In the workplace, motivation is a concept used to describe efforts to increase employees' work performance and productivity. I often hear statements from frustrated supervisors such as, "He's just not motivated," or, "I have got to figure out how to get these guys motivated." The crusade to motivate employees to better performance is one that is often fraught with mixed or disappointing results. The source of this disappointment is based largely on a huge misconception that managers and supervisors have: They believe that they can motivate their employees. The truth is that it is impossible to motivate another human being. Human beings are motivated by their own needs, not someone else's. Understanding this fact is the first step to getting your employees' performance to improve.
Understanding Motivation
Psychologist Abraham Maslow stated that almost all human behaviors could be explained in terms of a person's individual needs. According to Maslow, people feel tension or discomfort when experiencing a need. Our motivation is to relieve this discomfort, and we engage in certain behaviors with the goal of accomplishing this. For example, when you are hungry, you feel a discomfort that will not be satisfied until you eat. So, you are likely to do something such as drive to a restaurant, order food and ultimately eat until you are satisfied and the discomfort is gone. Once satisfied, you are no longer motivated to engage in those behaviors. Therefore, only unsatisfied needs are true sources of motivation.
At work, employees are driven to engage in certain behaviors that will bring them closer to specific "goal objectives" that they perceive will satisfy their needs. While managers cannot technically "motivate" their employees, they can make sure that these goal objectives are available to the employee and emphasize these goals to the employee.
Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow organized human needs into a hierarchy based on five need categories. He arranged them starting at the bottom, with the needs that produce the most primitive and immature behaviors, and ending at the top, with needs that produce more mature behaviors (see "The Needs Pyramid" sidebar on this page). Maslow said that humans tend to progress through the need categories much like climbing a ladder. Once you have somewhat satisfied a lower-level need, you become aware of the next higher-level need and seek to satisfy it, since the lower-level need is no longer a significant source of motivation. Logically, you can only get to the next step on the ladder by having successfully negotiated the previous step.
• Basic Needs: On the first level of Maslow's hierarchy are the needs that reflect physiological and survival concerns such as having enough food, shelter and clothing. These "basic needs," adapted to the workplace, manifest themselves in things like a concern for good working conditions where employees are not subjected to excessive physical strain; work schedules allowing opportunities for leisure time, vacation and time off; and a concern for adequate salary to the extent that a job allows for the purchase of basic necessities, creature comforts and personal property.
Managers can harness this drive to fulfill basic needs by emphasizing what is important to the employee. For example, if an employee is worried about not making enough money, a manager might offer the employee opportunities for overtime. If an employee feels like he is being "overworked," a manager might emphasize upcoming time off, breaks or vacation. If the employee can clearly see the goal object is present and reasonably attainable, he will be "motivated" to obtain it.
According to Maslow, these basic needs must be somewhat satisfied before one is concerned with or possibly even aware of the next level of needs. For example, having food on the table and a roof overhead takes precedence over whether or not an employee has a 401(k) plan. Once an employee is making a satisfactory salary that provides these things, salary becomes less important and security needs such as having a retirement plan rise to the forefront.
• Security Needs: The second level in the hierarchy is concerned with a need for safety, orderliness, predictability and risk-avoidance. On the job, these "security needs" manifest themselves in things such as a desire for fringe benefits such as health insurance, 401(k) and pension plans, and worker compensation; performance standards and safe working conditions; and adherence to set procedures and predictability.
Feeling safe and secure with their jobs is a need all employees seek to fulfill. For example, the goal of having a permanent position with full benefits would likely motivate a temporary employee. A manager could harness that motivation by letting him know that if he works hard he will be "hired on" soon. Another example would be the new employee running a table saw for the first time—he likely would be motivated to avoid getting seriously injured. In this case, an appropriate motivational effort by the supervisor would be to train the employee on the proper safety procedures.
According to Maslow, security needs must be at least minimally satisfied before an employee is concerned with the next level of needs—"social and belongingness needs," i.e., an employee is not likely to put much emphasis on making friends at work if he fears for his personal safety.
• Social and Belongingness Needs: After basic and security needs are satisfied, we start to feel a need to affiliate ourselves with others. In the workplace, social and belongingness needs present themselves as a desire to interact and be accepted by coworkers and supervisors; a desire to pursue meaningful and harmonious relationships; and a desire to be an appreciated part of a team and have a sense of organizational belonging.
An employee who is new to the company is likely to experience the need to feel accepted. In this case, a supervisor's motivational efforts might be to warmly greet the new employee and introduce him to his coworkers, encourage others to include him at lunchtime and breaks, and/or invite him to participate on the softball team. In general, social events such as company picnics and dinners can be excellent motivational tools for employees experiencing belongingness needs.
According to Maslow, employees experience these needs naturally after they are at least somewhat satisfied with things such as salary, benefits and safe working conditions.
• Esteem Needs: Once an employee feels accepted at work and is satisfied with his pay and benefits, he is likely to feel the need to distinguish himself and be recognized. These are "esteem needs." At this level in the hierarchy, employees become motivated by a desire to be recognized or praised for doing good work; opportunities to display their competence and skill; and opportunities to achieve status and feel important in an organization.
Recognizing employees when they perform well is one of the simplest ways to "motivate" employees, and it need not be elaborate. A simple pat on the back or praise can go a long way provided that it is not overused or misplaced. However, employees at this level can experience a real need to prove themselves to management and their coworkers. For a competent employee who seems bored with his job, a supervisor might give him some increased responsibility on the job site or assign him to a special project, such as a custom parquet job. This would give that employee an opportunity to stand out and fulfill his need to display his competence and skill. Managers should make particular effort to include employees experiencing esteem needs in the planning and decision-making by seeking their input.
Satisfaction of these needs produces feelings of self-confidence, prestige and control over the environment. Employees begin to find satisfaction in the work itself, and the more ambitious employees begin to stand out from the rest. Though not all employees seek out more responsibility and status, generally everyone likes to be praised and appreciated for doing a good job.
• Self-Actualization Needs: Maslow says that once our need to stand out and prove ourselves to others has been somewhat satisfied, an even higher need emerges: the need to "prove ourselves to ourselves." Like esteem needs, "self-actualization needs" are fulfilled through the intrinsic value of the work itself but are centered on a need to test our capabilities and discover our true potential. Those experiencing self-actualization needs are motivated by work that is meaningful, rewarding and personally challenging; opportunities to be creative and innovative; and being in an environment where they have a certain degree of autonomy.
Managers can "motivate" employees at this level by "giving them the ball and letting them run with it" so to speak, delegating to them a challenge such as solving a complex layout problem, and giving them a certain degree of freedom to solve it in their own way.
Employees concerned with self-actualization may perceive their occupation as a meaningful career in which they are fulfilling a higher purpose rather than just paying the bills. Managers and executives in particular are often found to experience these needs, but employees at all levels can find meaningful satisfaction in their work provided management sets the proper groundwork.
Not Dissatisfied?
Building on Maslow's research, Fredrick Herzberg discovered that motivation as it pertains to improved job performance was related directly to the upper two levels of Maslow's hierarchy, esteem and self-actualization needs. He called these upper-level needs "motivators." He went further to say that true job satisfaction is only possible when pursuing these needs.
At the same time, Herzberg found that the fulfillment of basic, security, and social needs only served to prevent employees from becoming dissatisfied. Things such as salary, fringe benefits and working conditions allow the individual to function on the job and only serve as a source of distraction when they are absent. Interestingly, when these factors are present, employees are not satisfied and they are not "motivated" to do a good job; they are simply "not dissatisfied." Herzberg called these lower-level needs "hygiene factors" (see "Motivator or Just Hygiene?" sidebar below). Social needs, while predominantly attributed to hygiene factors, can sometimes be considered motivators when an employee seeks approval or acceptance from a supervisor or upper management.
To illustrate Herzberg's point, let's consider the following example: John perceives his area of the workshop as being too cramped and his supervisor as condescending and unfriendly. In addition, he feels that he is working too many hours and is not able to spend enough time with his family. As a result, John feels dissatisfied with his job. Robert, while happy with his pay, benefits and work schedule, feels that there is no challenge in the work he's doing. His boss is always pleasant, but never asks his opinion or gives Robert a chance to show him what he is capable of. As a result, Robert feels unmotivated (see "A Guide to Motivation" sidebar).
Organizations must provide adequate hygiene factors in order for employees to ever get to the point where they will respond to motivators, i.e., an employee worried about being laid off is not likely to care if his work is challenging enough. However, many companies make the mistake of focusing all of their "motivational" efforts exclusively on lower-level needs, even after those needs have been met. Employees who are now driven by higher-level needs, such as recognition and achievement, become frustrated when all their supervisors talk about is how good their pay and benefits are.
Money and Motivation
Money is one of the most misunderstood concepts when it comes to motivation. Historically, both employees and managers have been under the impression that people are only motivated by money and that people only work productively if they perceive money as the reward. The problem is that money has no intrinsic value itself. Money is used to buy the things we need and want—our basic needs and creature comforts. The acquisition of wealth itself it not truly what motivates people; rather it is our own innate needs that propel us forward.
Raises and incentive programs that pay cash bonuses can be very effective goal objects for people motivated to satisfy their basic needs. The problem is people aren't always willing to put forth the extra effort if those basic needs aren't active. People always say they could use more money to buy things they want and need, but employees looking for true fulfillment at work will be motivated by opportunities to show their competence and achieve things.
Supervisors should not restrict their motivational activities by relying solely on salary, incentives and bonus programs. They must make the effort to address the motives of every employee individually.
Effectively Diagnosing Employee Needs
The key to effective motivation is knowing what is important to your employees. There are many ways to do this, including tools such as attitude surveys. Another way is to simply ask. Sometimes, workers will not come out and tell you what they need. Often, they themselves don't clearly understand what they need in terms of job satisfaction. As a leader, you should develop a good rapport with your employees so that you will be able to notice important clues that let you know what they need. By being an astute observer of their behaviors, you can often pick up on the kinds of things that motivate each individual.
It is also important to realize that people's needs change. As Maslow indicated, people tend to progress up the hierarchy toward more advanced needs, but people also regress. For instance, a team-oriented employee whose spouse just lost her job may all of the sudden be preoccupied with making more money (basic needs). His desire to be a "team player" (social needs) or be recognized as an outstanding employee (esteem needs) is not likely to be the most important thing to him at the moment. This is when a leader must adapt to keep the employee satisfied and productive. In this situation, giving the employee opportunities to make more money, such as offering overtime or emphasizing bonuses, will likely give the employee a perceived avenue to satisfy this basic need. This emphasis may need to continue until the employee's spouse finds a job and higher needs once again come to the forefront.
Managers of Motives
As your employees experience different needs, you, as their supervisor, must provide ways for them to satisfy these needs. It is true that the most mature and productive behaviors that lead to success in the workplace happen when employees are experiencing upper-level needs, and when goals to satisfy those upper-level needs are perceived as obtainable. If an employee experiencing a need does not think it's possible to satisfy that need, he will become frustrated and unproductive. Frustrated employees usually are the product of past or current management practices that may have been well-intentioned but have not adequately addressed employee needs. The longer these employees remain frustrated, the greater the risk of continued low productivity, poor attitudes and high turnover. To build and maintain a productive workforce, you must become an effective "manager of motives." Sometimes you have to lead your people, and sometimes you have to simply get out of the way and let your people lead.
