Employee Motivation

In every organization, motivation is very important because it “drives” members to perform well with a high level of proficiency (Green, 2008).  Intrinsically motivated behaviours refer to behaviours that are carried out due to the individual’s own sake. This motivation is derived from the performance of a work activity. An employee can be intrinsically motivated through knowing that they are a part of the organization. From this point, employees feel the sense of achievement from helping a company to meet its objectives and get a competitive advantage. The other factor that intrinsically motivates employees is through awarding them jobs that make use of their abilities and skills. Employers can be motivated if an organization adheres to work and environmental ethics. Some employees are motivated when they are working in an organization that reduces waste as well as protects natural resources and human rights (Drillings & O’Neil, 1994).

Extrinsically motivated behaviour can be termed as behaviour that is carried out with the aim of acquiring material rewards or avoid punitive measures. An example of extrinsic motivation is an additional salary if one exceeds performance, bonuses, and other increments. Job security and other immense benefits motivate an employee to work more than before and enjoy serving the clients of the organization. Intrinsic or extrinsic motivation of workers depends on three factors. These are the organizational nature, job nature, and personal values, skills, and attitudes of the employees. Organizational nature involves the culture, human resource, control systems, and structure of an organization.

An example of a manager who exhibits the three work situations makes it certain that employees get the desired outcomes when they make quality contributions to the company. Such kinds of managers use the desired outcomes to motivate their employees to give inputs to the company. Managers should always ensure that they rewarded the employees when they contribute certain inputs, which makes an organization perform well. In this context, the manager uses both extrinsic and extrinsic motivational behaviours and aligns them with the welfare and interests of the employees. This easily motivates employees to work towards meeting the objectives of the organization (Lindner, 1998).