Employee Motivation 2024 PDF

Employee Motivation Motivation. Internal force that drives a worker to action as well as the external factors that encourage that action. Ability and skill- worker can do the job Motivation- worker will do it properly Note: 1. Measuring actual levels of motivation can be difficult. As a resul...

Employee Motivation Motivation. Internal force that drives a worker to action as well as the external factors that encourage that action. Ability and skill- worker can do the job Motivation- worker will do it properly Note: 1. Measuring actual levels of motivation can be difficult. As a result, other than asking employees about their motivation levels, researchers use behaviors that imply high levels of motivation. 2. There are problems with using such behaviors as proxies for motivation. The various theories suggest that employees will be highly motivated if: they have a personality that predisposes them to be motivated; their expectations have been met; the job and the organization are consistent with their values; the employees have been given achievable goals; the employees receive feedback on their goal attainment; the organization rewards them for achieving their goals; the employees perceive they are being treated fairly; and their coworkers demonstrate a high level of motivation.  Is an Employee Predisposed to Being Motivated? Psychologists have postulated that some employees are more predisposed to being motivated than are others. That is, some employees come to most jobs with a tendency to be motivated, whereas others come with the tendency to be unmotivated. Researchers have found four individual differences that are most related to work motivation: 1. Personality 2. Self-esteem 3. An intrinsic motivation tendency 4. Need for achievement. 1. Personality Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs). Behaviors that are not part of an employee’s job but will make the organization a better place to work (e.g., helping others, staying late). Most psychologists believe that there are five main personality dimensions: Openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and stability. Meta-analyses have found that several of these dimensions are related to behaviors suggesting high levels of motivation. Conscientiousness is the best personality predictor of work performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and academic performance; stability is most associated with salary and setting high goals; and extraversion is most highly correlated with the number of promotions received. 2. Self-esteem. The extent towhich a person views him or herself as a valuable and worthy individual. Chronic self-esteem.The positive or negative way in which a person views himself or herself as a whole. Situational self-esteem. The positive or negative way in which a person views him or herself in a particular situation. Socially influenced self-esteem. The positive or negative way in which a person views him or herself based on the expectations of others.  Consistency theory. Korman’s theory that employees will be motivated to perform at levels consistent with their levels of self-esteem. Self-fulfilling prophecy. The idea that people behave in ways consistent with their self-image. Galatea effect. When high self-expectations result in higher levels of performance.  Pygmalion effect/ Rosenthal effect. The idea that if people believe that something is true, they will act in a manner consistent with that belief. Golem effect. When negative expectations of an individual cause a decrease in that individual’s performance. 3. Intrinsic motivation. Work motivation in the absence of such external factors as pay, promotion, and coworkers. Extrinsic motivation. Work motivation that arises from such non-personal factors as pay, coworkers, and opportunities for advancement. Work Preference Inventory (WPI). A measure of an individual’s orientation toward intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation. 4. Need for achievement. According to trait theory, the extent to which a person desires to be successful. Need for affiliation. The extent to which a person desires to be around other people. Need for power. According to trait theory, the extent to which a person desires to be in control of other people. Self-regulation. A theory that employees can be motivated by monitoring their own progress toward the goals they set and adjusting their behavior to reach those goals. Self- regulation is a four-step process in which people: 1. Choose their goals and set levels for each goal. 2. Plan how they will accomplish those goals. 3. Take action toward accomplishing the goals (goal striving). 4. Evaluate progress toward goal attainment and either maintain, revise, or abandon a goal. Meeting Employee’s Values and Expectations Job Expectations. A discrepancy between what an employee expected a job to be like and the reality of the job can affect motivation and satisfaction. Realistic job preview (RJP). A method of recruitment in which job applicants are told both the positive and the negative aspects of a job.  Job characteristics theory. The theory proposed by Hackman and Oldham that suggests that certain characteristics of a job will make the job more or less satisfying, depending on the particular needs of the worker. According to this theory, employees desire jobs that are meaningful, provide them with the opportunity to be personally responsible for the outcome of their work (autonomy), and provide them with feedback of the results of their efforts. If there is a discrepancy between the extent to which a job provides these three outcomes and an employee’s need for these outcomes, the employee will be less motivated.  Job characteristics theory. The theory proposed by Hackman and Oldham that suggests that certain characteristics of a job will make the job more or less satisfying, depending on the particular needs of the worker. According to this theory, employees desire jobs that are meaningful, provide them with the opportunity to be personally responsible for the outcome of their work (autonomy), and provide them with feedback of the results of their efforts. If there is a discrepancy between the extent to which a job provides these three outcomes and an employee’s need for these outcomes, the employee will be less motivated.  Needs, Values, and Wants. A discrepancy between an employee’s needs, values, and wants and what a job offers can also lead to low levels of motivation and satisfaction. Three theories focus on employees’ needs and values: 1. Maslow’s needs hierarchy 2. ERG (existence, relatedness, and growth) theory 3. Two-factor theory. 1. Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Hierarchy A system arranged by rank. Needs theory. A theory based on the idea that employees will be satisfied with jobs that satisfy their needs. Basic biological needs The first step in Maslow’s needs hierarchy, concerning survival needs for food, air, water, and the like. Safety needs The second step in Maslow’s hierarchy, concerning the need for security, stability, and physical safety. Social needs. The third step in Maslow’s hierarchy, concerning the need to interact with other people. Ego needs. The fourth step in Maslow’s hierarchy, concerning the individual’s need for recognition and success. Self-actualization needs. The fifth step in Maslow’s hierarchy, concerning the need to realize one’s potential. 2. ERG theory. Alderfer’s needs theory, which describes three levels of satisfaction: existence, relatedness, and growth. 3. Two-factor theory. Herzberg’s needs theory, postulating that there are two factors involved in job satisfaction: hygiene factors and motivators. Hygiene factors. In Herzberg’s two-factor theory, job-related elements that result from but do not involve the job itself. Motivators. In Herzberg’s two-factor theory, elements of a job that concern the actual duties performed by the employee. Employee’s Achievable Goals Goal setting. A method of increasing performance in which employees are given specific performance goals to aim for. For goal setting to be most successful, the goals themselves should possess certain qualities represented by the acronym SMART: Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Timely  Specific. Properly set goals are concrete and specific (Locke & Latham, 2002). A goal such as “I will produce as many as I can” will not be as effective as “I will print five thousand pages in the next hour.” The more specific the goal, the greater the productivity. Measurable. Properly set goals are measurable. That is, if one’s goal is to improve performance or increase customer service, can performance or customer service be measured? e.g. "Increase the production efficiency of the assembly line by 15% within the next six months by implementing automated tools and optimizing workflow processes."  Difficult but Attainable. Properly set goals are high but attainable. If an employee regularly prints 5,000 pages an hour and sets a goal of 4,000 pages, performance is certainly not going to increase. Though setting higher goals generally leads to better performance than does setting lower goals, the level of goal difficulty will most affect the performance when employees are committed to reaching the goal.  Relevant. Properly set goals are also relevant. Setting a goal about increasing public speaking skills will not be as motivating to a person working in a landfill as it would be to a police officer who often testifies in court. Timely. Goals work best when there is a time frame for their completion. For example, "Complete the installation and testing of new production equipment by March 31, 2024, to ensure readiness for the next quarter’s production demands." Are Employees Rewarded for Achieving Goals? Operant conditioning A type of learning based on the idea that humans learn to behave in ways that will result in favorable outcomes and learn not to behave in ways that result in unfavorable outcomes. Though the research is clear that rewarding employees will often lead to increased motivation and performance, there are six factors that must be considered in determining the effectiveness of incentive programs.  Research and applied literature abound with studies demonstrating the effectiveness of reinforcement. For example: Slowiak (2014) used a combination of task clarification, goal setting, feedback, and rewards at a medical clinic to achieve a 38% increase in customer service employees using a proper greeting and a 22% increase in their using a friendly tone Myers, McSween, Medina, Rost, and Alvero (2010) used a combination of employee involvement, feedback, and recognition to reduce injuries in a petroleum refinery by 81%. Austin, Kessler, Riccobono, and Bailey (1996) provided daily feedback and weekly monetary reinforcement to employees in a roofing crew. This intervention resulted in a 64% labor cost reduction and an 80% improvement in safety. Kortick and O’Brien (1996) devised the “World Series of Quality Control” at a package delivery company in New York. The 104 employees were divided into 13 teams of 8 employees each and competed against one another to have the best shipping accuracy and quantity. Performance information and team standings were posted each week, with the winning team receiving pizzas. At the end of each month, the winning team received individual plaques and dinner at a local restaurant. The intervention resulted in promising increases in shipping accuracy.  Six factors must be considered in determining the effectiveness of incentive programs: 1. Timing of the incentive. Research indicates that a reinforcer or a punisher is most effective if it occurs soon after the performance of the behavior. Unfortunately, if the timing of the incentive is too long, the effectiveness of the incentive to improve performance will be hindered. 2. Contingency of the consequences. If it is not possible to immediately reward or punish a behavior, it should at least be made clear that the employee understands the behaviors that brought reward or punishment. 3. Type of incentive used. Obviously, it is important to reward employees for productive work behavior. But, as you learned in the discussion of Maslow’s hierarchy, different employees have different values, which is why supervisors should have access to and be trained to administer different types of reinforcers. For example, some employees can be rewarded with praise, others with awards, others with interesting work, and still others with money. Premack Principle. The idea that reinforcement is relative both within an individual and between individuals. Reinforcement hierarchy. A rank-ordered list of reinforcers for an individual.  Financial incentives. Can be used to motivate better worker performance either by making variable pay an integral part of an employee’s compensation package or by using financial rewards as a “bonus” for accomplishing certain goals. Recognition. Rather than providing financial incentives, many organizations reward employee behavior through recognition programs. Social recognition. A motivation technique using such methods as personal attention, signs of approval, and expressions of appreciation. Travel. Many organizations are offering travel awards rather than financial rewards. 4. Use of individual-based versus group-based incentives. Incentives can be given for either individual performance or group performance. Individual incentive plans. Are designed to make high levels of individual performance financially worthwhile, and the research is clear that monetary incentives increase. The two most common individual incentive plans are: Pay for performance. A system in which employees are paid on the basis of how much they individually produce. Merit pay. An incentive plan in which employees receive pay bonuses based on performance appraisal scores.  Group Incentive Plans. The idea behind group-based, or organization- based, incentive plans is to get employees to participate in the success or failure of the organization. Rather than encouraging individual competition, these plans reward employees for reaching group goals. Profit sharing. Developed in the United States by Albert Gallatin way back in 1794. As its name implies, profit-sharing programs provide employees with a percentage of profits above a certain amount.  Gainsharing. A group incentive system in which employees are paid a bonus based on improvements in group productivity. Baseline. The level of productivity before the implementation of a gainsharing plan. Stock options. A group incentive method in which employees are given the option of buying stock in the future at the price of the stock when the options were granted. 5. Use of positive incentives (rewards) versus negative incentives (punishment) 6. Fairness of the reward system (equity) Equity theory. A theory of job satisfaction stating that employees will be satisfied if their ratio of effort to reward is similar to that of other employees. Inputs. In equity theory, the elements that employees put into their jobs. Outputs. In equity theory, what employees get from their jobs. Input/output ratio.The ratio of how much employees believe they put into their jobs to how much they believe they get from their jobs. Organizational justice. A theory that postulates that if employees perceive they are being treated fairly, they will be more likely to be satisfied with their jobs and motivated to do well.  Expectancy theory. Vroom’s theory that motivation is a function of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. The following definitions are combinations of those suggested by others and make the theory easier to understand: Expectancy (E): The perceived relationship between the amount of effort an employee puts in and the resulting outcome. Instrumentality (I): The extent to which the outcome of a worker’s performance, if noticed, results in a particular consequence. Valence (V): The extent to which an employee values a particular consequence. Reference: Aamodt, M. G. Industrial / Organizational Psychology. 8th Edition.