Overview of employee motivation and job performance
Organization behavior may be defined as the way people working in organizations interact and communicate in specific environments and surroundings. The main purpose of studying OB or organization behavior is to get to the bottom of employee behavior and enhance the overall efficiency of the organization operations. One of the most crucial aspects of organization behavior is employee motivation, or the myriad factors which affect the motivation and consequently, the performance levels of a particular employee. Research has shown that only about 13 per cent of employees are actually engaged at work. Such deplorable employee motivation and engagement rates have led to increased employee turnover. The following report analyses the concepts of employee motivation and its impact on job performance, along with implications for managers.
Employee motivation should be the prime focus of every organization. It must be remembered that the human resources of any company are its chief resources. As such, the onus is on the organization to take care of its human assets. Firstly, one must argue that the factors relating to employee motivation have been largely ignored in the sector of human resource management. Yet, it must be asserted that employee motivation is one of the most important functions of a manager. As part of the management process, a manager has to act as a motivator and a true leader, leading his subordinates towards the desired goal. Keeping employees motivated and engaged would be instrumental in securing the long term and short term goals of the company. It is expected that high levels of employee motivation would empower employees to work harder, which is bound to improve their performance levels. This in turn would be beneficial for the company as a whole, and would impact its overall productivity levels as well.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, 14, p.97.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Work motivation and organizational behavior. Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice, 7(2), p.66.
In the article titled “Employee motivation and job performance”, the author, George L?z?roiu claims that there are numerous determinants of employee motivation in the workplace, all of which directly and directly contribute to the overall performance of the employees. L?z?roiu (2015, p. 97) specifically focuses on the role of the manager in ensuring employee motivation. According to the author, a manager should be adaptive and open to new ideas and approaches. He should be versatile enough to change according to changing trends and situations. Firstly, the leadership approach and style of the manager should be one which promotes a favorable working environment within the organization. No manager can function in isolation. Secondly, a manager must work as part of his team, in accordance with his subordinates. It is his responsibility to ensure maximum employee engagement and motivation, thus increasing the employee’s commitment towards the company as well. In the same article, L?z?roiu (2015, p. 98) also highlights the importance of applying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to understand the factors which affect employee motivation. According to this framework, there are various external factors which affect employee motivation and engagement – which include physiological needs, job safety, security, privileges and bonuses offered, incentives and so on (L?z?roiu 2015, p. 99).
Impact of employee motivation on organization behavior and job performance
In another article titled “Work Motivation and Organization Behavior”, the same author, L?z?roiu uses a number of theories like Vroom’s expectancy theory, McCleland’s achievement motivation theory, Locke and Latham’s goal setting theory and Hackman and Oldham’s job characteristics model to study the impact of work motivation on organization behavior. L?z?roiu (2015, p. 66) that managers and supervisors should account for their leadership and management styles in order to optimize employee engagement. For instance, it is believed that the guidance and leadership as perceived by an employee would affect his or her attitude towards his work. Yet, most managers to fail to create a suitable emotional ambience within the workplace. For instance, the expectancy theory by Vroom states that individuals who enter a particular organization will have a set of demands and requirements (L?z?roiu 2015, p. 67). The behavior of the employee would depend on the fulfillment of these need and demands. For example, the most important factor for a particular employee might be job security. If he or she perceives a lack of stability within the organization, that could affect his engagement levels. According to these theories, failure on part of the organization to meet the requirements of the employees could result in low motivation rates and negative organization behavior (L?z?roiu 2015, p. 72).
Gayathiri, R., Ramakrishnan, L., Babatunde, S.A., Banerjee, A. and Islam, M.Z., 2013. Quality of work life–Linkage with job satisfaction and performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(1), pp.1-8.
According to this article, the quality of work life plays a crucial role in determining the experience that an employee has at an organization. Gaythiri and Ramakrishnan (2013, p. 1) says that as the very name suggests, the quality of professional life as perceived by the employee in his workplace would determine his attitude towards work. For instance, if an employee believes that the job he has entered meets his needs and fulfills his basic demands and expectations, he is likely to have a positive attitude towards work. This is bound to affect the performance levels of the employees (Gaythiri and Ramakrishnan 2013, p. 2). The article claims that in the 1960s and 1970s, the advent of technology and commercialism led to alienation and dehumanization of the human resources of a company (Gaythiri and Ramakrishnan 2013, p.1). As a result, workers even today are subjected to miserable working conditions, where they forced to succumb to excessive pressure, less rewards, less control over their professional life and low levels of job stability and security. Consequently, the need was felt to incorporate factors which enhance employee motivation. In other words, it was deemed important to develop better working conditions for every employee so as to optimize the quality of employee performance. Improving the quality of work life would not only help a company improve high performance, but also increase job satisfaction and reduce the potent threat of employee attrition (Gaythiri and Ramakrishnan 2013, p.4).
Shahzadi, I., Javed, A., Pirzada, S.S., Nasreen, S. and Khanam, F., 2014. Impact of employee motivation on employee performance. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(23), pp.159-166.
Influence of quality of work life on employee motivation and job performance
This particular article focuses on the fundamental concepts related to employee motivation. Shahzadi et al. (2014, p. 159) claim that the only way to make someone work is by motivating them. Adopting a psychological perspective, the article claims that there is a motivational factor driving every individual. For some, it could be monetary benefits, while some require job stability (Shahzadi et al. 2014, p. 159). Irrespective of the reason, it is the motivational factors in the workplace which would determine the level of commitment, energy and creativity that an employee brings to the table (Shahzadi et al. 2014, p. 160). The article posits a rather simple formula. It claims that the main function of a manager is to get things done by the employees, or those working beneath him. Shahzadi et al. (2014, p. 161) says that the only way to ensure that the employees are working to their optimum levels is by providing them with the motivational factors which would provoke them to work harder. Every team within an organization has a definite set of long term and short term goals which must be met. This can be possible only through proper cooperation and collaboration between the team members. In order to ensure effective coordination between team members, the managers should take requisite measures to ensure employee motivation (Shahzadi et al. 2014, p. 162). Some of the common variables which affect employee motivation include training and orientation, knowledge sharing, mentoring programs, rewards and recognition programs, incentives, job security and opportunities for growth in the future.
The above sections conducted a review of four pieces of literature, all pertaining to employee motivation and its impact on job performance. Based on these articles, it can be summarized that there are numerous factors which affect the level of motivation that an employee demonstrates. As L?z?roiu (2015, p. 97) claims, the way an employee feels about his job would depend on a few aspects. These include – the meaningfulness of work done, the quality of work life balance, the job security offered, the financial and economic benefits that an organization offers, level of appreciation, leadership of management, emotional ambience in the workplace environment and so on. The highly volatile and competitive working environment demands that organizations take into account both internal and external environment while chalking out their management strategies. For a company to enhance its profitability, the factors of employee motivation and engagement should be taken into account. A motivated employee is a valuable asset for any organization, since he is completely committed and dedicated to the work he is doing. As seen in the research above, when an employee is hired into an organization, he has a definite set of demands and expectations. He has a set of personal goals in mind, related to what he wants to achieve from the job itself. This could be growth in career, job security or even financial benefits. On the contrary, if an employee perceives that the company he is working for fails to meet his personal needs, he would not hesitate to switch to a different organization. Thus, as Menguc et al. (2014, p. 160) claim, low employee motivation rates would be directly proportional to employee disengagement, which in turn increase rates of employee attrition at an organization.
The research presented above can be used by managers of organizations in their day to day operations to ensure maximum employee engagement and motivation. A few recommendations can be made based on the research:
- The research above shows that a manager could determine the attitude of the employees towards their work. In other words, the attitude of the managers would reflect on the employees as well. In order to motivate employees, the managers too should be able to maintain a positive working environment. This would give the employees a sense of purpose. It would enable them to understand the organization vision better and would also align them in its favor.
- As L?z?roiu claimed, rewards and recognitions are important aspects which determine employee motivation. A robust feedback system should be implemented by every manager. As part of such a system, the work of every employee would be evaluated at regular intervals. Employees who manage to meet their targets and exhibit exemplary performance would be rewarded. Such incentives and rewards programs would help in increasing employee motivation.
- The quality of work life and the maintenance of work life balance is another factor which could motivate or demotivate employees (Shuck and Reio Jr. 2014, p. 45). While managers are expected to push their subordinates on a path to success, it is equally important to ensure that the employees are working under favorable conditions. For instance, if the employees are overburdened with workload, they would be unable to maintain a steady balance between professional and personal lives. This could lead to professional burnouts, which could affect employee motivation and consequently, employee performance as well.
Based on the theories proposed in the four articles reviewed above, I have been able to understand the importance of employee motivation in ensuring optimum performance. I believe, that unless an employee is completely committed to the work he is doing, he would be unable to perform well. Also, I can conclude from the articles that the nature of work and the working conditions that an employee is exposed to plays a crucial role in determining employee motivation. I also believe that is solely the responsibility of the organization in ensuring maximum employee engagement, which has been mentioned in details in the previous section. I have also made some improvements on the previous assignment (assignment 3). For instance, in this assignment, I have delved deeper into the theories proposed in the first two articles, which has helped me link it with the concepts presented in the remaining two articles.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that employee motivation rates of a particular employee would be dependent on a number of factors like work life balance, workplace environment, leadership styles, incentive programs, career growth, meaningfulness of work and so on. The research above delves deep into these factors and links it with relevant theories. The research and the conclusions from them can be used by managers in their day to day operations, while dealing with employees working under them.
References:
Gayathiri, R., Ramakrishnan, L., Babatunde, S.A., Banerjee, A. and Islam, M.Z., 2013. Quality of work life–Linkage with job satisfaction and performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2(1), pp.1-8.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Employee motivation and job performance. Linguistic and Philosophical Investigations, 14, p.97.
Lazaroiu, G., 2015. Work motivation and organizational behavior. Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice, 7(2), p.66.
Shahzadi, I., Javed, A., Pirzada, S.S., Nasreen, S. and Khanam, F., 2014. Impact of employee motivation on employee performance. European Journal of Business and Management, 6(23), pp.159-166.
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