Extrinsic Motivation: Definition, Importance and 7 Examples. [online] Available at: <https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/example-of-extrinsic-motivation> [Accessed 28 April 2022].

QuestionPro. 2022. Employee motivation: Definition, types, importance, and ways to improve it | QuestionPro. [online] Available at: <https://www.questionpro.com/blog/employee-motivation/> [Accessed 16 April 2022].

Ramlall, S., 2004. A review of employee motivation theories and their implications for employee retention within organizations. Journal of American academy of business, 5(1/2), pp.52-63.

Rina, H., 2022. Employee Motivation: Meaning, Features, Objectives, Importance, Significance. [online] Economics Discussion. Available at: <https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/human-resource-management/employee-motivation/employee-motivation/32360> [Accessed 16 April 2022].

Sutton, J., 2022. Intrinsic Motivation in the Workplace: 5 Techniques To Motivate Employees. [online] PositivePsychology.com. Available at: <https://positivepsychology.com/intrinsic-motivation-in-the-workplace/> [Accessed 26 April 2022].

Shrestha, p., 2017. Motivational Cycle - Psychestudy. [online] Psychestudy. Available at: <https://www.psychestudy.com/general/motivation-emotion/motivational-cycle#:~:text=Motivation%20cycle%20is%20a%20transition,the%20motivational%20properties%20of%20behavior.> [Accessed 16 April 2022].