Motivation

Burleson and Steiner define motivation as “an inner state that energizes, activates, and directs or
channelizes behavior towards certain goals.”

Importance of Motivation in Work

In the context of an organization, motivation can be understood as those factors that drive the
employees to achieve the goals of the organization.

How work motivation impacts organizations.

• High level of performance: There is a strong correlation between work motivation and
performance. Highly motivated employees are regular at work and have a sense of
belonging to the organization. Quality of work improves, wastage is minimum, and there
is an increase in overall productivity.

• Better organizational image: Motivated employees display higher job satisfaction.

Employees of an organization are a representation of the organization. Thus, an
organization with satisfied employees attracts better talent. This finally contributes to a
better brand image for the organization in the market.

• Better acceptance of change: One of the biggest challenges for managers is mitigating
change among employees. If employees are motivated about their work, they will also
accept change better. They will upskill themselves which will better prepare them to face
the constantly evolving work demands. Take the example of the pandemic scenario.
Employees who were motivated were able to accept the challenge, adapt to new
technology and work styles, and continue performing.

• Lower absenteeism and turnover rates: Employees who are not sufficiently motivated
tend to miss work. A high level of absenteeism causes a low level of production, wastage,
poor quality, and disruption in production schedules. If dissatisfaction due to lack of
motivation increases, employees may be tempted to quit the organization. And an
increase in turnover is disastrous for any organization. It puts strain on the financial
position of the organization due to additional costs of recruitment, selection, training, and
development.

Types of Motivation

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation

Broadly, work motivation can be divided into two types – intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic
motivational factors are those that are within the person and drive them to work. For example, if
a passionate engineer gets a new challenging assignment and works extra hours to come up with
a solution, they are displaying intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is
when external factors drive the person to work. So, if the engineer worked extra hours in order to
get a bonus or praise from the boss, that would be extrinsic motivation.

What implications does this have for an organization? In terms of intrinsic motivation, an
organization would strive to select and retain people who are passionate about their work and
who derive satisfaction internally from the work given to them. But this may not be possible or
sufficient always. For this reason, organizations must also focus on extrinsic motivation. Perks,
bonuses, festive allowances, and awards are some examples of ways in which organizations can
motivate their employees extrinsically. It is the skill of a manager to identify the specific
motivating factors for the employees and design motivational strategies accordingly.

Theories of motivation

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow suggested that every individual has a combination of needs at any
particular moment and their behavior is determined by the existence of the strongest
need. He stated that human beings have five types of needs – these can be seen in the
diagram below.

Diagram: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

As seen in the diagram, the needs form a pyramid and follow a hierarchal pattern. Moreover,
only one need dominates at any given point in time. Once that need is satisfied, the next need
emerges. Maslow believed that our behavior is regulated in the process of achieving the
satisfaction of this series of needs.

Physiological needs - Maslow considered physiological need as the strongest need and hence
it has the highest strength as compared to the other needs. An individual will always strive to
ensure that basic bodily needs like hunger, thirst, shelter, and clothing are met. The most
basic motivation to work comes from this need because work indirectly helps us fulfill these
basic needs.

Safety or security needs - Once the physiological needs of an individual are satisfied, the
safety need /security need arises. From a survival perspective, every individual would like to
avoid harm. Likewise, every factory worker would like to work in a safe environment where
safety measures are followed. Even when work isn’t directly hazardous, an employee would
seek an organization that offers job security. Employers also guarantee employee safety and
security through facilities like medical insurance policies and pension schemes.
Social needs – Once an individual feels safe, the need to connect with people and belong to a
group emerges. Bonding with colleagues at the workplace or being a team member on a
project is some ways in which employees may fulfill their social needs at the workplace.

Esteem needs – Once settled in an organization, employees may also want recognition and
appreciation for the work done. An organization that boosts one’s self-respect and self-
confidence through praise, promotion, or special recognition. Is always liked by employees.
If these needs are satisfied it gives an individual a sense of self-worth and ego satisfaction.

Self-actualization need – The last need in Maslow’s hierarchy is the need for self-
actualization. This is the stage where an employee achieves their fullest potential. Some
employees may never reach this level since it needs an extremely favorable environment,
support, and motivation.

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory or Hygiene Theory

Fredrick Herzberg and his associates developed a motivation theory based on the findings of
research that they conducted across organizations. The basic premise of the theory is that
dissatisfaction and satisfaction and two separate factors. The theory, therefore, proposes two
types of factors that affect employee motivation. These two factors are maintenance factors
and motivational factors.
Maintenance factors are conditions at the workplace that do not directly motivate employees
to work. But if these conditions are absent, it definitely causes dissatisfaction among
employees. Basic job security, technical support, and office space with basic amenities are
conditions that are assumed to be met at any organization.

Motivational factors are a set of job conditions, which operate primarily to build strong
motivation and job satisfaction. The presence of these factors fosters job satisfaction and
overall performance. Recognition, the possibility of advancement in the job, and
responsibilities are some examples of motivational factors.

Vroom’s Expectancy Theory

The previous two theories that we discussed, laid more emphasis on what the manager or
organization should do. Vroom propagated the Expectancy Theory which has the employee
in focus. He believed that employees will be motivated to put in a lot of effort in their work,
if they believe that these efforts will lead to good performance and therefore organizational
rewards.
The focus of the theory is on three elements.

Efforts - Performance relationship. It is related to the probability perceived by the employee

that exerting a given amount of effort will lead to performance

This is called - Expectancy.

Performance - Reward Relationship. The degree to which the individual believes

that performing at a particular level will lead to the attainment of the desired outcome

This is called - Instrumentality.

Reward-personal goal relationship. The degree to which an organizational reward will satisfy
individual needs and its attractiveness for the individual

This is called - Valence.

A school teacher will be motivated to take extra effort to teach her subject if she knows that
her students enjoy it and are learning better. But her efforts will be meaningful if the students
actually score well in the exam and the school appreciates her teaching. Finally, the
appreciation by the school should be in a manner that the teacher personally values.

This theory helps us understand that since every employee is unique, different things will
motivate different employees.