Intrinsic Motivation Guarantees Better Work Performance

Monetary compensation and benefits that come with a job keep employees engaged - until other factors start playing a far more important role in their employee experience. External motivation can only keep employees satisfied with their work for so long.

Toggl, a time tracking service for corporates recognizes employee needs that have to be met to keep them intrinsically motivated and engaged.

Its CEO, Alari Aho believes that ditching the “kindergarten syndrome” and providing employees with freedom of action can be a lot more motivating than tracking the hours they’ve clocked at work.

Daniel Pink, a New York Times bestselling author and former speechwriter for Al Gore, shares similar views. He highlights that there 3 main components that influence intrinsic motivation – autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

All three of these components must be met for employees to have an increased sense of intrinsic motivation. Moreover, these can be strategically utilized to enhance work performance.

Since autonomy, mastery, and purpose boost motivation to strive for better solely to experience the satisfaction of working, it is essential to explore how exactly these factors do so.

Autonomy

Micromanaging benefits no one, especially not the employees who feel their every click, move and search being monitored. Autonomy is vital for employees to feel trusted and connected to the goals of the organization.

When employees have a sense of freedom and liberty at work, they know they are being counted on and, hence, feel internally motivated.

Mastery

A lack of growth opportunities is one of the leading causes of employee attrition. Organizations lose talented individuals when they are not provided with enough resources to explore their potential.

Mastery cannot be achieved without practice or experience, both of which are important for employees to gain expertise.

Providing employees with new opportunities is indicative of skill development and excelling in a certain field. The idea of developing further is enticing to many and motivates them to improve their performance.

Purpose

Purpose is unique to everyone. Many choose to find it, but many assign purpose to their work, the relationships they have with their coworkers and their clients.

People feel valued at work because they make a positive impact on the organization through their purpose. If this need is not met, job satisfaction reduces significantly as so does motivation to improve work performance.

So, how can these components be used in order to create intrinsic motivation to power improved work performance?

Provide Choices

Sometimes, presenting a choice to choose between projects can help employees feel a sense of autonomy and understand that their decisions are valued in the organization.

The possibility of being able to make decisions for oneself at work can be empowering when it also fosters personal growth and success. However, it’s of course not always possible to have a choice at all times.

Allow Criticism and Critical Thinking

When a work environment allows employees to put forward their opinions or their ideas related to work, it creates an inclusive environment. Not to mention, in an inclusive environment, everyone gets to participate and critically analyze situations, strategies, and decisions.

Employees know they are heard and seen when their ideas and feedback are taken into consideration. This is also critical for the growth of the company.

Create Growth Strategies

All employees have potential, it just has to be spotted and honed to make use of it. Creating growth strategies for employees will help them master of their skills. This professional growth also leads to their personal growth.

Provide a growth-oriented work environment

Work environments have a huge impact on employees who respond to their immediate stimuli. Creating a work environment that prioritizes well-being and job satisfaction makes for a growth-oriented atmosphere in the organization. In the right environment, people feel motivated to outdo themselves.

Fostering intrinsic motivation in employees can lead to them performing a lot better when their externally motivating factors burn out.?