Introduction :
Of the most important assets of any organizational entity are its employees, who make up the working force that brings its goals and aspirations to life. This indispensable nature of the employees’ contributions makes it essential to keep their workplace motivation up and running. This, however, is not a simple task; the complications lie not just with the impracticality of keeping up with every employee’s individual needs and incentivizing their work for them time and time again, but also with the fact that the factors that determine the nature of said incentives are many, making it hard to effectively motivate every employee if they are not taken into consideration.
When talking about workplace motivation, it is essential to understand that this is an umbrella term under which two main types of motivated employees are recognized: Intrinsically motivated employees, motivated by their plan, which may include interest, fulfillment of interest, pleasure, and personal challenges regarding their work, etc.. and Extrinsically motivated employees, who, by contrast, are motivated by outside factors that do not include their genuine interest in the job at hand. However, both types of motivation are not mutually exclusive and must be taken into consideration when deciding the best incentive for an employee.
Other factors must be kept in mind simultaneously, including the type of employee based on whether they are a working student or a non-student worker, and the cultural and familial influences upon the values that they hold, which become a direct determinant of their workplace goals and their long term plans.
After an overview of the importance of workplace motivation and the factors that must be considered when determining the incentives to motivate employees, this report will now look into how motivation affects them, keeping the points mentioned above in mind.
Body:
It is widely understood and appreciated that motivated employees are cardinal to an organization’s working because new challenges can only be met with new and innovative ideas brought forward by workers who are motivated enough to think differently and put in the effort. The need for workplace motivation is very high now more than ever. Some workers, especially working students, look for temporary jobs that fulfill their monetary requirements for short periods before moving onto a better-suited one. This phenomenon is known as Turnover Intention, and it shows whether a particular organization’s employees plan to leave it. Therefore, it must be one of the top priorities in an organization to gauge the employees’ turnover intention and motivate them enough for them to stay committed.
Workplace motivation has been shown to increase employees’ productivity and Job Engagement (JE), defined as a person’s enthusiasm and interest in their job. Reason has proven to be contagious, and with healthy employee rivalry, it is bound to spread. Sense brings benefits to the organization and the employees who see a renewal in their interest at work and a consequential uplifting of their spirits and increasing their general contentment in life.
If provided with the employee’s societal background in mind, workplace motivation is seen to be highly effective in increasing Job Engagement. In our society, women usually find their workplace environments unaccommodating. Here, targeted incentivization may prove to be beneficial; monetary incentives can generally be used for anyone, but women may especially appreciate such policies as maternity leaves.
While it is essential to motivate, care must be taken to not drive employees towards Workaholism, which may backfire and lead to greater discontentment with the job and eventually resigning altogether.
Conclusion :
Evident from the above discussion, workplace motivation is a direct stimulant of an employee’s contentment with their job, job engagement, andr ability to motivate others around them. This creates an environment of healthy competition that increases productivity and drive, eventually leading to profits for the organization, which can further incentivize employees.
Recommendations :
The Human Resource Managers must recognize the different types of employees who work in their respective organizations and develop a stimulating environment by increasing workplace motivation. The methodology to do so should conform to the considerations mentioned in this report.
For a student worker, workplace motivation could come with assigning them projects that harness their skills and knowledge of the subject of their interest or the field they are studying for. For a student to have an opportunity to apply their learning from the classroom practice and learn from their job would be a win and a great motivating force. If the student is at a job unrelated to their field of study, monetary incentives will increase their workplace motivation.
For non-student workers, monetary incentives again may be used, but trusting them with leadership roles and giving them control over a team or a project has also proven to increase their drive at work.
Thus, by giving due consideration to the different types of employees present, an organizational entity can boost workplace motivation to increase the work output of said employees and their general contentment in life and their Job Engagement.
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