Industrial Psychology : Motivation

Motivation : Types and Definition

• Simple : Desire to do things

• “Motivation is used to explain the reasons behind someone's behaviour. It also represents the reasons for people's actions, desires, and needs. Motivation can also be defined as one's direction to behavior, or what causes a person to want to repeat a behavior and vice versa. A motive is what prompts the person to act in a certain way, or at least develop an inclination for specific behavior.” - Wikipedia

• Employees need to be motivated to “actualize their potential”

• Role of Reward System

• Benefits – promotion, vacation, medical insurance, events for fun, etc.

• Types of motivation

Theories of Motivation :

• Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
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• Image courtesy : http://www.scancapture.co.uk/how-maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-influences-employee-engagement/

• We all know about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - belief that humans need to satisfy their basic needs to realise their own personal growth. 

• Here is how it is related to organisational behaviour:

• Survival : For most people, having a job means a sign of security – to maintain their basic lifestyle – financial independence – this means to survive firstly and then move on to other needs.

• Security : Meaning here – Job Security – In the competitive world, one is always afraid of losing their job – living the life of an unemployed – things like salary, contract are signs of security – helps to move to next level.

• Belonging : Every employee needs to feel their importance – necessary to have trust, acceptance, cordial relations in the group – good rapport between employee and employer – any level of management.

• Importance : Easily confused with belonging – importance is to mainly to increase engagement – employees need to feel that their contribution is appreciated and valued – better productivity – healthier relations.

• Self Actualization : Employers need to “display genuine concern” towards employee’s life – take interest in their goals, achievements and progress – organization should support the ambition of the employee to help fulfil goals of the company as well as the individual – opportunities will help them reach here – also inspire others around.

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• Herzberg was an American psychologist who was very famous in the field of Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

• According to Herzberg’s dual factor theory, there were two ways in which job characteristics could affect an individual.

• The work that an individual does – can help him to satisfy needs – status, personal growth, personal progress – this makes him happy and satisfied.

• But, the absence of all the above mentioned perks does not lead to unhappiness – instead what leads to dissatisfaction with the work are other factors – salary, policies, working conditions.

• Herzberg believes that if management wants to increase the job satisfaction – nature of work should be the focus – opportunities, responsibilities and how-and-what of the work – leads to self realization and content – happiness.

• But, if management wants to reduce the dissatisfaction – work environment should be the focus – policies, condition of workplace, supervisions – leads to satisfaction and happiness with job.

• Thus, he believed that in order to make employees happy and efficient, management has to pay attention to both the factors – Job Environment and Nature of the Work.