The Impact of Motivation in the Workplace

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Introduction

The coherent society could be considered a highly competitive environment that presupposes intensive rivalry and competition between individuals who want to attain success and hold leading positions. At the same time, it also means that people have to work hard to win the competition and ensure a stable income. In this regard, individuals might experience stress and pressure because of numerous responsibilities they have. On the other side, competition is also peculiar to the sphere of business where corporations try to acquire a competitive advantage and increase their income to guarantee their further development. That is why they are also interested in the enhanced performance of their employees and their commitment to duties and responsibilities as the way to stimulate organisations further rise. In such a way, performance and efficiency become central to the modern society. The paper is devoted to the investigation of motivation as one of the issues that might help workers to demonstrate better performance in their workplace, its central components, and ways to create the beneficial environment.

Background

In general, motivation has always been an ongoing issue for the sphere of economy and business. Today, the academic literature considers it one of the fundamental factors that determine the functioning of organisations, their success, and outcomes (Daniels 2016). Anderson (2015) is sure that introduction of an appropriate reason to stimulate particular peoples actions, desires, and behaviours is central to any company which wants to evolve and become successful. Moreover, the creation of any firm starts with the appearance of a particular motivating factor that drives changes and makes a person to run a new business venture (Chapman & White 2012). In such a way, a company significantly depends on this aspect during all stages of its functioning. The methods to improve motivation become crucial regarding the above-mentioned need for improved outcomes and high levels of competition.

Work Place Environment

Nevertheless, the modern human resource management also recognises an outstanding significance of motivation, especially regarding the workplace environment. Theoretically, conditions under which an employee works should possess qualities that stimulate him/her to work better and demonstrate better results. However, Daniels (2016) states that today, in the majority of cases, individuals have to function in harsh conditions, both physical and psychological ones. Constant stress, high level of pressure, rivalry, and the lack of trust between colleagues undermine final results and deprive individuals of the motivation to work and achieve outlined goals. In such a way, working environment and employees motivation become closely connected as the first one stipulates the appearance and further development of the second factor. Researchers admit the positive correlation between working conditions, employees motivation, and performance (Friedman 2015). Moreover, motivation becomes one of the factors determining performance.

Factors Impacting Performance

In general, investigators tend to distinguish a set of aspects that might impact workers and guarantee improved results. These might include technologies, leadership, team spirit, rewarding practices, workload, stress, etc. (Friedman 2015). In accordance with the research, the combination of these aspects preconditions outcomes and results in shifts in peoples attitudes to their work. For this reason, it is critical to ensure that all these elements will contribute to the creation of a collaborative working environment. At the same time, stress, rewarding practices, leadership, and others are considered parts of motivation (Anderson 2015). In this regard, speaking about the ways to improve performance and achieve outlined goals, employees desire to work becomes the most important aspect of any workplace. Its investigation and improved comprehension might stipulate better results and cultivate a beneficial environment.

Motivation

The modern theory envisages motivation as a reason that makes a person perform particular actions or achieve certain goals. This definition is rather broad and includes numerous aspects that might stimulate or depress the appearance of a reason to act (Goodboy, Martin & Bolkan 2017). Furthermore, the modern approach to motivation differentiates distinct types regarding the character of motifs that precondition the emergence of a desire to engage in an activity (Goodboy, Martin & Bolkan 2017). These are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Additionally, their importance regarding the positive effect on employees is different (MacDonald, Kelly & Christen 2014). For this reason, when organising a workplace, managers or owners should possess at least basic information about these types and the way they could be cultivated. Otherwise, a significant deterioration of performance will be observed.

Extrinsic

Thus, extrinsic motivation occurs when a person is moved to engage in a particular behaviour or action because of rewards that might be acquired or to avoid punishment (MacDonald, Kelly & Christen 2014). For instance, an employee could come to work in time to avoid penalties. Moreover, he/she might work just to earn money to support his/her family. This type of motivation is easier to cultivate and achieve. Usually, it appears without any specific efforts as individuals are driven by social expectations, their gender roles, and other factors (MacDonald, Kelly & Christen 2014). In such a way, they look for a job that could satisfy their temporary needs or just guarantee their further survival. Research studies state that extrinsic motivation arises outside an individual and have much lower power if to compare with the intrinsic one (Pfeffer 2015). Additionally, excessive external rewards might result in the decrease of a desire to act. For this reason, it could be used only in the initial stages to spark an interest in participating in some processes or engage an employee in additional training.

Intrinsic

However, speaking about the long-term perspective and the need for enhanced performance along with commitment, intrinsic motivation should be mentioned. It appears when an individual or an employee starts acting in a particular way because it is personally rewarding or he/she does it disregarding some external reward (Pfeffer 2015). This kind of motivation differs from the extrinsic one significantly; however, it should be cultivated by managers who are aimed at enhanced performance. Researchers admit the positive correlation between the level of intrinsic motivation and the efficiency of employees (Pfeffer 2015). In other words, an individual who has a desire to work not because of promised external rewards will do it much better than who is attracted only by salary. That is why it becomes a desired goal for managers as intrinsic motivation could help to improve the working environment and cultivate a new culture.

Correlation

Moreover, scientists admit the correlation between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. In other words, external stimuli might morph into internal one if an individual is motivated in an appropriate way (White 2017). It is fundamental to combine such factors as high wages and rewards with opportunities for personal and professional rise for an employee to become interested in the gradual increase of his/her efficiency level and long-time cooperation with a particular company. Under these conditions, the intrinsic motivation might emerge and stipulate the improvement of outcomes.

Reward Practices

As it has already been mentioned, enhanced workers engagement and commitment could be achieved through the introduction of rewarding practices. According to the research, in collectives where employees incentives are noted and appraised, the level of motivation and performance increases significantly (Wong 2007). At the same time, it is important to introduce fair rewards to cultivate the needed environment as excessive awards might result in adverse effects and individuals will lose the reason to work hard. In this regard, appropriate reward practices include accurate monitoring of all members of the teams successes and their achievements. Every worker has his/her own peculiarities and limits that should be exceeded to achieve a new level. That is why an individualised approach that monitors the progress of every employee will help to establish a beneficial atmosphere.

If a person demonstrates something beyond his/her traditional practices or activities, this incentive should be rewarded (Daniels 2016). It will help to demonstrate that employees commitment to their duties and their desire to move further and attain success are welcomed by managers or owners. At the same time, these external stimuli should promote the appearance of the inner motivation to engage in new activities and become a more efficient worker. It could be achieved by demonstrating opportunities for the career growth and personal development. An employee should be satisfied with his/her progress and want to go further to create the basis for his/her would be successes. In such a way, appropriate, fair, and well thought out rewarding practices are fundamental for stimulating both extrinsic and extrinsic motivation among individuals and their satisfaction with the existing working environment.

Burnout and Motivation

Another factor closely related to motivation and individuals performance in the workplace is professional or occupational burnout. It could be determined as depression or the lack of desire to work because of the long-term stress that had been remaining unnoticed (Daniels 2016). It is characterised by physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion and a significant decrease in performance levels. Numerous investigations show that this undesired state could result from the low level of motivation among workers (Anderson 2015). In other words, the reduction of a desire to perform some duties or the absence of a distinct reason to engage in particular behaviours become extremely dangerous for the working environment. For this reason, the constant monitoring of motivation and its cultivation among workers become critical activities aimed at the preservation of particular efficiency level and guaranteeing positive results. The correlation between the professional burnout and the lack of motivation evidences a unique significance of this phenomenon as one of the factors that determine companies functioning. Appropriate reward practices and positive atmosphere in the workplace promote employees desire to work and help to avoid occupational burnout among them.

Companys Success and Motivation

Motivation could also indicate the overall success of the company. In accordance with the data obtained from a survey among employees working in successful global corporations like Google, Apple, Samsung, etc., their desire to work is much higher than among workers of companies that demonstrate not such stable results (Napolitano 2017). In other words, a particular interdependence could be observed. Cultivating motivation among employees, a company creates the basis for its further evolution and improved results. Enhanced workers performance might contribute to stable incomes and help a firm to hold leading positions. At the same time, the positive organisations statistics, its outstanding results, and attractive image precondition positive shifts in employees mentalities and promote the appearance of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In such a way, this factor becomes central to the creation of the beneficial working environment.

Future Research

Nevertheless, despite multiple studies devoted to the investigation of the primary peculiarities of motivation, there are still numerous opportunities for the further research. First, it is critical to investigate time limits needed for the appearance of motivation to work regarding the new workplace and its peculiarities. It is a fundamental area of the future research as it is essential to engage a new worker in particular behaviours and ensure that he/she will perform needed actions with a high commitment (White 2017). Second, investigating motivation and factors that might either depress or stimulate it, it is necessary to devote attention to personal characteristics of workers who possess different traits of character and respond to stressors in various ways. It might help to elaborate an individualised approach to every worker and help him/her to remain motivated. These are the central areas of research that might help to improve the comprehension of the issue and attain better results in the workplace.

Conclusion

Altogether, motivation is a key factor in the working environment as it impacts performance and helps to attain better results. Different reasons might stimulate its growth. These include appropriate rewarding strategy and creation of the beneficial environment in the workplace. If an employee is satisfied with his/her current position and has opportunities for the further professional and personal development, his/her motivation will remain high as well as the level of performance. In this regard, it is critical to address this issue and investigate its basic peculiarities.

Reference List

Anderson, A 2015, Management: take charge of your team: communication, leadership, coaching and conflict resolution, Amazon. Web.

Chapman, G & White, P 2012, The 5 languages of appreciation in the workplace: empowering organizations by encouraging people, Northfield Publishing, Chicago, IL.

Daniels, A 2016, Bringing out the best in people: how to apply the astonishing power of positive reinforcement, McGraw-Hill Education, New York, NY.

Friedman, R 2015, The best place to work: the art and science of creating an extraordinary workplace, TarcherPerigee, New York, NY.

Goodboy, A, Martin, M & Bolkan, S 2017, ‘Workplace bullying and work engagement: a self-determination model’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Web.

MacDonald, P, Kelly, K & Christen, S 2014, ‘A path model of workplace solidarity, satisfaction, burnout, and motivation’, International Journal of Business Communication. Web.

Napolitano, G 2017, Motivation in the workplace: a Procter and Gamble study, Babelcube Inc., New York, NY.

Pfeffer, J 2015, Leadership BS: fixing workplaces and careers one truth at a time, HarperBusiness, New York, NY.

White, P 2017, The vibrant workplace: overcoming the obstacles to building a culture of appreciation, Northfield Publishing, Chicago, IL.

Wong, Z 2007, Human factors in project management: concepts, tools, and techniques for inspiring teamwork and motivation, Jossey-Bass, New York, NY.

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