MOTIVATION IN

THE
WORKPLACE
Module 5
What comes to your
mind when you
hear motivation?
 • Enjoying the work that one is doing and

Motivation wanting to reach certain goals that one

has set for himself/herself like getting a
promotion.
• Something where someone feels a sense
of satisfaction from accomplishing
• Motivation is essentially about something or having successful results
after a very challenging situation.
the drive and commitment to
• Motivation is often used to lead
doing something.
employees to become productive
• Point of view of business,
members of the organization because
motivation is somebody’s motivated employees are assets of the
willingness to work. organization.
THE MEANING AND NATURE OF MOTIVATION

• Motivation in the workplace is defined as the willingness to exert high

levels of effort toward organizational goals conditioned by the effort’s
ability to satisfy some individual needs (Robbins in Mobbs and
McFarland, 2010).
• Motivated employees results in better organizational performance.
• Most notable of them are Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Locke’s goal-
setting theory, Skinner’s reinforcement theory, Adam’s equity theory, and
Vroom’s expectancy theory, to name just a few, all made their way into
management textbooks, all speculating on how to best motivate employees
to increase profits.
 • Maslow’s needs hierarchy, Alderfer’s ERG
Motivation Theories theory, McClelland’s achievement motivation
and Herzberg’s two-factor theory.

• Content theories which are also called the

need theories focus on WHAT
• Process theories focus on HOW human
• Content theories which are the earliest
behaviour is motivated.
theories of motivation have had the
• Process theories are concerned with the
greatest impact on management practice
occurrence of motivation and what
and policy, but are the least accepted in the
influences the occurrence of motivation
academic community.
• Skinner’s reinforcement theory, Victor
• Tries to identify what our needs are and
Vroom's expectancy theory, Adam’s equity
relate motivation to the fulfillment of these
theory and Lock’s goal setting theory.
needs.
 Maslow hierarchy of needs

• This is the earliest and most widely known theory of motivation, developed by
Abraham Maslow (1943) in the 1940s and 1950s.
• Needs are classified into five basic categories which are ordered in his hierarchy,
beginning with the basic psychological needs and continuing through safety,
belonging and love, esteem and self-actualization
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs is always shown in the shape of a pyramid where
physiological needs are at the bottom of the pyramid and the need for self-
actualization at the top.
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of
(Source: Author's own
Needs
figure)

1. Physiological needs are the most basic needs of humans to survive like water, air
and food. Maslow emphasized that our body and mind cannot function well if these
needs are not satisfied. A person who lacks food, safety, love (also sex) and esteem,
would most probably hunger for food (and also for money, salary to buy food) than
for anything else.
2. Safety and security needs refer to a person’s desire for security or protection. the
needs for safety become an active, first-line and dominant mobilizer of human beings.
 Maslow’s Hierarchy of
(Source: Author's own
Needs
figure)

3. Belongingness and love. Maslow claimed people need to belong and be accepted
among their social groups.
4. Esteem means being valued, respected and appreciated by others. People need to feel
significant, useful, or valued by others. People with low self-esteem often need respect
from others.
5. Self-actualization. What humans can be, they must be. (Maslow, 1954).Self-
actualization reflects an individual’s desire to grow and develop to his/her fullest
potential. Maslow described this level as the need to accomplish everything that one
can, to become the most that one can be.
 Alderfer ERG theory: Existence needs, relatedness needs and growth
needs

According to Alderfer (Furnham, 2008) there are three classes of needs: existence ,
relatedness and growth.

Relatedness Needs

Encompass social and external esteem;

Existence Needs
These Include all material and
physiological desires (e.g., food, water, air,
clothing, safety, physical love and
affection). Maslow's first two levels.
relationships with significant others like
family, friends, co-workers and employers .
This also means to be recognized and feel
secure as part of a group or family.
Maslow's third and fourth level
 Growth Needs

Internal esteem and self actualization; these impel a person to make creative or productive
effects on himself and the environment (e.g., to progress toward one's ideal self). Maslow's
fourth and fifth levels. This includes desires to be creative and productive, and to complete
meaningful tasks.

Alderfer ERG theory: Existence needs, relatedness needs and growth

needs

Alderfer agreed with Maslow that unsatisfied needs motivate individuals.

Alderfer also agreed that individuals generally move up the hierarchy in
satisfying their needs; that is, they satisfy lower-order before higher-order
needs
 In the early 1960s David
McClelland Need McClelland built on Maslow’s the
for achievement, Learned Needs Theory.

affiliation and
He concurred that people have three
power motivating drivers, and it does not
depend on our gender or age. One of
these drives or needs will be
dominant in our behaviour and this
depends on our culture and life
experiences. This in turn results in
diversified behavior of employees.
 These three motivators are:

1. Achievement
2. Affiliation
3. Power
 Herzberg two factor
theory
• Herzberg’s Two Factor theory is also
called motivation-hygiene theory.
• This theory says that there are factors
(motivating factors) that cause job
satisfaction, and motivation and
some other also separated factors
(hygiene factors) cause
dissatisfaction.
• According to Herzberg (1987) the job
satisfiers deal with the factors
involved in doing the job, whereas the
job dissatisfiers deal with the factors
which define the job context.
• Hygiene factors are needed to ensure
that an employee is not dissatisfied.
Motivation factors are needed to
ensure employee's satisfaction and to
motivate an employee to higher
performance.
• Positive reinforcements , for example
verbal praise, appreciation, extra
vacation days, stock options or any other
reward can increase the possibility that
the rewarded behaviour will happen
again.
• Negative reinforcement occurs for
example when we try to reduce stress by
altering employee hours. In this case
altering employee hours is a negative
reinforcement because it reduces the
unpleasant state (state).
Skinner's reinforcement theory
• The reinforcement theory is included in
many other motivation theories. Reward
must meet someone's needs,
expectations, must be applied equitably,
and must be consistent. The desired
behaviour must be clear and realistic,
but the issue remains: which
reinforcements are suitable and for
which person?
 Vroom's expectancy theory

• The expectancy theory places an emphasis on the process and on the

content of motivation as well, and it integrates needs, equity and
reinforcement theories.
• Vroom defines motivation as a process that governs our choices among
alternative forms of voluntary behaviour.
• The basic rationale of this theory is that motivation comes from the belief
that decisions will have their desired outcomes.
The motivation to engage in an activity is determined by appraising three factors. These
three factors are the following:

Expectancy Instrumentality Valence

A person’s belief that

The person’s belief
more effort will result
that there is a The degree to which a
in success. This means
connection between person values the
that better performance
activity and goal. If reward, the results of
will result if someone
you perform well, you success.
works harder.
will get reward.
The expectancy theory highlights individual
differences in motivation and contains three
useful factors for understanding and increasing
motivation. This theory implies equity and
importance of consistent rewards as well (Konig
& Steel 2006).
The theory suggests that although individuals may have different sets of goals, they can be
motivated if they believe that:

1. There is a positive 2. Favorable performance will

correlation between efforts and result in a desirable reward,
performance,

4. The desire to satisfy the

3. The reward will satisfy an need is strong enough to make
important need, the effort worthwhile.
 Adams' equity theory

• The equity theory states that people are motivated if they are treated
equitably, and receive what they consider fair for their effort and costs.
• The theory was suggested by Adams (1965) and is based on Social
Exchange theory.
• According to this theory, people compare their contribution to work,
costs of their actions and the benefits that will result to the contribution
and benefits of the reference person.
When inequity exists, the person might:

1. Reduce his/her inputs, efforts, quantity or quality of his/her

work
2. Try to increase his/her outputs
3. Adjust his/her perception of reference person or his/her
outcomes or inputs
4. Change the reference person
5. Quit the situation.
 Locke's goal-setting theory

• Locke's (1990) goal setting theory is an integrative model

of motivation just like the expectancy theory.
• It emphasizes that setting specific, challenging
performance goals and the commitment to these
goals are key determinants of motivation.
The following guidelines have been useful in the goal-setting :

• Set challenging but attainable goals.

• Set specific and measurable goals.
• Goal commitment should be obtained.
• Support elements should be provided.
• Knowledge of results is essential.
 Alienation at work

• Alienation in the workplace happens when a worker can

express individuality only when they are producing work.
Feelings of alienation can happen without the employee or
employer even realizing it.
• When they lose their independence and become just another
part of a bigger picture they feel emotionally separated from
others and this is when they feel alienated.
Types of Alienation

• Alienation from production.

This type of alienation happens when the worker does not see the final
product they produce; rather, they focus only on a piece of what they are
producing.
• Alienation from the act of production.
This happens when an employee is only given a set of instructions to
complete; they do not get the instructions for the entire process.
 • Alienation from themselves.
This typeof alienation happens when people cannot maintain that part of
their humanity; they feel as though they cannot be themselves. They may
even begin to feel like they are not human
• Alienation from others.
This type of alienation tends to happen when workers specialize in a
small piece of a larger whole. While it may be good for employees to
have a specialty, these employees begin to feel like they are in a thankless
job, and they also may feel like they're missing out on bonding with
others.
HOW EMPLOYEES FEEL ALIENATION

1. Keeping them in the dark.

2. Not asking for their input.
3. Keeping them boxed in.
4. Ignoring their goals.
5. Working them too hard.
6. Playing favorites. Instead.
7. Not valuing them.
Creating a motivating work setting

High level employee motivation is derived from effective

management practice. To motivate employees, a manager
should treat people as individual, empower workers,
provide an effective reward system, redesign jobs, and
create flexible workplace.
 1. Empowering employees
Providing employees with the resources,
authority, opportunity, and motivation to do their
work, as well as holding them accountable for
their actions, will make employees happier and
3. Redesigning jobs
more proficient.
Applies motivational theories to the
2. Providing an effective reward structure of work
system
Employees are ultimately motivated by two
goals, earning money and being fulfilled within
their job.
 Redesign attempts may
include the following:
Job rotation. This practice assigns people to
different jobs or tasks to different people on
a temporary basis. The idea is to add variety
and to expose people to the dependence that
one job has on other jobs.
Job enlargement. Often referred to as
horizontal job loading, job
enlargement increases the variety of
tasks a job includes.
Job enrichment. Also called vertical
job loading, this application includes
not only an increased variety of tasks,
but also provides an employee with
more responsibility and authority.
 Job Characteristics Model (JCM)
by Hackman and Oldham :

According to The Job Characteristics

Model the presence of five core job
dimensions ensures three psychological
states.
 Experienced
meaningfulness
of the work
Critical
Psychological States Experienced
responsibility for the
outcomes of work

Knowledge of the actual

1 2 3
results of the work
activity
 Skill variety Core Job Dimensions Task significance

This refers to the range This looks at the

of skills and activities Task identity impact and influence
necessary to complete of a job.
the job.
This dimension
measures the
Feedback
Autonomy degree to which
the job requires This dimension measures the
completion of a amount of information an
This describes the whole and
amount of individual employee receives about his or her
identifiable piece performance, and the extent to
choice and discretion of work.
involved in a job. which he or she can see the impact
of the work.
Thank you!