Employee Motivation: Solving the hard puzzle

Does reducing time spent at work increase employee motivation? Shouldn’t motivated people seek more hours of work and not less. Does doubling wages to attract new talent acts as a motivator or do the fringe benefits or the HR trainings or employee counselling sessions? If your answers to these questions is a “Yes”, read on.

In an anthesis of sorts, Frederick Herzberg, a distinguished Professor of Management at University of Utah published his study in 1987 (Yes! Back then) in which he demonstrated the difference between motivation and movement. Frederick said, if I wanted to move my dog, I would kick it in the back earlier and it would move. Now, with obedience training, I can hold up a dog biscuit when I want it to move. While the dog is the one which moves, the motivation here (to move the dog) is mine and not that of the dog. The problem with the aforementioned practices is those can recharge a person’s battery by showing him a biscuit (positive psychological approach). The other way could be to kick him again using negative psychological approach such as threats, reduced responsibility etc. However, employee motivation should ideally not need outside stimulation- one should have a generator of one’s own.

Further, Herzberg’s research highlighted that the factors involved in producing job satisfaction and motivation are separate and distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. He calls these as Motivators and Hygiene parameters respectively. Motivators are intrinsic to the job- the work itself, achievement, responsibility, progress; while Hygiene factors are extrinsic to the job- company policy and administration, supervision, working conditions, salary, interpersonal relationships, status and security. The nature of motivators as opposed to hygiene factors have a long-term effect on employees’ attitude.

He proposed job enrichment as one of the ways to perennially motivate the employees by using a technique called vertical job loading which includes measures such as reducing controls while retaining accountability, giving a person enhanced responsibility of a complete division/ unit, providing additional authority, increasing accountability for own work, increasing difficulty of tasks performed, assigning specialized tasks etc.

To conclude, while goodies presented in the form of fewer work hours or benefits can provide a sense of initial excitement, participation or even progress, all they would result in is short-term movement. It’s similar to the dog example- while the biscuit will move the dog temporarily, it lasts only till the time you will need another one. It is the content of the job that will produce the required perpetual motivation.