Work motivation

For general motivation, see Motivation.

Work motivation is a person's internal disposition toward work. To further this, an incentive is the anticipated reward or aversive event available in the environment.[1] While motivation can often be used as a tool to help predict behavior, it varies greatly among individuals and must often be combined with ability and environmental factors to actually influence behavior and performance. Results from a 2012 study, which examined age-related differences in work motivation, suggest a "shift in people's motives" rather than a general decline in motivation with age. That is, it seemed that older employees were less motivated by extrinsically related features of a job, but more by intrinsically rewarding job features.[2] Work motivation is strongly influenced by certain cultural characteristics. Between countries with comparable levels of economic development, collectivist countries tend to have higher levels of work motivation than do countries that tend toward individualism. Similarly measured, higher levels of work motivation can be found in countries that exhibit a long versus a short-term orientation. Also, while national income is not itself a strong predictor of work motivation, indicators that describe a nation's economic strength and stability, such as life expectancy, are. Work motivation decreases as a nation's long-term economic strength increases.[3] Currently work motivation research has explored motivation that may not be consciously driven. This method goal setting is referred to as goal priming.

It is important for organizations to understand and to structure the work environment to encourage productive behaviors and discourage those that are unproductive given work motivation's role in influencing workplace behavior and performance.[4][5] Motivational systems are at the center of behavioral organization.[6] Emmons states, “Behavior is a discrepancy-reduction process, whereby individuals act to minimize the discrepancy between their present condition and a desired standard or goal” (1999, p. 28). If we look at this from the standpoint of how leaders can motivate their followers to enhance their performance, participation in any organization involves exercising choice; a person chooses among alternatives, responding to the motivation to perform or ignore what is offered. This suggests that a follower's consideration of personal interests and the desire to expand knowledge and skill has significant motivational impact, requiring the leader to consider motivating strategies to enhance performance.[7] There is general consensus that motivation involves three psychological processes: arousal, direction, and intensity. Arousal is what initiates action. It is fueled by a person's need or desire for something that is missing from their lives at a given moment, either totally or partially. Direction refers to the path employees take in accomplishing the goals they set for themselves. Finally, intensity is the vigor and amount of energy employees put into this goal-directed work performance. The level of intensity is based on the importance and difficulty of the goal. These psychological processes result in four outcomes. First, motivation serves to direct attention, focusing on particular issues, people, tasks, etc. It also serves to stimulate an employee to put forth effort. Next, motivation results in persistence, preventing one from deviating from the goal-seeking behavior. Finally, motivation results in task strategies, which as defined by Mitchell & Daniels, are "patterns of behavior produced to reach a particular goal".

  1. ^ Deckers, L. (2010). Motivation; Biological, Psychological and Environmental. (3rd ed., pp. 2–3). Boston, MA: Pearson.
  2. ^ Inceoglu, I., Segers, J., & Bartram, D (2012). Age-related differences in work motivationJournal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 85(2), 300-329.
  3. ^ Klonoski, R. (2011). Work motivation, culture, and economic development: Is work motivation shaped by its socio-economic context? International Journal of Management & Information Systems, 15(4), 91-97.
  4. ^ Jex, S.M. & Britt, T.W. (2008). Organizational Psychology. Hoboke, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  5. ^ Mitchell, T.R.; Daniels, D. 2003. Motivation. Handbook of Psychology, Vol. 12. Industrial Organizational Psychology, ed. W.C. Borman, D.R. Ilgen, R.J. Klimoski, pp. 225–54. New York: Wiley.
  6. ^ Emmons 1999; Steers, Mowday & Shapiro, 2004; Schein, 1980; and Knopf, 1967
  7. ^ "Casteli,P., Castronova, F, Stavros, J. Galloway, J.(2007) Leaders and Followers: The Role of Achievement Motives and Their Effects on Motivating Strategies for Enhancing Performance, pg. 3.