Employee Motivation and Impact on Overall Productivity and Organizational Survival

Recent research has shown that employees are increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs. According to an article on USA Today, just about 30% of employees are engaged and draw inspiration from their jobs, which is a rise from the 28% it was in 2010. Employees are simply not just into their jobs. Research however shows that motivated employees are happier with their jobs. According to an article on the Times 100 , motivated employees get “ more satisfaction from their work, are absent less often, tend to be more loyal and work with more enthusiasm.” The overall satisfaction with their jobs is a key element in how much they are encouraged to contribute more to the development of an organization

Because motivation is a key variable in employee productivity, mangers and business leader agree that it is constantly a challenge to keep employees motivated (Broder, 2013) Broder further argues that this situation is especially difficult because the idea of motivation is diverse. People are motivated differently therefore, it becomes imperative to understand individually, what motivates each person. “By understanding what drives each unique member of your team, you can effectively tailor the approach you use to get the most out of each person you'd like to motivate.” (Broder, 2013)

There are five major theoretical approaches to a better understanding of motivation. They are the Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, Herzberg's two- factor theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, Adams' equity theory, and Skinner's reinforcement theory (Lindner, 1998). These theories help us understand people and how they can be motivated. Nevertheless, there is still no exact science to motivation. While some people can be externally motivated by pay, assurance o...

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Grant, K. (2013, June 30). Americans hate their jobs, even with perks. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/06/30/americans-hate-jobs-office-perks/2457089/

Hezberg, F. (2003, January). One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees? Retrieved March 26, 2014, from Harvard Business Review: http://hbr.org/2003/01/one-more-time-how-do-you-motivate-employees/ar/1

Lindner, J. (1998). Understanding Employee Motivation . Journal of Externsion.

Michael, B. S. (2013, February 5). Motivation in the Workplace for Optimal Results Is Not a 'One Size Fits All' Implementation . Retrieved March 26, 2014, from Huff Post Business: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-s-broder-phd/employee-motivation-productivity-_b_2615208.html