Motivation: the key to a high-performing team
The percentage of unmotivated employees in Europe is between 46-54% (according to France Info). This percentage reflects the fact that motivation is an issue that is not talked about enough.
The concept of motivation in a workplace is not widely recognised. The reason for this is that it only started to appear in our language and that of organisations, in the latter half of the 20th century. Prior to this, the word 'motivation' was only really a legal term.
So what do we mean by motivation in the workplace?
For individuals, motivation is defined as the main factor contributing to performance. It has a direct impact on the employees' individual and group performance, on their intellectual and physical ability, their savoir-faire, as well as on the organisation.But how is motivation defined in terms of business?
Vellerand and Thrill (1993) came up with a new definition of motivation, which captures the difficulty of being able to directly see a person's motivation:
Motivation is a hypothetical construct used to describe the internal or external forces producing the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of a behavior'. This feeling of motivation can therefore be either 'weak or strong, varying both between individuals at given times, and in the same person at different times, and according to circumstances.'
It explains that motivation is triggered by an external factor (a certain situation, ways of working, environment etc). Motivation can also be driven by something internally which depends on certain personal characteristics (impulses, personality, needs etc).
According to psychologists, this feeling is formed and unformed on the basis of four elements: the initiation of behaviour, the direction of behaviour, the intensity of behaviour and the persistence of behaviour. Motivation has effects on the way employees work and on the effort that an individual makes. Motivation will guide and stimulate an individual's behaviour.
What motivates us?
Having now understood the importance of motivation, what factors drive individuals to show motivation? There are several theories that answer this question and we will look at the three main ones:
- The American humanist psychologist, Maslow, thinks that motivation happens when an individual feels a desire to satisfy an internal need. Motivation therefore comes from willpower and ends when an individual has fulfilled a need. The individual then finds a new need to fulfill which will create motivation and the cycle continues. These needs are usually prioritized as follows:
- Psychological needs
- Need to feel safe
- Need for love, social relationships and belonging to a group
- Need for self-esteem and recognition
- Need for self accomplishment, progress and fulfilment
- Alderfer, the American psychologist and consultant developed the ERG theory. He also believes that motivation comes from an internal force, but this force wants to satisfy three fundamental, non-hierarchical needs:
- (E) existence
- (R) relatedness (social interactions)
- (G) growth (personal development)
Finally, the two-factor theory put forward by American psychologist Herzberg, highlights that motivation comes from the search for optimal satisfaction of certain needs, split into two categories:
- The first category regroups all the factors that are capable of creating employee satisfaction in the workplace. Such as, achievements, recognition, responsibility, personal development possibilities etc
- The second category regroups motivating factors, which, unlike the first category, don't contribute to employee satisfaction, which include: superior colleagues, admin and company policies, company prestige, salary etc.
For Deci and Ryan, motivation is driven by needs that the employees develop to a greater or lesser extent, the need to feel competent. Everyone is looking to satisfy a need for skills, to develop their ability to interact with their professional and social environment. Employees are driven by the need to develop the ability to make choices in any situation.
Conclusion:
Nowadays, Maslow's theory is the most widely recognized theory when considering motivation in the workplace. The needs include: recognition, wellbeing, autonomy, interest in the position and tasks as well as fulfilment and career development.
It is therefore important to carry out surveys to really find out employee satisfaction. This will allow for any necessary tools to be put in place to increase motivation at work. This could include creating a positive working environment or an incentive programme which brings together all actions needed to boost and reward employee motivation.
