Internal communication: Use these 5 work motivation theories to frame better team building programs.
Does your organization’s internal communication follow work motivation psychology?
Have you ever wondered why motivated employees give their best? Does only skill-based ability play a prominent role in the performance of the workforce?
Is there any behavioral psychology that can influence the workforce of any organization?
It is really important for the team leader to understand his/her team for assigning and getting the work done.
Also read: 3 Funny videos bringing forth the importance of team building activities in an amusing way.
How does a team leader prime his/her team for the desired results?
Keeping your team updated with achievements and goal progress reports triggers a sense of belongingness, which in turn inspires employees to work well.
In psychology, this is called goal priming. It’s a process that employs external cues to get the intended results.
Here are 5 workforce motivation theories that can support you in bringing out the best from your existing workforce.
1. Hertzberg’s dual-factor theory
In 1950s a psychologist named Frederick Herzberg came up with an employee motivation theory. This is also widely known as the two-factor theory or motivation-hygiene theory.
His research states that there were two factors that influence employee job satisfaction and motivation namely, Motivator factors and Hygiene factors.
1. Motivator factors: These factors come into play when your employees enjoy their work and are appreciated and begin to see progress in their career at your organization.
These factors induce employees to work harder in their jobs because these factors bring in job satisfaction.
2. Hygiene factors: The absence of these factors causes dissatisfaction and demotivation. For eg: low-pay scale, good relationships with managers and co-workers.
These two factors work independently of each other. Absence of the Motivator factor needn’t necessarily cause dissatisfaction whereas inadequate hygiene factor caused an increase in de-motivation and dissatisfaction.
Also read: Why is ‘Move and Think’ vouching for team building activities?
How can you apply these factors into your work environment?
These 5 key takeaways will help you create a noticeable difference in your workplace.
1. Work on improving the Motivator and Hygiene factors.
2. Appreciate and support your employees with their feedback.
3. Show them ways through which they can grow in their careers within your organization.
4. Give them the best possible working conditions and fair pay.
5. Build a supportive relationship with your employees.
2. Hierarchy of Needs Theory
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs digs at the most basic needs of people.
According to Abraham Maslow’s research paper, ‘A theory of human motivation’, the basic needs of your employees which are good health, safety, and security. Meaningful relationships and confidence should be established before they can put forth their best foot forward.
Maslow’s hierarchy is made of 5 levels, namely:
1. Physiological needs: Food, water, and shelter. These are the basic needs which form the base of Maslow’s pyramid.
2. Safety: Safe environment that promotes good health, personal and financial security.
3. Love/belongings: A feeling of acceptance and friendships.
4. Esteem: The prime need to feel respected and develop the confidence to do better work
5. Self-actualization: To transform into an updated and better version of oneself.
How can you apply the insights from Maslow’s theory into your work environment?
These 2 points are the key takeaways.
1. Bring it to the notice of your employees how important their job is and what difference it can bring to the organization.
2. Support your employees with other aspects of their lives outside work
Also read: D’frens Team Building Company Website Is Making Rounds Around the Web.
3. The Hawthorne Effect
This effect talks about the tendency of employees working effectively when they are under observation.
A series of social experiments were conducted on how physical conditions have effects on productivity in the workforce of Western Electric’s factory in Hawthorne, Chicago in the 1920s and 30s.
During the experiments, the researchers made changes in the physical conditions such as lighting, breaks, and working hours of employees.
Every change resulted in an increase in employee productivity. Thus it was concluded that when the workforce is under observation they strive to work harder and more effectively. However, physical conditions don’t affect their outcomes.
How can you apply this effect in your work setting?
Remember these 3 points
1. Let your employees subconsciously know that they are being observed by their seniors.
2. Update them with feedback regularly.
3. Ask them for feedback about their workspace and development.
Expectancy theory
This theory is based on the fact that what we do completely relies on what we expect to receive as rewards.
In the workplace scenario, employees work hard because they expect a raise in pay.
However, the expectancy theory also suggests that our behavior is based on the likelihood of the occurrence of rewards. For instance, if the employees are promised that they’ll be awarded a raise in pay on the basis of their performance then they’ll be inclined to do their best. On the other hand, when no such promise is made, they’re likely to put forth efforts accordingly.
It can be simply put this way: people are more inclined to work harder if it is confirmed that they’ll get the desired reward once they achieve the set target.
How do you apply this theory to your work environment?
Remember the following points
1. Set achievable goals for your employees.
2. Promise the desired reward for achieving the predetermined target.
3. Give away monetary rewards to praise your employees for good work.
Attribution theory
This theory talks about why we do what we do. According to this theory, the reasons we give for our actions to determine future actions in that direction.
For eg: a student failing an exam could attribute his/her failure to a number of reasons, and it’s this attribution that determines his/her motivation on how effectively the task will be done in the future.
As per this theory, there are 3 factors of attribution that can affect future motivation
1. Stability: The attribution of stability plays a major role in future motivation.
For eg: If a student feels that they failed an exam because they aren’t smart enough then this is considered as a stable factor which may affect their future chances of success. This is labelled as a stable factor. An unstable factor is less permanent. For eg: a student failing because of illness.
According to theory, stable attributions for success, such as passing exams, following positive expectations result in higher motivation for success in the future.
However, in negative situations, such as failing the exam, stable attributions can lead to lower expectations in the future.
Also read: Why are businesses tuning in to experiential learning workshops?
2. Locus of control — Is internal or an external factor responsible for the event?
For example, if the student believes that their failure is because they are not smart enough (an internal cause), it affects their future motivation to do the same task. If they believe that the cause of the failure is an external factor such as poor teaching, there may not be a drop in motivation.
Also read: How did a giant conglomerate boost its workforce productivity with experiential learning workshops?
3. Controllability — If the reason for failure was due to controllable factors like their own limitations, those individuals are less likely to try again in the future. If the cause of the failure is beyond control, then the probability of an individual trying again is higher.
How can you apply this theory to your work environment?
Remember these important points.
1. Give constructive feedback to your employees rather than letting them develop innate opinions about themselves.
2. Praise your employees for showing improvement. This will encourage them to assign their failures to the controllable factors.
Are you ready to apply these theories in your work environment? If you found this article useful, share it far and wide.
