Understanding employee motivation and the process - the mediating role of employee Happiness and organizational performance
Understanding employee motivation
Declaration of
Independence of the United States of America (July 4,1776), proclaimed that
among the inalienable rights of man, are "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness''(Wijewardena, 1953).Happiness is a transitory notion and the degree
to which it applies varies from individual to individual and on diversity of
conditions around(Kolar, 2015).The Declaration further states that "All
men are created equal, but the whole trouble has been that no two men are
equal", Wijewardena (2015), which succinctly elaborate the
behavioral variables present when it comes to a group of people forming an
organizational structure and environments (Wijewardena,
1953).Organizational understanding of the factual reality that its
efficacy or success alone is not what makes its employees happy:
instead, happiness makes employees more effective, is of paramount importance
(Kolar, 2015).
Grounded on
the aforementioned ephemeral concept of Happiness and the pursuit for it, lay
the foundation to apprehend its mediating role in a successful employee
motivation. Motivated employees shows an
innate liking for building up optimistic voluntary behaviors and hold on to
them (Armstrong, 2013). They set a direction and decide how best to pursue.
Combination of all these aspects well defines what
employee motivation is and the mediating role of Happiness as exhibited
in the initial innate penchant, which in fact is the driving force.
The video
footage below, exhibits how the strength of happiness within as an innate
positive discretionary behavior drives the employee to walk that extra mile in
making a difference and winning people.
Video 1 : Amusement by an employee of WestJet
Source: World's funniest flight attendant ever! (2019)
Apparently, the Ryanair
cabin crew who shared the experience stating, "Ryanair does not care about
its cabin crew and just takes the most they possibly can squeeze out of us.
After a twelve-hour day without a break, I do not have the energy to be nice to
passengers or check that my nail polish is still on. Come on Ryanair start
valuing what we do because without us you could not fly4"(Working at Ryanair:
141 Reviews | Indeed.co.uk, 2020), would not be psychologically,
neurotically and biologically capable to walk that extra mile of making
customers happy (Clark and Dumas, 2016).
Derived from, and co-extensive with employee motivation is the dividing line specifying the types of it. Organizations needs to understand the types, in order to cast the human resource management strategies accordingly (Armstrong, 2013).
Types of Motivation
There are two primary types of motivations driving employees towards success.
- Intrinsic Motivation
- Extrinsic Motivation
The
feeling of accomplishment for all those hard works you put into a job is
the core basis of the intrinsic motivation. The moment an employee starts
to value the job engagement with a sense of empowerment and job role of an
interestingly challenging dimension with opportunities for continuous growth
and skill enhancement, emerges the intrinsic motivation from
within oneself (Armstrong, 2013).
Mastering and engagement in an aircraft emergency
response process is one of the vital responsibilities of the most senior
Airline managers of a particular port of an airline. An imminent aircraft
accident is the most unfortunate incident any airline can ever imagine of and
is a nightmare for all who face the aftermath of it as airline employees. This
is one thing airlines pray not to happen and also the only thing airlines
practices and rehearse the most for. As a flight operational employee of Sri
Lankan Airlines, participating in such when tragically happened elsewhere, self-discretionary
involvement with no expectation for rewards but incurring expenses by self,
manifests the motivation residing within self, and now can name it as Intrinsic
Motivation.When Michael Sandel (2012: 122) remarked that when an employee
throws oneself into a job which is profusely valuable, offering money in
identification of it would simply diminish the feeling of essence in its most
holistic form(Armstrong, 2013),Michael Sandel had righteously magnified the
feeling in congruence to the personal experience and subsequent feeling. Active
participation in an emergency response process deviating from the routine
operations does, thus, help rejuvenate skills, opportunity to handle
adversely complexed situations, in entirety provision of authority to
engage in such vividly depicts a perfect job design as Katz (1964 ) had
suggested, for a persistent motivation to blossom forth within myself.
In contrast to intrinsic motivation, the extrinsic
motivation emerges from outside of an employee, based on a flurry of variable
and ephemeral factors (Motivation, 2020).External factors such as
incentives, rewards, money, certifications, employee gradings and promotions
are among the many awakening the extrinsic motivation within an individual
(Armstrong, 2013).Unlike the ubiquitous effectiveness and quality of work
induced by intrinsic motivation, the extrinsic motivation does not
consistently last long due to the transitory factors.
Sri Lankan travel agencies have been unfavorably affected over the low or zero commission levels set under new Airline rules. Travel agencies noticed that there had been a drastic turnover of employees since they couldn't adapt to the absence of additional income made through the commissions. Agents are now dumped into a situation where low quality/low skilled employees for lower salaries left as the alternative circumstantially ( PressReader.com, 2018).
It is evident based on above, that motivation to sell tickets and
cover targets abounded while receiving commissions, conversely employees left
the organizations in the absence of commissions, manifesting that the initial
motivation while receiving commissions was extrinsic, hence it did not
last long though it helped the employees to engage in their job role
enthusiastically at the initial status while receiving the money.
Aforementioned
preliminary understanding of employee motivation and its types, posits an ample
foundation for organizations to draft the sketch prior to painting the full
scale artwork of 'How' to implement human resource strategies to meet the
needs. To analyze this further, organizations should resort to the theories
established.
References
Armstrong, Michael 2013, Armstrong’s handbook of human
resource management practice,13th edition, Library of Congress
Cataloging-in-Publication Data, accessed 10 April 2024.
Indeed.co.uk. 2020. Working At Ryanair: 141
Reviews | Indeed.Co.Uk, viewed 11 April 2024.
<https://www.indeed.co.uk/cmp/Ryanair/reviews>
Kolar, C., 2015. Workplace Happiness And Employee
Motivation. Blog.rpoassociation.org.
<https://blog.rpoassociation.org/blog/workplace-happiness-and-employee-motivation>
Motivation 2020, 'Motivation',wiki article,03 March, viewed 10 April 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Motivation&oldid=986864473
Pressreader.com. 2018. Pressreader.Com - Your Favorite
Newspapers And Magazines, viewed 11 April 2024.
<https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/sunday-times-sri-lanka/20180211/282772062030801>
World's Funniest Flight Attendant Ever! [video],
viewed 09 Apr 2024.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPPauzw55nA>
Wijewardena, D., 1953. The Revolt In The Temple.
Composed To Commemorate 2500 Years Of The Land, The
Race And The Faith.
[On The History And Religion Of Ceylon.]. 1st
ed. Pp. 700.Sinha Publications, pp.538-539.
Your exploration of employee motivation, rooted in the Declaration of Independence's pursuit of happiness, offers a fascinating perspective on the complexities of human behavior within organizational structures
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughtful comment! I'm pleased to hear that you found the exploration of employee motivation through the lens of the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence to be fascinating. Human behavior within organizational structures is indeed complex, and understanding the factors that drive motivation is crucial for creating a positive and productive work environment.
DeleteAn employee is more likely to be highly motivated if the reward is positive. On the other hand, an employee is less likely to be motivated if the reward is more unfavourable. Employees aim for equity between themselves and other employees. Good one!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! Motivation is strongly influenced by the perceived fairness of rewards and recognition in the workplace. When employees feel that their efforts are fairly rewarded, they're more likely to be motivated to perform at their best. Striving for equity among peers can also foster a positive work environment and enhance overall morale.
ReplyDeleteThis blog provides a really insightful analysis of the significance of employee motivation in businesses. Since it fosters a happy work environment and increases output and job satisfaction. Effective employee motivation may be achieved by a corporation through the employment of the following tactics: open communication, fair compensation, work-life balance, professional development, team building, and recognition and gratitude. By putting these techniques into practice, leaders can create a more engaged and motivated workforce, which will boost output, contentment at work, and the success of the company. According to current industry trends, companies actively engage in employee motivation to develop productive workforces.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words! I'm glad to hear that you found the analysis insightful. Employee motivation is indeed crucial for creating a positive work environment and driving productivity and satisfaction. Your inclusion of tactics like open communication, fair compensation, and recognition demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to keep employees engaged and motivated. Keep up the great work in promoting these strategies in the workplace!
DeleteMotivation among employees is the engine that pushes people to participate fully in their work. It includes how much energy, passion, and originality workers bring to their work. When workers are inspired, they are eager to learn, committed, and open to trying new things.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, I completely agree. Motivation is indeed the driving force behind employees' active participation and engagement in their work. When employees feel motivated, they bring a higher level of energy, passion, and creativity to their tasks, which ultimately leads to increased productivity and innovation. Moreover, motivated employees are more inclined to demonstrate a willingness to learn, stay committed to their goals, and embrace new challenges. This eagerness to excel and adapt contributes to a dynamic and thriving work environment where individuals are empowered to reach their full potential. Therefore, fostering motivation among employees is crucial for enhancing overall workplace performance and achieving organizational success.
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