Motivating Employees in Management

Motivation refers to the forces either within or external to a person that arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action. Employee motivation affects productivity, and part of a manager’s job is to channel motivation toward the accomplishment of organizational goals.

It is the responsibility of managers to find the right combination of motivational techniques and rewards to satisfy employees’ needs and simultaneously encourage great work performance. Managers who understand the motives that compel people to initiate, alter, or continue a desired behavior are more successful as motivators.

Intrinsic rewards are the satisfactions that a person receives in the process of performing a particular action. The completion of a complex task may bestow a pleasant feeling of accomplishment, or solving a problem that benefits others may fulfill a personal mission. Extrinsic rewards are given by another person, typically a manager, and include promotions, praise, and pay increases. They originate externally, as a result of pleasing others.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory proposes that people are motivated by multiple needs and that these needs exist in a hierarchical order. According to Maslow’s theory, low-order needs take priority - they must be satisfied before higher-order needs are activated. The needs are satisfied in sequence: Physiological needs come before safety needs, safety needs before belongingness needs, and so on.

The ERG theory identified three categories of needs. Work characteristics associated with dissatisfaction were quite different from those pertaining to satisfaction, which prompted the notion that two factors influence work motivation.

Herzberg believed that two entirely separate dimensions contribute to an employee’s behavior at work. The center of the scale is neutral, meaning that workers are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. The first, called hygiene factors, involves the presence or absence of job dissatisfiers, such as working conditions, pay, company policies, and interpersonal relationships. When hygiene factors are poor, work is dissatisfying. However, good hygiene factors simply remove the dissatisfaction; they do not in themselves cause people to become highly satisfied and motivated in their work.

The second set of factors does influence job satisfaction. Motivators focus on high-level needs and include achievement, recognition, responsibility, and opportunity for growth. Herzberg believed that when motivators are absent, workers are neutral toward work, but when motivators are present, workers are highly motivated and satisfied.

The acquired needs theory proposes that certain types of needs are acquired during the individual’s lifetime. In other words, people are not born with these needs but may learn them through their life experiences.

Motivation theories help managers understand what motivates people. In this way, managers can design work to meet needs and hence elicit appropriate and successful work behaviors. Employee engagement means that people enjoy their jobs and are satisfied with their work conditions, contribute enthusiastically to meeting team and organizational goals, and feel a sense of belonging and commitment to the organization.

Studies have identified a correlation between high levels of employee engagement and company performance, including less turnover, greater profitability, and stronger employee and customer loyalty.

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