Introduction
People work for many reasons, but, in most cases, the need and desire to make money for personal security and comfort is the central goal of most employees. However, this does not mean that a basic or high salary is the only motivating factor that influences people’s views of their position. In fact, the research in the field of employee motivation has gathered a variety of theories and approaches to see what causes individuals to prefer one company or occupation over another, and which actions can managers take to improve workers’ performance. The purpose of this report is to look into multiple studies concerning employee motivation and analyze which of the strategies and beliefs researchers hold today.
Ten articles were chosen for this evaluation based on several aspects. First, their date of publication had to be no earlier than 2016 – recent studies acknowledge the history of the field and present the most relevant corporate environments for examination. Second, all works are connected to the exploration of employee motivation, but they approach the subject from different perspectives, allowing one to find points of contrast and comparison. The review of the selected literature shows that many of the older theories based on people’s basic needs are still favored by authors. Nevertheless, new approaches are also introduced, providing a more elaborate discussion of people’s cultural, spiritual, and individual backgrounds.
Brief Summary
The first study by Bhatti, Aslam, Hassan, and Sulaiman (2016) considers the issue of employee motivation from an Islamic perspective. The authors choose a qualitative design, using semi-structured interviews to review the attitudes of managers from different levels and organizations toward the impact of Islam on workers’ motivation. Bhatti et al. (2016) state that their objective is to find whether the unique aspects of religion lead to employees having a different view of their responsibilities and desires. The thematic analysis of interview recordings is performed, and the scholars confirm their hypothesis.
The Islamic viewpoint of motivation stems from such principles as spirituality, justice, and reward or punishment. This study’s main implication is that the use of Western motivation theories in Islamic cultures may be ineffective due to differing value systems.
In the second article, Bro, Andersen, and Bøllingtoft (2017) review the effectiveness of transformational leadership in inspiring employees, depending on the field of occupation and workers’ perceived prosocial impact. The researchers employ a quantitative method, surveying employees in four distinct areas – childcare, primary schools, high schools, and tax firms (Bro et al., 2017). Random effect analyses and mean-organizational significant covariates are utilized to confirm the hypotheses.
The authors find that employees’ perceived impact on their clients affects their motivation – people who believe that their work is useful are less open to transformational leadership strategies (Bro et al., 2017). Thus, the intrinsic motivation of these people leads them to disregard such business practices as superficial.
De Vito, Brown, Bannister, Cianci, and Mujtaba (2018) review the hierarchy of needs and other traditional theories to see what motivates higher education employees. They select a qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews and analyze workers of a single university in the United States. According to the results, employees are motivated because they understand the purpose of their jobs, but they lack financial security and opportunities for development, which signifies limited extrinsic motivation. This article demonstrates the application of content theories to an environment with a poor corporate culture.
The research by Hitka, Kozubíková, and Potkány (2018) examines the specificities of such factors as gender and education and their influence on employee motivation. Hitka et al. (2018) use a quantitative method – they distribute questionnaires to Slovak employees and perform the Tukey’s HSD test and chi-quadrate test. As an outcome, the authors discover that both aspects have an impact on motivation factors.
While all participants value such elements as basic salary and job security, women are more interested in professional development and a good working team. In contrast, men appreciate high salaries more than women; higher education levels also correlate to people’s desire for professional achievement (Hitka et al., 2018). While the study looks at a sample from one country, it shows a possible influence of culture and education on people’s motivating factors.
Husain and Batagoda (2017) consider the effect of organizational rewards on employee motivation. They use a quantitative methodology and a convenience sample, collecting questionnaire data and conducting univariate and bivariate analyses. The scholars determine that organizational rewards, such as pay, allowances, bonuses, and benefits as well as responsibility, growth, autonomy, and praise, have a positive effect on employee’s motivation (Husain & Batagoda, 2017). In the environment of a large-scale industry with many operational workers, pay and praise seem to be the most effective ways to inspire employees.
In his study, Jensen (2018) takes a different approach by examining the leader’s role in motivating employees. The scholar conducts a literature review and synthesizes the information about leadership for improving workers’ views of the job. According to Jensen (2018), the connection between the leader and other employees is the key to effective motivation. Communication, interaction, and full attention to workers’ unique needs are elements of creating a healthy corporate culture that leads to committed and motivated teams. Such strategies as one-on-one meetings and regular touchpoints are highlighted to establish a trustworthy relationship and ensure collaboration.
The article by Kuvaas, Buch, Weibel, Dysvik, and Nerstad (2017) compares the influence of various extrinsic and intrinsic motivation factors on employee outcomes. The authors aim to find which of these aspects is more important for improving performance and commitment while lowering turnover and burnout rates. Kuvaas et al. (2017) complete three separate studies, distributing questionnaires to employees from different organizations.
All answers were presented in the form of a 5-point Likers scale, and the authors performed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results revealed a difference in responses to extrinsic and intrinsic motivation factors, with the latter being more effective in improving performance and reducing negative outcomes. The advice given by this study is to include workers in collaborative decision-making, create channels for feedback, and give employees more autonomy.
Lee and Raschke (2016) conduct a literature review and analyze existing theories of employee motivation to introduce a new approach to understanding this issue. The scholars argue that quantitative methods are less effective in showing the connections between workers’ behaviors and strategies for motivation as they do not present a bigger picture. Thus, Lee and Raschke (2016) suggest a set-theoretic approach rooted in qualitative examinations, considering the ties between different activities and their effects on people. For instance, they urge other researchers to acknowledge the influence of business culture on various motivational strategies. This study departs from the usually selected approaches and discusses a different framework for examining employee motivation.
The study by Mikkelsen, Jacobsen, and Andersen (2017) focuses on the impact that local managers can have on employee motivation. They compare three command enforcement systems (“hard,” “mixed,” and “soft”) to see which approach is more effective in fostering intrinsic motivation. Mikkelsen et al. (2017) distribute surveys to teachers and principals and study the data using factor analysis. The researchers find that “soft” actions are the most useful for improving intrinsic motivation, while “hard” enforcement leads to teachers lacking the motivation to perform. Thus, this article contributes to the idea that self-determination and autonomy are vital in creating motivation.
Finally, the tenth selected research by Porter, Riesenmy, and Fields (2016) examines the factors in a corporate environment that motivate employees not just to work but lead. The authors choose a quantitative methodology of surveys and use hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Porter et al. (2016) find that both extrinsic and intrinsic factors play a role in people’s decision to become leaders in their workplace. However, most respondents consider such factors as pay, professional growth opportunities, job design, culture, and spirituality to be essential in choosing their path in the company. Thus, companies cannot rely on intrinsic factors when expecting certain employees to take on leadership positions.
Compare and Contrast
The review of the selected studies demonstrates that researchers have developed many theories that can be used to study the issue of employee motivation. As can be seen, many older frameworks are still in use today, especially Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which is mentioned in articles by De Vito et al. (2018), Bhatti et al. (2016), and Lee and Raschke (2016). However, the latter two of these research teams do not favor this theory as the foundational method for the field. In contrast, they urge one to move away from using such philosophies, although they are guided by different reasons.
Another interesting point is that many of the works aim to see which roles intrinsic and extrinsic motivation factors play in employees’ performance or their view of the job. The conclusions of the authors differ significantly, depending on the field of work and employees’ level of education and occupation. For example, scholars who examine school and university teachers find that, while pay has an impact on employees’ performance, intrinsic factors matter substantially (Bro et al., 2017; De Vito et al., 2018).
In these environments, a clear vision of helping people and recognizing the importance of the profession is present. In comparison, the study by Husain and Batagoda (2017) looks into the industry of manufacturing, where people have low salaries and perform repetitive work that is not tied to client interaction. The results of this study show an apparent preference for extrinsic motivators, including higher pay.
Nonetheless, the majority of studies consider a fixed list of motivators, including financial benefits as the main extrinsic factor and praise and autonomy as intrinsic sources of motivation. The article by Bhatti et al. (2016) rejects this framework and poses an idea that cultural standards of the Western world cannot be used in another culture, using Islam as an example. By acknowledging the role of religion in forming the Islamic community, the authors discuss a completely different framework for improving motivation. In this study, financial security and professional development are replaced by the idea of Falah (true success) and Ibadah (servitude to God) (Bhatti et al., 2016). The freedom and collective decision-making are contrasted with piety and devotion – fundamentally different approaches to creating motivation in employees.
Scholars use both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, but the choice often relies on the studies’ objectives. Surveys and questionnaires are the most common quantitative ways of collecting information from employees to determine which factors motivate them the most. Moreover, these analyses are employed to review the opinions of managers about the performance of workers. Qualitative methods include a literature review and thematic analysis – semi-structured interviews with employees and managers consider corporate culture, insecurities, and work problems that bother people. As such, both approaches to the investigation are necessary because they view the issue from different points.
Overall, the implications of these articles are not conclusive in deciding what affects workers’ motivation. In contrast, the discussion of this topic is full of different results, but some general ideas can be derived. First of all, intrinsic motivation seems to be tied to the type of company, profession, and culture in which employees work. Intrinsic factors guide highly educated professionals who work in client-oriented jobs and operate in cultures that appreciate autonomy.
They require recognition, praise, teamwork, and other elements that emphasize communication and development. Workers who do not interact with clients and do not have the same commitment to the profession are more motivated by financial rewards, although they need recognition as well. Furthermore, cultural implications are significant and should be reviewed further, as the difference between Islamic and Western perspectives is undeniable.
Conclusion
This review shows that the topic of employee motivation continues to evolve and introduce new approaches to the discussion. Researchers still use many older theories, but more and more studies acknowledge the unique differences of non-Western societies and their approach to corporate culture. This field’s investigations are equally interested in quantitative and qualitative methods since they allow one to consider various aspects of motivation. Performance outcomes or significant influences can be calculated, while new approaches require a theoretical discussion. Overall, this review shows that each environment should be appraised using several theories to acknowledge the various combinations of desires, values, and norms.
References
Bhatti, O. K., Aslam, U. S., Hassan, A., & Sulaiman, M. (2016). Employee motivation an Islamic perspective. Humanomics, 32(1), 33-47.
Bro, L. L., Andersen, L. B., & Bøllingtoft, A. (2017). Low-hanging fruit: Leadership, perceived prosocial impact, and employee motivation. International Journal of Public Administration, 40(9), 717-729.
De Vito, L., Brown, A., Bannister, B., Cianci, M., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2018). Employee motivation based on the hierarchy of needs, expectancy and the two-factor theories applied with higher education employees. IJAMEE – International Journal of Advances in Management, Economics and Entrepreneurship, 3(1), 20-32.
Hitka, M., Kozubíková, Ľ., & Potkány, M. (2018). Education and gender-based differences in employee motivation. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 19(1), 80-95.
Husain, A. P. M. S., & Batagoda, C. K. (2017). Impact of organizational rewards on employee motivation of operational level employees in the Sri Lankan large scale apparel industry in Colombo district. Human Resource Management Journal, 5(2), 29-39.
Jensen, J. D. (2018). Employee motivation: A leadership imperative. International Journal of Business Administration, 9(2), 93-98.
Kuvaas, B., Buch, R., Weibel, A., Dysvik, A., & Nerstad, C. G. (2017). Do intrinsic and extrinsic motivation relate differently to employee outcomes? Journal of Economic Psychology, 61, 244-258.
Lee, M. T., & Raschke, R. L. (2016). Understanding employee motivation and organizational performance: Arguments for a set-theoretic approach. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 1(3), 162-169.
Mikkelsen, M. F., Jacobsen, C. B., & Andersen, L. B. (2017). Managing employee motivation: Exploring the connections between managers’ enforcement actions, employee perceptions, and employee intrinsic motivation. International Public Management Journal, 20(2), 183-205.
Porter, T. H., Riesenmy, K. D., & Fields, D. (2016). Work environment and employee motivation to lead: Moderating effects of personal characteristics. American Journal of Business, 31(2), 66-84.