Employee Motivation in the Workplace

Job Satisfaction   Job satisfaction defines as a feeling of fulfillment or enjoyment that a person derives from their job (Cole and Kelly 2011). Kreitner and Kinicki (2010) noted from an analysis of studies done on over 1000 workers, there was considerable positive attachment between motivation and job satisfaction. According to Robbins and Judge (2010), pay is noted as one of the major facets of job-satisfaction. Further states that the relationship between a salary and job satisfaction is rather interesting especially for those who live below the poverty mark in that pay correlates with their overall happiness and job satisfaction.    According to Kinicki and Fugate (2012), a survey done on employees, showed that one of the main causes of job satisfaction is need fulfillment or the aspect of one’s job that is of great importance in their job satisfaction adding that compensation and benefits were some of the top choices mentioned by the employees. Apart from helping...

   Vroom Expectancy Theory   Figure 1: Vroom Expectancy Theory   Source: (Joy, 2018). The Expectancy theory of Victor Vroom describes the internal process of choice of outcomes between different behaviors (Champoux, 2011). According to Parijat and Bagga (2014) Vroom’s expectancy theory of motivation, proposed in the 1960s as an alternative to the content models or theories. Motivation is a product of three factors: (1)   Expectancy ,  (2) instrumentality , and  (3)   valence . According Parijat and Bagga, (2014), Valence revolves around how much a person wants a reward, expectancy refers to one’s estimation of the probability that effort will result in successful performance, and instrumentality is the estimation of whether one’s performance will result in receiving the reward. The motivational relationship can be expressed in below formula:                     Motivation (M) ...

    Adams Equity Theory  Figure 1: Adams Equity theory Source: (Mulder, 2018). Adam’s equity theory revolved from the social comparison theory and is considered one of the most popular social exchange theories. Furthermore that the degree of equity or inequity is a major input into job performance and the satisfaction that people perceive in their work situation. (Tudor, 2011). Therefore theory helped to provide the basis for studying the motivational implications of perceived unfairness and injustice in the workplace. In addition laid the foundation for more recent theories on and procedural such as how rewards and job requirements are determined (Armstrong and Taylor, 2014).   In a meta-analysis of many of these theories, Cohen-Charash and Spector (2001) found that both distributive and procedural justice were related to job performance, job satisfaction and the intention to quit. People make judgments or comparisons between their own  inputs  at w...

                                   ‘people respond primarily to their social environment, that motivation depends more on social needs than on economic needs, and that satisfied employees work harder than unsatisfied employees’                               (Moorhead & Griffin, 2004, p. 11).                                     Employees who are highly-motivated tend to be more productive,  dedicated and cooperative whilst non-motivated workers are less-productive, resistant  to change and generally inflexible or lazy (Hiriyappa 2010). As mentioned by Lengnick et al. (2013), some of the major human resource theories and principles which organizations should follow are; motivational theories, decision making theories ...

Maslow Theory   Maslow's hierarchy of need is a theory by Abraham Maslow, which sets forward that people are motivated by five basic categories of needs: physiological, safety, love, esteem, and self-actualization (Jerome, 2013). A greater level of understanding what motivates human beings, Maslow proposed that human needs can be organized into a hierarchy. This hierarchy ranges from more concrete needs essentially food and water to abstract concepts such as self-fulfillment. According to Maslow, when a lower need is met, the next need on the hierarchy becomes the focus of attention (Mullins, 2005). According to Collins (2016) in (Figure 1) below expressed, as a person advances through an organization, the employer supplies or provides opportunities to satisfy needs higher on Maslow's pyramid.   Figure 1: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory Source: (Collins, 2016, p.331).     The Maslow pyramid levels are as follows: Physiolo...