Motivating Workers

Why people work?

People work for a number of reasons. Most people work because they need to earn money to
survive, while others work voluntarily for other reasons. Motivation is the reason why
employees want to work hard and work effectively for the business. Managers also should try to
find out what motivate workers and use these factors to encourage workers to work more
efficienciently. This in turn will results in higher productivity, increased output, and ultimately
higher profits.

Reasons why people work:

It enables people to survive by purchasing food,
1 Money
clothing and house
Knowing that you are employed and are less likely to
2 Security lose you job unless not working as per the required
rules and regulations.
Feeling part of a group or organisation, meeting
3 Social needs (Affiliation) people, making friends at work. This reduces the
frustration of remaining idle (jobless)

4 Esteem Needs (Self- feeling that the job you do is important; for e.g: A
Importance) doctor is improtant for medical care.
Enjoyment derived from feeling that you have done a
5
Job Satisfaction good job. For e.g: Feeling happy to teach in a school.

Well-Motivated High Productivity

(employees work Increased
Higher Profit
Workers more effectively) Output

Unhappy Do not work Lower/ No

Workers very effectively Low Output Profit

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Nowadays, machinery is more common in businesses which results in increased productivity as
well. However, the amount that a well-motivated workforce can produce must still be
recognized, since employees are firm’s greatest assets!

Motivation Theories
People work very hard when they are working for themselves. However, when they work for
other people, they may not work as effectively. Managers have been looking into what makes
employees contribute their fullest to the company and these studies have resulted into three main
theories of motivation:
F.W Taylor
Maslow Theory
Herzberg

1. F.W Taylor
Frederic Taylor started his career as a laborer in a steel factory in America in 1880’s. He was
then promoted to chief engineer and during this time he conducted an experiments with the
factory labourers into how to increase labour productivity/ output.
Taylor believed that workers are motivated by personal gains and therefore will work more
effectively if they are paid more. He split workers tasks into simple processes and set a target
output that should be produced during a specific time period (E.G: a day). If workers achieved
the targeted output, they will be paid more money. In other words, the reward is on a piece rate
basis.
Hence, Taylor view employees as machines- when workers were working hard, their
productivity will be high and therefore their labour costs would be low. That is, any additional
output produced would worth more than the extra pay the workers will gain.
However, Taylor focused only on paying more to workers if they increased their output and
ignore the other motivational factors that influence labour productivity. Besides, this approach
can be used to motivate only factory workers whose labour productivity can be easily measured.
On the other hand, it becomes a problem to measure the labour productivity of soft skills workers
and thus Taylor approach cannot be used to motivate them.

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 2. Abraham Maslow Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow (1954) proposed a hierarchy of needs after studying employee motivation.
According to Maslow, people experience at least five types of needs especially for people
who are unemployed. These needs normally exist in a hierarchical order ranging from the
basic needs to the highest needs. They are the physiological need/ Basic needs,
safety/security needs, social needs, esteem needs and self- actualization.

I. Physiological Needs/ Basic Needs

Physiological needs are the basic needs that a human being needs to survive such as food,
shelter and housing. Employers should be able to satisfy these needs of a newly employee
worker so that he perform at work.

II. Safety/ Security needs

The urge of safety and security at work comes after the employee has satisfied his
physiological needs. If workers are not given job security, they might feel the risk of

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 being unemployed which may eventually cause labour turnover. In other words, the
worker will find another job where there is job security. Employers also should provide
safety measures at work especially if the task is risky like builders. If these are not
fulfilled, workers morale might be low and do not perform at work.

III. Social Needs

Social needs are important for workers since it make them feel part of the organization.
Employers should assure that workers have a sense of belonging in the firm since
working in cooperative spirit increases productivity.

IV. Esteem Needs

Esteem needs is the recognition of workers who are productive at work. The recognition
of workers boosts the morale of employees and makes them more productive and
efficient at work since they feel a sense of achievement and prestige.

V. Self-Actualisation
Self- actualization is when a person has reached his full potential and has the feeling that
they have done a good job not just for financial rewards but for personal rewards also.
For example, getting promotion from deputy rector to rector or from manager to chief
executive officer.

Maslow has recognized that if workers are going to be motivated and work effectively
then the higher levels in the hierarchy must be available to them (unlike Taylor). It can be
observed that each level of the hierarchy must be fulfilled before an employee can be
motivated by the next level. However, it can be difficult of employers to recognize where
workers are situated on the hierarchy and a failure in doing so will lead to low morale,
high absenteeism and labour turnover.

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 3. Herzberg Theory
Herzberg’s study was based the work of engineers and accountant in the US. According
to Herzberg, human have two sets of needs; one is for the basic animal needs, which he
called the ‘hygiene’ factors. Herzberg discovered that the ‘hygiene factors must be
satisfied else they can act as demotivators to workers.
The second is for a human being to be able to grow psychologically, which is called
‘motivational’ need or ‘motivators’. Herzberg survey shows that apart from money there
are other important factors which motivate employees and enables them to stay longer in
the organization.

Herzberg Theory

Hygiene Factor Motivators

• Status • Recognition
• Security • Personal growth/ development
• Work conditions • Achievement/ promotion
• Company policies and • Work itself
administration
• Relationship with suppliers
• Relationship with subordinates
• salary

Demotivators -
if not satisfied

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Motivating Factors
The management along with the Human Resource department are responsible to motivate their
workforce in order to raise productivity, reduce grievances at work, reduce absenteeism and
labour turnover. Management should be able to motivate all staffs in the organization, whether
the office staffs or factory staffs. There are three factors which can motivate employees:

Financial rewards
Non- Financial rewards
Introducing ways to give job satisfaction

1) Financial Rewards
Motivation theories have proved that pay is the first factor that motivates an employee to
work. Indeed, a fair payment gives employees the incentive to work harder and more
effectively. However, payment takes various forms such as:
a) Wages
A wage is a form of cash payment which is made every week to employees. This
form of payment is made mostly for manual workers such as those who work in
warehouse and builders.
b) Time Rate
Workers are paid for the number of hours they worked. Time rate is typically used
in the service sector as output is difficult to measure. For instance, a teacher
working 6hr30mins and is paid at a rate of Rs 150 per hour.
c) Piece Rate
This is where workers are paid according to the level of output produced. That is,
the more they produce, the more they are paid. Generally, a basic rate is usually
paid with additional money paid in accordance with the additional output
produced. Piece rate can be employed to the bonus system where additional
amount is paid above the basic pay as a reward for good work.

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d) Salary
Salary is a standard rate which is paid into the bank account of the employee on a
monthly basis. It is calculated as an amount of money per year and is divided into
12 monthly amounts. It is commonly used to pay white collar workers such as
office staffs and managers.
Apart from salaries, workers may get additional rewards like: commission, profit
sharing, bonus, performance related pay and share of ownership.
i. Commission
Commission is a form of payment made for an extra work made. For e.g;
sales man selling extra output.
ii. Profit Sharing
Profit sharing is a system where part of the company’s profit is shared to
the employees for their good performance at work. This encourages
workers to be more productive since this will increases profit and they can
receive a higher return.
iii. Bonus
It is a lump sum above the basic pay made to employees for their good
performance. It can be paid at the end of the year or at intervals during the
year.
iv. Performance- related pay
It is a form of payment which is related to the effectiveness of the
employee. A system of appraisal is made to assess the effectiveness of
employees. For example; the head of department can assess the
performance of teachers to increase the salary of the teacher.
v. Share ownership
Share ownership is where shares in the company are given to employees
so that they become part owners in the company. This in turn will boost
the morale of employees and enable them to share ideas and opinions in
the company.

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 2) Non- Financial Reward
Employers or managers should motivate employees through non- financial rewards other
than financial rewards. Businesses offer fringe benefits to its workers such as giving
discounts or give some of the manufactured product to employees, a car, medical
insurance, a house and an expense account. For instance, factory workers working at
Coca- Cola receives two packs of coke free each month and the senior manager might
receive a company car to come to work. Therefore, the fringe benefits are not the same
for all workers. It varies according to the seniority of the job.

Other Non- Financial Reward

Company Vehicle (Car)
Discounts on the firm’s product
Medical Insurance
Education fees to children
Free accommodation
Free trips abroad/ holidays
Pension Scheme
Generous expense account (for food & clothing)
Share options (company give bonus shares to employees)

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is the enjoyment derived from the feeling that you have done a good job. For
instance, if a worker is given a reasonable wages and is treated fairly at his/her workplace, he/she
will be happy and will like his/her work. This will lead to job satisfaction and workers will be
motivated to work effectively and efficiently. However, an employee might feel dissatisfied even
if he/she is fringe benefits but management at work is not good and workers are ill- treated.

Employees have different ideas about what makes their jobs satisfying. They include:

Pay
Opportunities of promotion
Working condition

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 Fringe benefits and non- financial rewards
The way the employee is treated and managed
Working hours
Colleagues
The nature of the work itself
Level of responsibility
Sense of achievement
Recognition of good work
Chance for training
Status of the job

Job rotation

Job rotation involves workers swapping round and doing each specific task for only a limited
time and then changing round again. For instance, a dress designer at a bridal shop may work for
a time as a sales consultant to learn a different segment of the business. Rotating a dress designer
into a sales role gives the designer an opportunity to have knowledge on customer preferences
and can use these details to help create dresses that better fit the needs of the customers.

Job enlargement

Job enlargement is where extra tasks of a similar level of work are added to a worker’s job
description. This is the horizontal expansion of the content of a job, which is achieved by
increasing the number and variety of tasks which are associated with it. When job enlargement
is carried out in an organization, workers are given an opportunity to perform a wider range of
tasks at the same level For example, a factory worker who was previously just installing a tube
may get the opportunity to assemble the entire television set.

Job Enrichment

Job enrichment involves looking at jobs and adding tasks that require more skill and/or
responsibility. Job enrichment is the vertical expansion of a job so as to include responsibilities
at a higher level. The worker may plan his own work schedule and be given some decision‐

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making powers. For example, a clerk may be given approval to sign letters on behalf of the
manager without all letters having first to be approved by the latter.

Autonomous work group or teamworking

This is when group of workers are given total responsibility to organize themselves and
perform a task. This makes the employees feel more important, as well as giving them a sense of
belonging when they are part of a team. If they organize themselves differently every time, the
team could get job enlargement and job enrichment too.

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