This report is based on John’s business, his company IOM Electronics Ltd is a regional organization with 200 employees based in Manchester and Liverpool. IOM Electronics Ltd defined all functions and areas that were needed to improve the business performance, now the company is focused on understanding what motivates employees to work.
There are many factors that influence the development of an organization, factors such as technology, equipment, machinery, raw material, and labor are some of the fundamental elements for there being a productive process and consequently achieving goals and profits. Indeed, human resource is the most vital in the industrial process, therefore, motivational theories emerged as the basis for the study of human needs.
The purpose of this report is to demonstrate why people work by understanding what motivates employees to work. In addition, this report will show the positive and negative impact that work can have on people and will discuss Maslow’s needs theory.
Motivation
According to Cambridge Dictionary (2020), motivation is the need or reason for doing something. Motivation is everything that moves people to do anything, in other words, it is what inspires people to engage with dedication, effort, and energy in what they do.
Furthermore, motivation can also be defined as the unconscious or conscious desire to obtain something, or as an impulse for satisfaction aiming at personal and organizational development (Business Dictionary, 2020).
Moreover, Armstrong (2005) states, that people behave in certain ways due to a set of motivational factors, and the three main mechanisms of motivation argued by Arnold et al. (1991) are the direction – what the individual is trying to do; the effort – how hard an individual is trying and; the persistence – how long an individual keeps trying.
What motivates people to work?
The reasons that make people work differ from person to person, some people work for the money, thinking about the sense of survival, which makes us believe that material goods will be our refuge, however, some people work for satisfaction, by the feeling of well-being (Flowers and Hughes, 1973).
Feeling useful, productive, and content with the opportunity to demonstrate the accumulated intelligence, either for academic life or professional life.
The different needs and prospects at work can be characterized by two types: extrinsic and intrinsic motivation (Osabiya, 2015).
Intrinsic Motivation
Intrinsic motivation is encouraged by internal factors to the individual himself, by the pleasure of performing a certain action, and by the pleasure of learning (Herzberg, 1957 cited in Armstrong, 2005).
Additionally, intrinsic motivation is related to the inner strength that can remain active even in the face of adversity. This type of motivation relates to individual interests and can be changed only by the person’s choice (Sansone and Harackiewicz, 2000). Generally, intrinsic motivation is associated with goals, objectives, and personal projects that encourage the individual to wake up every day, face traffic, and devote himself to intensive hours of work. This is a type of feeling that is present in most people, because it is what generates strength to be on the move, to conquer things, and to write their story by becoming the protagonist of life itself (Benedetti, Diefendorff, Gabriel and Chandler, 2015).
Extrinsic Motivation
Extrinsic motivation depends on needs that must be met by external reinforcements, such as rewards, compliments, and career progression (Armstrong, 2005).
Moreover, extrinsic motivation is also known as external motivation, the term is connected to the environment, situations, and external factors. Operation rewards for the sales team or the bonus offered to sellers who reach a certain billing amount are good examples. In the corporate environment, the organizational climate, diversified activities, improvement training, and other benefits stand out as efficient forms of external stimulus. They help keep the workforce committed and productive. This kind of incentive is a way to help people stay engaged and still serves as a harmonizing factor. According to Ryan and Deci, (2000), this means that under no circumstances can individuals be dependent on extrinsic motivation, they should, in fact, always encourage self-motivation.
Why is important motivation at work?
Motivation at work is important because, without a motivated workplace, companies could be in a very risky position. Employees motivation is important for the company due to the benefits that it brings, such as pushing human resources into action; improvement of the efficiency of employees; an increase in productivity, and accomplishment of the company goals, it boosts employees’ satisfaction and happiness with the company and increases the performance of the company and its employees (Osabiya, 2015).
In addition, motivating human resources it is particularly important for better utilization of resources, motivated employees help a company reach higher levels of productivity. According to Armstrong (2005, p.252), Well-motivated people are those with clearly defined goals who take action that they expect will achieve those goals, therefore, people with high levels of self-motivation are more likely to follow the company goals and contribute to the achievement and improvement of those goals. The company has a big impact on employee motivation as they provide encouragement and rewards, healthful work, and new opportunities for learning and growth (William, 2020).
Additionally, William (2020) states Knowing how to motivate your workforce will help ensure they’re enthusiastically bringing their best efforts each day and helping the company meets its sales and performance goals, whatever they might be.
Motivation Theories
To explain the behavior of workers in the work context, a set of theories about motivation has been developed from different perspectives. The most influential theories are classified as: content theory, Instrumentality theory, and process theory. The content theory argues that motivation is basically acting to satisfy needs and to identify the core needs that influence behavior. The process theory emphasizes the psychological elements that affect motivation, by reference to expectations, goals perceptions of equity, and, the Instrumentality theory defends that rewards or punishments help certify that people behave or act in desired ways.
Maslow Motivation Theory
Abraham Maslow was a psychotherapist that studied human experience by observing the things that are most important to humans: love, hope, faith, spirituality, individuality, and existence (Collin, 2012).
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs consists of the existence of five levels of needs. The goal is to determine the set of conditions necessary for an individual to achieve satisfaction, whether personal or professional.
According to Collin (2012), Maslow’s theory argues that human beings live in search of the satisfaction of certain needs that generate the motivating force in individuals. The basic needs (deficiency needs) are those considered necessary for survival, while the most complex (growth needs) are necessary to achieve personal and professional satisfaction (Armstrong, 2005).
The Maslow pyramid has been adapted to the professional environment to better exemplify how human needs can be understood within a corporate environment (Pontefract, 2016).
The satisfaction of these needs implies more motivated and happy employees with work. Being aware of this element helps a company reduce costs, optimize processes, and decrease the turnover of its employees (Hopper, 2020).
Positive Impact of Work
The more motivated the employee and team are, the better it will be for the performance of the company and the employees. The level of motivation in the company has impacts linked to the company’s productivity. However, making the employee feel motivated in the work environment is not an exactly easy job. It is necessary to create very well-planned strategies so that, when putting them into practice, it is possible to observe an improvement. Moreover, (Seppälä and Cameron, 2020) pointed out, When organizations develop positive, virtuous cultures they achieve significantly higher levels of organizational effectiveness – including financial performance, customer satisfaction, productivity, and employee engagement.
There are some of the positive impacts of the workplace on people:
- Improves time optimization (Cameron, 2020)
- Improves employees’ self-esteem (William, 2020)
- Personal growth
- Improvement in interpersonal relationships (Bryson, Forth, Stokes and NIESR, 2014)
- Recognition and appreciation
- Less stress (Cameron, 2020)
Negative Impact of Work
Unhappiness at work leads to a series of undesirable behaviors and generates negative impacts on organizations. Job dissatisfaction can be linked to several factors, whether external or internal. Internal factors are linked to the work environment, the team, the boss, the physical conditions of the workplace, salary, the possibility of professional growth and others; external factors, on the other hand, are related to the worker’s psychic health, interpersonal and family relationships, which influence the employee’s performance.
There are some of the negative impacts of the workplace on people:
- Absenteeism
- Decreased performance and productivity (CIPD 2012)
- Burnout (Shin et al. 2013)
- Absence of motivation (Shin et al. 2013)
- Poor performance (CIPD 2012)
- Emotional exhaustion (Maslach, 1993 cited in Shin et al. 2013)
- High levels of stress (CIPD 2012)
- Depression (Shin et al. 2013)
Conclusion
Summarizing, in this report we can see that there are different reasons for people to work. It can be money, recognition, or self-achievement. Motivation at work is extremely important to the business and to the employees. Both part win by being and giving motivation in the workplace. Additionally, motivation at the workplace helps employees achieve they personal and professional goals by increasing self-development and self-esteem.
Moreover, motivation at work is one of the most important factors for the recognition and growth of employees of a company, besides increasing synergy among other employees, productivity in the execution of tasks, help improve the business productivity, customer satisfaction, teamwork and profitability and success of the business.
Managers have the main job to motivate their employees, by allowing employees to satisfy their needs like breaks or to recognize good work with rewards.
In conclusion, the satisfaction of individual personal needs and individual professional needs are connected and have a big impact in the workplace. A person that is not happy with herself most like will be demotivated at work, however, the workplace can always motivate the employees to improve his self-esteem.
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