Introduction
Employee motivation is an important aspect of management in any organization. Employers need to invest heavily in motivating their employees because human resources are fast becoming the heartbeat of productivity. Research indicates that a motivated work force is instrumental in the success of the organization. The benefits of motivating employees in an organization include increased productivity, innovativeness, stability and certainty in the company and a lively work force. To achieve employee motivation, the managers must give great emphasis on the performance and attitudes of employees.
Benefits of motivation
Increased productivity
This is the biggest benefit of employee motivation. In any organization, the objective is to increase productivity. Productivity depends on the effort put in by employees. Many organizations opt to motivate their work force to increase productivity by providing them with the necessary tools of work and by making their working conditions friendly. Other organizations offer monetary rewards to employees to make them more productive.
Profitability
The increase in productivity within the organization implies that it can realize higher revenues than before hence; the company has the guarantee of increasing its profitability. A motivated work force guarantees the management to achieve its organizational targets.
Organizational stability
Organizational stability arises when the managers are in full control of their employees while employees have a healthy relationship with management. Motivating employees helps them develop the spirit of team work. They tend to agree with one another when they feel comfortable and satisfied at work. When the relationship between employees and the management is good, the organization is run in a stable manner without fears of fall outs.
Motivation theories, attitude and performance
Motivational theories are used as approaches with which the organization can use to motivate its employees. Motivations in an organization entails giving employees a reason to be more productive in the organization. Motivational theories have been designed from studies on employee behaviour. They are used to induce motivation in individuals by influencing their emotions and attitudes. The behaviour, emotions and attitudes of an employee are determinants of employee performance.
Managers need to understand that employees can be motivated by simply meeting their needs, providing a clear framework for them to do their job. The theories of motivation are meant to facilitate ways to influence employees to perform well. For example, the incentive theory aims at giving employees rewards to make them work hard. The drive theory helps the manager identify employees who are self-driven in order to perform well. These theories help managers influence the attitude of employees. For example, when employees are unhappy because of poor working conditions, the manager changes these attitudes by providing good facilities. If pay is demotivating employee, management can implement a salary increase or introduce other monetary rewards to motivate employees.
Conclusion
The attitude of an employee is as a result of the experiences and environment. The managers should ensure that employees have a positive attitude towards the work they do, other employees and the management. This will ensure that employees are happy to work in the organization. The attitude of an employee has a direct influence on the kind of performance he puts in at work. A positive attitude means that the employee is happy and satisfied with the working conditions hence; he will perform well. The theories of motivation are designed to help managers make the attitudes of employees positive hence their performance will be optimal.
References
Beck, R. C. (2004). Motivation: theories and principles. New York: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Herzberg, F. (1993). The Motivation to Work. New York: Transaction Publishers.
Latham, G. P. (2007). Work motivation: History, theory, research, and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Pinder, C. C. (1998). Work motivation in organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
