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Employee Motivation
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Institution Affiliation
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Employee Motivation
Motivating workers is all about tapping into that inner fire so they can put in the time and
effort required to get the job done. Positively motivated workers are invaluable to any company,
and their actions will have a noticeable impact on the business's overall performance. As a result,
employee motivation is nebulous, hard to measure, and incredibly difficult to regulate, yet
relatively easy to facilitate if done correctly. All that matters are the focus, determination, and
determination. There are different factors in an organization that affects workers' motivation, as
will be outlined in this essay.
Motivation can come from within oneself, intrinsic motivation, or from other influences,
extrinsic motivation. By definition, an intrinsically motivated person is one who gets their drive
from inside. The worker is motivated to do well at work since their values are reflected in their
accomplishments1. Therefore, a person's most powerful motivators are their deeply held
convictions. Acceptance, curiosity, honor, and a drive for achievement are all characteristics
shared by successful people2. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation describes a state of mind in
which an individual is motivated by considerations beyond themselves, such as prizes and
accolades. Therefore, it is possible that some people will never feel intrinsically motivated and
that only external incentives will help them complete the tasks at hand.
Firstly, a company can significantly impact employee engagement through incentive and
recognition systems. Praise loses its luster if it is not accompanied by a financial reward.
Therefore, public acknowledgment of good performance should not be relied upon as a
permanent motivator3. In some circumstances, recognition alone is enough to motivate workers,
but if they aren't rewarded for going above and beyond, they'll soon lose interest. An employee
might be rewarded in a variety of ways. It's preferable to provide a variety of prizes, from once-
in-a-lifetime trips and experiences to vouchers and even a day off work, because of the wide
range in cost and impact between them4. Recognizing and rewarding employees helps foster a
healthy work environment and inspires people to go above and beyond in their jobs.
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(Jabagi et al. 2019)
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(Razak, Sarpan, and Ramlan 2018)
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Secondly, the culture of decision-making in the workplace has an effect on the decisions
that employees make while they are there. When it comes to decision-making, individuals should
be given the opportunity to take certain risks in the workplace so that a culture of innovation and
creativity can be encouraged5. The ability to learn about and contribute to the overall context of
the company is facilitated when there are clear lines of communication between workers and
managers. This is beneficial to both groups. It is essential to hone in on the specific aspects of
organizational behavior that need to be changed or maintained in their current state. One method
in which a company can cultivate a culture that is more productive and positive is by removing
the barriers that keep employees from giving their absolute best effort.
In addition, employees are more motivated by the possibility of advancing in their careers
and receiving training than by monetary compensation. Employees, in this case, feel more
motivated when they are involved in employee involvement programs. Employee growth fosters
independence and increases productivity in the workplace while also assisting workers in
increasing their contribution to your company6. When a company takes an interest in its staff, it
increases loyalty, retention, and morale. When managers show they care about their employees'
professional growth, it sends a powerful message that the organization has faith in them and
wants them to advance in their careers.
Employees who feel they have been invested in by the company work harder as a result.
Some of the employee involvement programs include employee stock ownership plans,
collective leadership, and representative leadership7. ESOPs are a common type of employee
benefit plan in which the company makes a financial or stock contribution to a trust for the
purpose of purchasing shares of stock for the employees. Employees are then given shares of the
stock. The effect of ESOPs on productivity is still up for debate, despite evidence suggesting
they boost employee happiness; businesses that provide ESOPs tend to fare no better than those
that don't.
Subordinates in the workplace have a significant say in major decisions alongside their
superiors. Studies have shown that employees are more committed to decisions when managers
don't know everything they're doing because of the increasing complexity of the work they
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(PAAIS and PATTIRUHU 2020)
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conduct. There is some evidence that this strategy can improve workplace outcomes, including
productivity, morale, and satisfaction. In representative leadership, a cross-section of the staff
plays an active role in making choices on behalf of the whole. Having a voice in corporate
decisions through a representative body is intended to give workers additional power alongside
management and shareholders. It appears to have little effect on workers as a whole, and its
significance is more symbolic than inspiring.
Leadership is also an important factor that affects workers' motivation. Authoritarian,
paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire, transactional, and transformational are just some of the
various leadership philosophies that exist. Standards, simple goals, regulations, processes, and
control are fundamental to the work of the transactional leader8. Leaders that operate primarily
on the transactional level are concerned with maintaining the status quo and minimizing
unnecessary risks to the organization. Although transactional leadership is beneficial in some
situations, transformational leadership has proven to be more successful in achieving
organizational goals and increasing employee engagement, commitment, performance, and
loyalty9. A transactional leader is one who only interacts with employees when something goes
wrong. As an added downside, executives who are only concerned with making transactions fail
to inspire their teams or aid in their professional development.
On the other side, leaders who improve their teams' culture and performance are able to
motivate their staff to greater heights through their own example and by stretching and growing
their own leadership skills10. Among the most critical functions of a leader is to inspire their
followers to work toward a shared vision. By outlining an idea that raises staff members'
awareness of and appreciation for the significance of the organization's values, goals, and
performances, transformational leaders empower and encourage staff members to be more
mindful of their work. Therefore, the theory of transformational leadership places a premium on
a shared vision, which is an idealized set of goals that the group hopes to achieve in the future.
By setting clear goals and communicating them effectively, transformational leaders
inspire confidence and competence in their followers. By cultivating human resources and
implementing justifiable changes, transformational leaders are able to boost organizational
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(Nielsen et al. 2019)
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outcomes in line with market demands11. A person's level of intrinsic motivation and how eager
he is to gain knowledge through developing particular talents and meaningful learning are
directly correlated. The ability of psychological empowerment, also known as intrinsic
motivation, can be significantly increased by a transformational leader's influence 12. Therefore,
under the guidance of transformational leaders, staff members freely strive to maximize their
abilities.
Last but not least, the importance of a pleasant workplace cannot be overstated as a
means of encouraging workers to do their best. The term "physical environment" encompasses
both the actual building where work is done and the surrounding atmosphere. The working
environment's physical components include all necessary tools13. For the most part, successful
businesses make sure their workers have everything they need to do their jobs well and actively
encourage them to make the most of the opportunities presented to them. Additionally,
corporations have designed virtual offices where employees can do their jobs from the comfort
of their own homes, thereby boosting productivity.
Employees attach a high value to the intangibles of involvement and communication. The
intangible environment comprises the attitudes and organizational strategies for handling
employees. Numerous strategies, such as consistent feedback, opportunities for growth, and new
challenges every day, can boost employee engagement14. Trust is the foundation for an open
discourse that leads to effective communication. One of the first steps in making the company a
place where everyone can grow professionally is having open and honest lines of
communication.
When an organization’s environment evokes emotional pressure, that employee's
productivity suffers. Emotional pressure is the state of having to work because of an outside
threat to one's sense of self. A variety of emotions can exert influence, including fear, peer
pressure, and shame15. An employee can be under emotional pressure when they take action to
avoid failing themselves or others. This motivation has nothing to do with the actual work being
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(Nielsen et al. 2019)
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done. In cases where the worker is not compensated enough, financial hardships become a major
factor. Their drive could suffer as a result of this.
An essential aspect of the working environment is the employee relationship fostered by
the organization. In resource-constrained settings, one of the most outstanding issues is keeping
employees motivated because of the lack of teamwork16. Inadequate and obsolete medical
resources, limited professional development chances, lack of advancement opportunities, and
severe job overload are widely cited as factors of irritation and demotivation in resource-limited
situations by organizations like healthcare facilities17. Worker absenteeism and turnover are both
significant indicators of this demotivation. There is usually more fear than trust when people
have to work together. Workers are reluctant to speak up for fear that their ideas will be
misinterpreted or that they will receive poorly phrased criticism.
Leaders foster an environment where employees feel comfortable speaking their minds.
There are strategies for doing so to encourage team member input. Make it a habit to ask
everyone on the team for information on a regular basis using a predetermined format. Be open
to hearing both positive and negative feedback from them. In time, this will lead to a greater
sense of trust among team members. Any company worth it's salt will actively seek ways to
boost morale among its staff18. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to promote a
constructive outlook in the workplace. After setting limitations, boundaries, and crucial points at
which you want to receive feedback, delegate decision-making within the precise framework of
the PDP and continue effective communication. In addition, businesses might add more complex
tasks to the position's scope. Give the worker certain functions that will allow them to learn and
develop their abilities. Employees' skills and productivity can both benefit from being challenged
by new tasks19. Assigning the worker in charge of leading several initiatives and groups;
employees who report to them on projects, teams, or under their supervision in charge. Give the
worker a chance to interact with the manager more frequently. Employees generally appreciate
the extra care.
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(Kotera, Adhikari, and Van Gordon 2018)
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In conclusion, to get people to put in the time and effort needed to complete a task, it is
necessary to ignite a spark within them. Motivated employees are priceless to any organization,
and their efforts will show in the company's success. One's level of motivation can be either
internally generated (intrinsic) or externally influenced (extrinsic). A person who is intrinsically
motivated is one whose inspiration comes from the inside rather than from external sources.
When a person's personal beliefs and ideals are represented in their job, they feel a strong sense
of pride and are, therefore, more likely to perform well. An organization's leadership, its
decision-making culture, and its recognition and incentive systems are just a few of the elements
that can have a significant impact on an employee's level of motivation.
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Bibliography
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Razak, Abdul, Sarpan Sarpan, and Ramlan Ramlan. 2018. “Influence of Promotion and Job
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Nielsen, Poul Aaes, Stefan Boye, Ann-Louise Holten, Christian Bøtcher Jacobsen, and Lotte
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PAAIS, Maartje, and Jozef R. PATTIRUHU. 2020. “Effect of Motivation, Leadership, and
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https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2020.vol7.no8.577.
Kotera, Yasuhiro, Prateek Adhikari, and William Van Gordon. 2018. “Motivation Types and
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