Employee Motivation
Employee Motivation
‘My philosophy has always
been if you can put your staff first your customer second and your shell
there's third effectively, in the end, the shareholders do well the customers do
better and your staff is happy you” (Branson, 2016). Employee motivation and
satisfaction have a substantial positive relationship, (Singh and Tiwari,
2011). Employees who are well motivated have higher job satisfaction, whereas
employees who are not motivated have lower job satisfaction, which leads to poor
productivity. They also claim that it is difficult to enjoy life without doing
some useful work and that any activity of such importance must evoke
significant positive or negative feelings from people, and these reactions
reflect how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with their jobs. Lack of job
satisfaction is a predictor of quitting a job (Alexander, Litchtenstein, &
Hellmann, 1998; Jamal, 1997).
(BBC, 2021) The following
are some of the important benefits that a motivated workforce can provide to a company.
1.
Lower
levels of absenteeism - Motivated employees are
more likely to want to work than take leave.
Absenteeism
in the workplace, according to (Collier, 2018) has an impact on both the
employer and the employees. For an employer, this results in lower
productivity, increases the administration costs, higher labor costs when
hiring a replacement of a temporary worker, understaffing and poor morale among
the co-workers. And this also lead the employees to lose their pay, and the
reduced productivity when they return to work will cause stress as they need to
catch up, and if this continuous they may lose their jobs as well.
Also,
(Collier, 2018) offers few suggestions to reduce the workplace absenteeism
which are stated below;
Ø Clear attendance policy and set expectation - This refers to the mechanisms in workplace to record absences, as well as instructions on how the organization and employees should handle repeated absences and the consequences of excessive absenteeism.
Ø Providing support - If an employee is away due to personal issues, like physical or mental health problems, the employer should provide support during their absence as well as they return to work. Support will certainly make them better about returning to work earlier and prevent repeated absenteeism. The organization can also consider providing time off in lieu of pay and also flexible working hours to teh staff. This will give an impression that the employer care about their needs and support their work-life balance.
Ø Reduce
workplace stress – The employer should make effort to identify and address the
factors that leads employees to stress. Also, they should arrange programs that
promote employee health and wellbeing in order to ensure that the workforce is
both physically and mentally fit.
Ø Providing
Feedback and Rewarding goof attendance – Employer should provide frequent
feedback to the employees, especially when they do something well, as
appreciation is an important factor in employee motivation. Also, the
organizations can reward the employees that have outstanding attendance
throughout the year.
2. Retention of workers – Low levels of staff turnovers
Williams, D.K. & Scott, M. M. (2012) suggest the below five ways to retain employees’ forever
Ø Responsibility - The employer should show the employees that they trust them by giving them responsibilities that allow them to grow. Also, encourage them to learn new skills and provide opportunities for further education.
Ø Respect - Managers should make the effort to show outward respect for employees on a daily basis; it will lead to a strong and long-lasting workplace culture, as well as positive experiences and memories.
Ø Revenue-sharing - Making a proportion of the employees' pay depend on the company's performance will increase their interests with the firm's revenue and profit goals.
Ø Reward - The rewards that are being given to the employees should go beyond monetary pay and address their emotional needs also. Recognizing their efforts in front of department parties, lunches with the bosses, handwritten messages and some of the ways that can help to build a strong workplace culture and boost morale.
Ø Relaxation time - The employers should be generous with time off. They should provide enough time for sick days, family vacations and new babies, etc. despite the tough economy.
3. Improved
relationships between management and workers – This
means that employees are more likely to accept changes without objecting and less
likely to take legal or industrial action against managers.
Tran, K.T., Nguyen, P.V., Dang, T. U., Ton, T.
N. B. (2018) The
leader-member Exchange (LME) is the most widely accepted theory regarding
supervisor-subordinate relationships. It recommends that managers should
encourage positive interactions between leaders and each of their employees.
These relationships differ with respect to quality, and high-quality workplace
relationships rely on mutual trust, respect, obligation, and internal motivation
among their members. Members who experience a positive LME relationship deliver
high performances as they receive valuable resources, opportunities, and
support from their supervisors.
4.
Improved worker performance - Employees that are motivated are
more likely to work harder. They arrive on time and focus on their daily
tasks. The productivity levels could
increase and the overall output of a business may be higher.
According to Burkus, D. (2012) below are some of the ways that will help to improve employee motivation through performance, and below are some key points
Ø Make
expectations clear - Set clear, achievable goals for the employees and ensure
that there are measurable criteria in place to assess their achievement.
Ø Provide
continuous feedback - Employees who receive immediate and consistent feedback
are aware that their activities have an impact on the firm. Provide detailed
feedback. Rather than telling “did a wonderful job." If you clearly
mention these strengths, he'll be more inclined to include them in his future
endeavors.
Ø Correct
privately; Praise publicly - Always discuss an ongoing, performance-related
issue or correcting a recent, specific error with the door closed. Announce
publicly when the employees made a particularly outstanding performance, sale,
or other notable achievements.
Ø Believe in your employees - Do not call an employee worthless, or a screw-up will feel a lot of emotions. Explain the weakness or errors in the context of, “I know you can do better. You’re smart and capable…and that’s why I expect more from you.” The perception of leaders’ trust is the fundamental component of transformational leadership.
Ø Make rewards achievable - Rather than rewarding only the top-performing employee, set up a series of smaller prizes throughout the year to encourage continued performance excellence.
5.
Improved quality and improved customer service - Employees who are motivated
are more likely to perform to a higher standard and put more effort into
producing better products. People who work in service sectors are also more
likely to give excellent customer service and to like their jobs (BBC, 2021).
Figure 1. Weiss, E.,
Paweska, M (2013)
Referencing
Alexander, J.A.,
Liechtenstein, R.O., & Hellmann, E. (1998). A causal model of voluntary
turn-over among nursing personnel in long term psychiatric setting. Research in Nursing and Health, 21(5),
415-427.
BBC (2021). Bitesize. The benefits of a motivated workforce - motivation - eduqas - GCSE
business revision- eduqas. [online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zdn992p/revision/1
[Accessed 23 March 2022]
Burkus, D. (2012). Six Ways to Drive Employee Performance and
Motivation [online]. Available at: https://davidburkus.com/2012/07/six-ways-to-drive-employee-performance-and-motivation/ [Accessed 5 April 2022].
Collier, E. (2018). Highspeed training. Reducing Absenteeism in the Workplace
[online]. Available at: https://www.highspeedtraining.co.uk/hub/reducing-absenteeism-in-the-workplace/
[Accessed 23 March 2022]
Fountain, T.M. (2021). Why Manager-employee Relationship Is Important And Five Strategies To
Help Improve It. [online]. Available at: https://ceoworld.biz/2021/10/19/why-manager-employee-relationship-is-important-and-five-strategies-to-help-improve-it/
[Accessed 08 April 2022]
Richard Branson (2016) Put Your Staff 1st, Customers 2nd, & Shareholders 3rd | Inc.
Magazine [online video] Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPiCYoX-S_I
[Accessed 17 March 2022]
Scandura T.A., Graen
G.B. (ND) cited in Tran, K.T., Nguyen, P.V., Dang, T. U., Ton, T. N. B. (2018) Behavioural sciences- The Impacts of the High-Quality Workplace
Relationships on Job Performance: A Perspective on Staff Nurses in Vietnam [online]
Available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6316783/#B28-behavsci-08-00109
[Accessed 14 April 2022]
Singh, S.K. & Tiwari,
V. (2011) Relationship between motivation
and job satisfaction of the white collar employees [case study]
Weiss, E., Paweska, M (2013) Enterprise-New challenges
– Employee and customer satisfaction as
the source of company wealth, pp.167-177
Williams, D.K. & Scott, M. M. (2012). Managing
people -Five ways to retain employees
forever [online]. Available at: https://hbr.org/2012/11/five-ways-to-retain-employees
[Accessed 26 March 2022]
Hello Shalini, I agree with your post and let me add a comment. Motivation is a strength and direction and a factor that influence people to behave positively. People get motivated when their goals are achieved and rewarded (Armstrong & Taylor, 2014).
ReplyDeleteHi Nilushi,
DeleteYes, employees who are motivated are more likely to work hard and accomplish a good job. For attracting staff, motivation is crucial (BBC, 2021).
True Shalini, motivation, have a positive correlation with employee performance and organizational profitability. Organizations are ready to invest in a “motivated and good employee retention policy” to help employees maintain good job performance and reduce turnover (Nagabhaskar, 2014). ). Employees seek freedom and personal respect throughout their careers
ReplyDeleteHi Chamara, Organizations are continuously trying to develop and motivate their employees to help achieve enhanced performance with various Human Resource applications and practices. for this they highly used the reward management system s to achieve the desired goals (Gungor, 2011).
DeleteThis is an interesting read Shalini. Did you also know that some theorists have defined motivation as a drive built in one’s self to satisfy an unsatisfied task but in an organization this can be defined as the drive built to achieve organizational goals (Lindner, 1998).
ReplyDeleteYes Melanie, this is an interesting to to learn. For many years, motivation has been a significant predictor of effective employee performance inside an organization, so it has been a big cause of concern for both managers and employees. 2016 (Sarker)
DeleteDear Shalini, Very True. In addition to above explanation, It is important to have proper a Job design for Motivation. If the company is providing enough Job enlargement , Job enrichment and Job rotation, the employee motivation can be increased toward the job performance. (IPM, 2010).
ReplyDeleteHi Dulanjana, Yes, this motivation will lead to the fact that workers or employees of the organization will seriously do his duties and responsibilities (Azar and Shafighi, 2013)
DeleteHi Shalini. I find this a descriptive post. To further add to your post, senior management must recognize that declining performance may not be due to external reasons of motivation, but rather to unhappiness with tasks and results. They must concentrate on creating employment that engage employees, encourage them, and meet their daily expectations (Tietjen and Myers, 1998).
ReplyDeleteHi Ashanthi, Yes, ultimately, managers have the greatest influence on an employee’s motivation.
DeleteHi Shalini , Agreed to you , The psychological process that gives behavior meaning and direction (Kreitner, 1995) has been described as motivation.
ReplyDeleteHi, Maheshani, in other words employee motivation refers to how much energy, commitment, and inventiveness employees bring to their professions (Inc., 2018)
DeleteHello Shalini. I agree on your post. I would like to add some insight too. Motivated employees who work out of enthusiasm is an asset to an organization. Employee conduct can have a decisive impact on an organization‘s success (Klimas et al, 2011).
ReplyDeleteHello Dr. Yes, agreed with your comments, High levels of employee motivation are linked to high employee engagement. (Schooley, 2021)
DeleteHello Shalini, good explanation. Employees that are motivated help businesses survive. As per (Lindner,1998) Motivated employees are more productive. Managers must understand what motivates people in the context of their jobs in order to be effective.
ReplyDeleteHi Muditha, Yes managers in a company, should understand their responsibilities is to motivate the employees to do their best work ( Contributor, 2020)
DeleteHi Shalani, the points you have mentioned here are very valid and clear. Further to support the topic I would like to add a few more things to it. High employee motivation is very important for an organization. It can affect an organization in many ways. For example, Employee motivation helps to achieve organizational targets, goals and helps to increase productivity, and efficiency and provides support to maintain future sustainability (Varma, 2017). Employee Motivation can be introduced in another way, Employee Motivation is a key point for creating effective organizational management (Abbah, 2014).
ReplyDeleteHi Dinith,
DeleteThank you for the comments. Agreed to what you said, employees must feel valued in order to run a successful firm. Motivating employees with various forms of rewards is one of the most effective strategies to achieve this goal (Quain, 2019)