Importance of Employee Motivation

According to Kreitner and Kinicki motivation is derived from the Latin word “movere” which means to move (Kristovics et al., 2011). Butkus and Green also stated that motivation is derived from the word “motivate” which also means to move, push or persuade to act to satisfy a need (Green and Butkus, 1999). Motivated employees tend to work much better than non-motivated employees. They are the key to a successful business as they are always willing to go an extra mile. Employee Motivartion has a number of advantages. (Boye Kuranchie-Mensah and Amponsah-Tawiah, 2016).

Fitz-enz stated that the average company loses approximately $1 million with every 10 managerial and professional employees who leave the organization (Fitz-Enz,J.1997). Combined with direct and indirect costs, the total cost of an exempt employee turnover is a minimum of one year’s pay and benefits, or a maximum of two years’ pay and benefits (Ramlall, 2004).

When a key employee resigns, the economic impact on the organization is critical, since they possess the knowledge on the clients needs and wants (Andreas Kaplan, 2014 ). Additionally, the cost to recruit a new person, and take them through the training process is much higher. Hence, it’s vital to retain the existing employees with the best strategies available & keeping them motivated. 

Employee Motivation is crucial for the growth and success of the company (Ramlall, 2004).  A non- motivated employee is much likely to waste their time at work and not attend to the most impactful tasks, whereas a motivated employee is always determined to perform their best to achieve their goals (Andreas Kaplan, 2014 ).

Some of the other advantages of Employee motivation is that; 

1- Increased employee commitment

Increased employee commitment is defined as ‘’The psychological attachment felt by the person for the organization; it will reflect the degree to which the individual internalizes or adopts characteristics or perspectives of the organization’’ (O’Reilly and Chatman ,1986).

Motivated, committed and proficient people are extensively valuable because they can often make things work despite less than perfect systems  (O’Reilly and Chatman ,1986). When employees feel motivated to work, they are more likely to give their all to the duties that have been assigned to them.

Employee engagement is essential to succeed in business, yet few organizations successfully define, measure or manage this leadership model (Perrin, T. 2012).

Some of the benefits of employee commitment are as listed below; 

1.  Increased job satisfaction (Vandenberg and Lance, 1992).
2. Decreased intention to leave (Balfour and Wechsler, 1996).
3. Increased job performance (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990).
4. Increased sales Barber et al( 1999).
5. Decreased employee turnover Cohen (1991).
6. Decreased absenteeism Cohen (1993) Barber et al (1999)

2- Improved employee satisfaction

Employee satisfaction is how happy the employees are with their job. Having happy employees is crucial for a smooth business. Job satisfaction is a fulfilling or optimistic expression consequential of the consideration of one’s activity (Azash et al, 2011). 

3- Ongoing employee development

 Motivation can help a worker achieve his or her personal goals and aid in the development of an individual (Azash et al, 2011). 

4- Improved employee efficiency

An employee must strike a fair balance between the ability to complete the task at hand and the desire to do so. This equilibrium might result in a gain in productivity and efficiency (Azash et al, 2011). 

5- Lower levels of absenteeism

Employees are taking fewer sick days or taking time off for other reasons. Employees that are motivated are more inclined to return to work rather than take time off (Azash et al, 2011). 

6- Management and employee relations have improved. 

This could mean that employees are less inclined to seek legal or industrial action against bosses if they accept changes without protest. Also the managers and the supervisors' support towards encouraging employee participation, mutual commitment, and understanding of the diversity issues play a significant role in motivating and enabling performance (Snyder et al, 2004).

If we apply this scenario to the Digital Marketing company that was mentioned before, we will see that since it’s a work-from-home company, it’s very easy for the staff members to get demotivated due to several reasons such as; loneliness, lack of appreciation, boredom, stress, etc.. So the company should ensure they have proper systems in place to ensure that their staff members are always motivated to do  their best. Their performance should be appreciated regularly. 

References 

Kristovics, A., Kinicki, A., Kinicki, A., McShane, S., Kreitner, R., Lamberton, L., Dwyer, J., Luthans, F. and Colquitt, J., 2011. Organisational behaviour. North Ryde, N.S.W.: McGraw-Hill Custom Publishing.

Green, T. and Butkus, R., 1999. Motivation, beliefs, and organizational transformation. Westport, Conn.: Quorum.

Boye Kuranchie-Mensah, E. and Amponsah-Tawiah, K., 2016. Employee motivation and work performance: A comparative study of mining companies in Ghana. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management, 9(2), p.255.

 Scirp.org. 2022. Fitz-Enz, J. (1997) It’s Costly to Lose Good Employees. Workforce, 76, 50-51. - References - Scientific Research Publishing. 

ramlall, s., 2004. A Review of Employee Motivation Theories and their Implications for Employee Retention within Organizations. The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge.

Kaplan, A., 2014. European management and European business schools: Insights from the history of business schools. European Management Journal, 32(4), pp.529-534.

O'Reilly, C. A., & Chatman, J. (1986). Organizational commitment and psychological attachment: The effects of compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(3), 492–499.

Perrin, T., 2012. Understanding What Drives Employee Engagement. The 2003 Towers Perrin Talent Report U.S Report. .

Vandenberg, R., & Lance C. (1992).Satisf action and organizational commitment. Journal of
Management, 18, 153-167.

Balfour, D., & Wechsler, B. (1996).Organizational commitment: Antecedents and outcomes in
public organizations. Public Productivity and Management Review , 29, 256-277.

Mathieu, J., & Zajac D. (1990).A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and
consequences of organizational commitment. Psychological Bulletin, 108 , 171 194.

Cohen ,A. (1991). Career stage as a moderator of the relationship between organizational
commitment and its outcomes: A meta- analysis’. Journal of Occupat ional Psychology, 64,

Barber, L. H. S. &. B. S., 1999. From people to profits, IES Report 355. Institute of Employment studies .

S.Md.Azash, Ramesh Safare, M.Sudheer Kumar, (2011). The motivational factors and job 
satisfaction: a Study on selected public and private sector bank Employees in Kadapa 
district, Andhra Pradesh. International Refereed Research Journal Vol.– II, Issue –4, 
[161], Journal of Arts, Science & Commerce E-ISSN 2229-4686 ISSN 2231-4172

Ed Snyder, BS, CBET, and Margy Grasberger, MS (2004). From a Clinical Engineering 
Perspective...Understanding Motivation and Employee Satisfaction, Biomedical 
Instrumentation & Technology, pp 283-287.