Latest research performed by CIPD reviled that almost 50% of the UK workforce are disengaged with their work and have no strong commitment to their work. This findings of course raise some questions on managing the employee motivation. In this current climate of rapid changes facing the business environment, it is fair to say that only fully motivated employees are capable to support the changes and make them happened. Therefore a motivation should something modern managers to research and have in-depth knowledge into the subject of motivation and more importantly, how to implement this understanding into they day-to-day work with employees.
What I would like to present in this article is to have an opportunity of understanding what motivation is as well as present some methodologies developed over time to support it.
Motivation is indeed a subject that fascinated theories and science and there is many resources and information available on this subject.
It is preferable, that employees are motivated to do their work as opposed to the managers of standing aside and monitoring each of their move to encourage to work faster and harder.
Motivation is the drive that determines whether we are willing to work harder and more effectively. We know by now, that different things will motivate different people.
A manager will often few the level of motivation among the employees by observing their behaviour. So the motivation is a product of psychological factor with an emotional component, that result in the decision by the individual to expand their efforts or not. It is the drive that someone has to achieve the end goal and it requires the individuals to put the effort and the focus in achieving something specific.
Expectancy theory
This theory is a cognitive view of motivation where individuals make their judgement that a specific behaviour will lead to achieving a certain goal. This theory provide a gracious approach on determining the level of motivation of an individual. It is based on the principle, that the motivation is driven by the expectation and valence. The employee will have an expectation of the outcome. This simple model is very helpful for the managers. This is because if we have an understanding of their expectations than we can make a judgement on the level of motivation and develop the strategies to respond effectively.
For example, project has been delayed and we need an individual to work few extra hours it can be easily assumed that they will have an expectation of financial reward and they will value that highly. But what if the employee doesn't consider the money worthwhile? And that's where the manager can come up with an alternative to shape the motivation in this example.
The hierarchy of needs
Most managers will be familiar with the Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Here, each level of need must be satisfied before individuals can move to the next level of need.
Maslow put the psychological needs first. These are: breathing, food, water, sleep for example. The next step would be the safety needs. These would include the security of the body, employment, resources, family health or property. The their level is the love and belonging. These would be for example a friendship and family. Above that, the self-esteem needs are presented. For example: self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others or respect by others. The highest level of needs would be the self-actualisation. It is connected to morality, creativity, problem solving, lack of prejudice or acceptance of facts.
Many researches believe that there are problems with this approach. Mainly, because there are number of factors that could affect the individual which are not related to their work, however it could be affecting their work and performance if personal issues occur. There is also the element of different needs being more valued by one individual and differently valued by another. For example some people was to be working in a team and belong to a certain group whereas others are much more happier on their own.
Two factor model
It is also identified that two main factors would influence the motivation of others.
Intrinsic factors are the psychological factors and they are strongly connected to the concept of valence, personal morale, values and beliefs.
Extrinsic factors will be connected to individuals satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Equity theory
This theory is based on the concept of fairness. It suggests that individuals will be more motivated if they perceive that they are being treated equally, and will be demotivated if they feel that there is an element of unfairness. Here however, the individuals decide what it means by being treated fairly, and they will determine this by looking on how other people are treated. Therefore this content is based on them making the comparison and making more effort if they consider equal management approach.
Goal theory
This theory suggests that the level of individual motivation will depend on the goal that was set to be achieved. Motivation increases when specific goals are set, even when they are difficult but accepted and there is a feedback on the performance. However, if the goals are not clear or the goals appear to be too difficult to achieve the individuals will not be motivated. This concept suggests that there need to be regular feedback so they know what is the goals they need to achieve.
Achievement needs theory
This theory suggests that there are three basic needs that individuals seek to satisfy: achievement, affiliation and power. This theory can be very useful from the management perspective. This suggests that employees will tend to develop a bias towards one of these needs and look for environment and situations to satisfy them. For example if someone is highly motivated by their achievement, the task given to the employee will demonstrate their ability to perform well. for the high affiliation individuals they will value the social context of the team and may not seek the power or responsibility as they will perceive this as some sort of social isolation.
One thing to remember is that motivation is not something that can be done to somebody else. It is only possible for an individual to motivate herself or himself. And here, the managers responsibility would be to create the environment where it is likely to happened. By developing skills of a coach and mentor there is a great chance for managers to create the conditions where motivation is high. Managers can create working environments where the engagement.
I hope this information you find here will provide you with sources of motivation that will help you and your organisation.
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