Approaches To Employee Motivation

Motivation is the impulse that an individual has in a job or activity to reaching an end goal.
There are multiple theories of how best to motive workers, but all agree that a well-motivated
work force means a more productive work force. Here we are going to show some approaches of
employee motivations.

 Job design:

The design of an employee’s job can have a significant effect on their job motivation. Job design
includes designing jobs that create both a challenging and interesting task for the employee and
is effective and efficient for getting the job done. Four approaches to job design are:

 Job Simplification: The goal of this job design approach is to standardize and specialize
tasks. This approach does not always lead to increased motivation because the jobs can
become mundane over time.

 Job Enlargement: The goal of this job design approach is to combine tasks to give the
employee a greater variety of work.

 Job Rotation: The goal of this job design approach is to move workers to different tasks
periodically.

 Job Enrichment: The key to job design employee motivation, this approach aims to
enhance the actual job by building up the employee through motivational factors.

Several studies validate the effectiveness of using job design techniques to increase employee
motivation. A study conducted by Campion and Thayer used a job design questionnaire to
determine how job designs fostering motivation affected employees. Campion and Thayer found
that jobs with more motivational features have lower effort requirements, a better well-being,
and fewer health complaints. The study also found that jobs scoring high on the motivational
subscale of the questionnaire contained employees who were more satisfied and motivated, had a
higher rating pertaining to job performance, and had fewer absences. Hackman. Conducted a
study pertaining to work redesign and how redesigning work could improve productivity and
motivation through job enlargement or enrichment. The study’s results found that redesigning a
job can improve the quality of the product or service that is provided, increase the quantity of
work, and can increase work satisfaction and motivation. The last study on job design was
conducted by Dunham, who wanted to determine if there was a relationship between job design
characteristics and job ability and compensation requirements. Dunham believed organizations
were overlooking job ability requirements and compensation when they enlarged or enriched
employee’s jobs. The study found that organizations were not taking into account the increased
job ability requirements that job enrichments or enlargements entail nor were the organizations
increasing compensation for employees who were given extra tasks and/or more complex tasks.
 Rewards:

Using rewards as motivators divides employee motivation into two

categories: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic rewards are internal, psychological
rewards such as a sense of accomplishment or doing something because it makes one feel
good. Extrinsic rewards are rewards that other people give to you such as a money, compliments,
bonuses, or trophies. This applies to Douglas McGregor's Scientific Theory that formed Theory
X, which applies to the extrinsic wants of employees. The basis for the motivation is supervision
structure and money. Scientific Theory is based on the grounds that employees don't want to
work so they have to be forced to do their job, and enticed with monetary compensation. Theory
Y, also derived from McGregor's theory, says that employees are motivated by intrinsic or
personal reward. With this theory different factors can be used to heighten the intrinsic benefit
that employees are receiving at their job."

Many studies have been conducted concerning how motivation is affected by rewards resulting
in conflicting and inconsistent outcomes. Pierce, Cameron, Banko, and so conducted a study to
examine how extrinsic rewards affect people’s intrinsic motivation when the rewards are based
on increasingly higher performance criteria. Pierce et al. found that rewarding people for meeting
a graded level of performance, which got increasingly more difficult, spent more time on the
study’s activities and experienced an increase in intrinsic motivation. Participants who were not
rewarded at all or only rewarded for maintaining a constant level of performance experienced
less intrinsic motivation. Another study that examined the effects of extrinsic rewards on
intrinsic motivation was conducted by Wiersma. Wiersma conducted a meta-analysis to
summarize the inconsistent results of past studies. The meta-analysis by Wiersma concluded that
when extrinsic rewards are given by chance, they reduce intrinsic motivation. This result is
supported when task behavior is measured during a free-time period. However, it is not
supported when task performance is measured when the extrinsic reward is in effect.
Wiersma also found that these results cannot be generalized to all situations. A study conducted
by Earn also examined the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Earn wanted to
know if extrinsic rewards affected a person’s intrinsic motivation based on the subject’s locus of
control. Earn found that pay increases decreased intrinsic motivation for subjects with an
external locus of control whereas pay increases increased intrinsic motivation for subjects with
an internal locus of control. The study also found that when the controlling aspect of the extrinsic
reward was made pertinent by making pay dependent on a certain amount of performance, higher
pay undermined the intrinsic motivation of subjects and their locus of control was not relevant.

 Intrinsic rewards: Job Characteristics Model

The Job Characteristics Model (JCM), as designed by Hackman and Oldham attempts to use job
design to improve employee intrinsic motivation. They show that any job can be described in
terms of five key job characteristics:
 1. Skill Variety - the degree to which the job requires the use of different skills and talents

2. Task Identity - the degree to which the job has contributed to a clearly identifiable larger
project

3. Task Significance - the degree to which the job affects the lives or work of other people

4. Autonomy - the degree to which the employee has independence, freedom and discretion
in carrying out the job

5. Task Feedback - the degree to which the employee is provided with clear, specific,
detailed, actionable information about the effectiveness of his or her job performance.

The JCM links the core job dimensions listed above to critical psychological states which results
in increased employee intrinsic motivation. This forms the basis of this "employee growth-need
strength." The core dimensions listed above can be combined into a single predictive index,
called the Motivating Potential Score.

 Employee participation:

1. Increase employee participation by implementing quality control "circles". Quality control

circles involve a group of five to ten problem solving employees that come together to solve
work-related problems such as reducing costs, solving quality problems, and improving
production methods. Other benefits from quality control circles include an improved employee-
management relationship, increased individual commitment, and more opportunities for
employee expression and self-development.

A study by Marks et al. focused on assessing the effect that quality circles had on participating
employees and found that the attitudes of employees who participated in quality circles were
influenced in the areas concerning participation, decision making, and group communication.
Although group communication was influenced, communication through the organization as a
whole was not and neither was employee’s personal responsibility for their work. The results of
this study suggest that quality circles can provide employees with informational and social
support that can help increase their motivation.

2. Increase motivation through employee participation by using open-book management. Open-

book management is when a company shares important financial data with employees. Sharing
the information empowers employees by putting trust into them. Employees become personally
and meaningfully involved with the organization beyond just doing their assigned tasks, which
increases their motivation and production. Open book management is a four-step process. The
first step involves employers sharing financial data with their employees. Employees need to
know how the company, as a whole, is doing financially. Next, employers must teach their
employees how to read and interpret the financial data. Employees can look at all the data a
company gives them; however, to understand the data, they must know how to interpret the
numbers. Third, employees have to be empowered to make necessary changes and decisions for
the success of the organization. Employers should treat their employees like partners to promote
increased employee motivation. The last step involves employers paying their employees a fair
share of profits through bonuses and incentives. Bonus numbers must be attached to numbers
that employees see regularly and can influence the financial data. With these steps in mind, the
friction between employees and between employee/management can be drastically reduced.

Four factors must exist for any employee participation program to be successful:

 Have a profit-sharing or gain-sharing plan where both the employer and employee benefit

 Implement a long-term employment relationship to instill job security

 Make a concerted effort to build and maintain group cohesiveness

 Provide protection of the individual employee’s rights.

 Quality-of-work-life programs:

Work-life balance is an employee’s perception of how a proper balance between personal time,
family care, and work are maintained with minimal conflict. Employers can use work-life
balance as a motivational technique by implementing quality-of-work-life programs. Examples
of such programs include flextime, workplace wellness, and family support. Flexible work
schedules can allow an employee to work whenever they can as long as a certain number of
hours are worked each week and some employers allow their employees to work from
home. Sometimes employers utilize flextime schedules that allow employees to arrive to work
when they choose within specified limits. A wellness program can involve having an exercise
facility, offering counseling, or even having programs set up to help employees lose weight or
stop smoking cigarettes. Family support programs involve help with parenting, childcare, and
some programs allow employees to leave for family purposes.

One study found that men often identify themselves with their career and work roles while
women often identified themselves with the roles of mother, wife, friend, and daughter. The
Sloan Foundation found that even though women enjoy working as much as men, women prefer
to work nights and weekends if time need to be made up instead of cutting their hours. A study
conducted by the Alliance for Work-Life Progress surveyed employees to find out the type of
workplace flexibility employees say they would like to use in the following year. Burrus et
al. found that 71 percent of people want an occasional opportunity to adjust their schedule, 57
percent want to work from a location other than their office, 73 percent want to make their work-
life flexibility arrangement official, and 12 percent want to work fewer hours.
 Employee Engagement:

A motivated employee becomes engaged in their workplace. Employee engagement is an

important part of an organization’s success. Research has found that organizations with engaged
employees have three times higher profit margins compared to organizations with disengaged
employees. Shareholder returns, operating income, and revenue growth have also had higher
financial performance in employee engaged organizations. In addition, employee engagement is
linked to lower absenteeism within an organization. Employers who practice employee
motivation and engagement techniques in their organization will likely see an increase in overall
business performance.