Motivation and Its Role in Modern Workplace: Theories and Concepts

This essay discusses the role of motivation in modern workplace and outlines different theories and concepts of motivation that can be applied in the modern workplaces. It explains Maslow hierarchy need theory and Two-factor theory of motivation.

Managing People and
Systems

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................................6
Books and Journals:................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Motivation place a very important role in any workplace setting. It helps in determining
the organisational success when employees do and perform their work better. Motivation
involves all kind of forces such as emotional, cognitive, social and so on that activates human
behaviour (Brandmiller, Dumont and Becker, 2020). Motivation is frequently utilised to explain
why an individual does something. Therefore, it is signified as a driving force behind human
actions. Motivation defines the process that direct initiates and upholds the goal-oriented
behaviours. It helps in intensifying an employee’s willingness and desire for executing their
roles, responsibilities and obligations effectively and co-operating to accomplish the shared
objectives of an enterprise. This assignment is based upon describing the facts that how
motivation helps in getting success in modern workplace scenario. It will outline different
theories and concepts of motivation that can be applied in the modern workplaces.
MAIN BODY
Motivation is all about the ways an organisation can encourage employees to give their
best for the business. Motivated workforce care about the success of an organisation and work
better. Motivated workforce benefits the organisation in numerous ways. When an employee is
motivated then it helps in increasing output which is caused by an extra effort from them. It will
also improve the quality while increasing the level of staff retention when an employee feels
motivated in the organisation. Motivation refers as a powerful tool which is used by manager for
inducing their subordinates to act in the desired way by fulfilling their desires and needs. It is
concerned with how employee’s behavior gets initiated is sustained, directed and energized. A
successful manager understands that issue of directions, however, well-conceived does not
signify that they will be followed (Brough and Martin, 2020). Managers makes suitable
utilisation of motivation to incuse the employee to work in an effective manner for the
accomplishment of the established objectives.
Motivation has different types which can be either extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic
motivations are the motivations that arise from outside of the person and often comprises
rewards such as recognition, trophies, praise or money. Intrinsic motivations are the
motivations that arise from within the person such as doing a difficult task for personal
motivation. There are different uses of motivation. It offers as a guiding force for all the human
actions, but comprehending how it works and the factors that may influence it can be significant
for a number of causes. Motivation helps in increasing the efficiency of people as they work
towards their targets and objectives (Dietz, Burmeister and Fasbender, 2022). It also encourages
human to engage in health-oriented actions and behaviors. When employee feel motivation they
may feel more in control of their lives. It increases the overall well-being as well as happiness of
employees.
In a modern workplace, manager uses different theories and concepts to understand the
need and desire of their employees so as to improve and increase their overall efficiency and
productivity of their business. Maslow’s need hierarchy theory of motivation is one of the
famous theories that is used by modern manager to encourage and inspire their employee to work

better. This theory is based upon five basic needs of human. Abraham Maslow classified the
human needs and desires into a hierarchical manner from bottom to high order. In context to this
theory, Maslow believed that one a given level of need is satisfied or fulfilled, then it no longer
offers to motivate them to work better. Then, next higher level of requirement has to be activated
for the purpose to motivate a human. Physiological need is the first bottom need in the pyramid
which explains that there are many essential needs of human that needs to be satisfied in order to
motivate them. These needs of human are air, water, food, shelter, clothing and other essential of
life. Hence, all such needs relate with the survival, together with the maintenance of human life.
Once, these basic needs satisfied, it no longer serves motivation to human. In an organizational
setting, an employee may get motivated with reasonable working hours, comfortable working
conditions, or necessary breaks (Gómez-Urquiza and et.al., 2019). Safety needs are the needs
that recognizes expression in such desires as economic protection or security from physical harm
or danger. Satisfying these kind of needs requires more money, therefore, the human is
encouraged to work more. In modern organizations, managers need to take care of their
employees’ job security, safe working conditions as well as secure compensation. Social needs,
these are the needs in which a human is more interested in companionship, social interaction,
belongingness and much more. It is all about socializing as well as belongingness with other
people in the society organisation or any kind of group. As a modern workplace manager, they
can account for the social requirements of employees by ensuring each employee know one
another, promoting team work and so on. Esteem needs, it refers to the self-respect as well as
self-esteem that indicates competence, self-confidence and independent. The satisfaction of self-
esteem needs leads to strength, self-confidence and higher capabilities of being useful in the
workplace. Nonetheless, inability to satisfy these kind of needs results in feeling like
helplessness, weakness and inferiority. Being a modern manager, they can account for these
needs by appraising and recognizing the efforts of their employees, offering additional
responsibility, promotions and much more. Self-actualization, it is the higher level need of
human being. It relates with the fulfillment. It involves the opportunity of learning, personal
development, challenging work, creative work and much more. At modern workplace
environment, these needs are identified by the manager to inspire and encourage employees to
work harder for the company (Schunk and DiBenedetto, 2020). They need to analyze all such
kind of needs to motivate them in the workplace and if these needs to satisfied, it may influence
employee negatively, and ultimately results in low productivity of the organization and employee
might feel to leave the organization.
Two-factor theory of motivation was discovered by Frederick Herzberg. As per the
view point of Herzberg, there are some elements that result in satisfaction and there are other
factors of job that prevent dissatisfaction. This theory classified job factors into two categories;
hygiene factors and motivational factors. Hygiene factors can be defined as those job factors
which are necessary for indulging motivation at organisation. They do not provide positive job
satisfaction for a longer term, but if these are not present, then, it may need to dissatisfaction.
These job factors are extrinsic to job. It signified the physiological requirements which the
employees expected and wanted to be satisfied (Shahid and Paul, 2021). It may include job
security, physical working conditions, pay, policies and procedures of organisation, fringe
benefits, inter-personal relationships, status and much more. Motivational factors those factors

which provide positive satisfaction. These factors are intrinsic to job. These kind of factors
inspire employees for a higher performance. Workers and staff members identify these job
factors intrinsically rewarding. It is included with sense of achievement, responsibility, growth
and promotional opportunities, meaningfulness of the work or recognition. Therefore, it is
identified that both hygiene and motivators present independently of one another. In simple
words, a work can have motivators that can contribute to job satisfaction but hygiene factors
promotes dissatisfaction if they are not exist in the workplace (Slemp, Field and Cho, 2020). For
example, a modern workplace manager can account to satisfy the hygiene needs by seeing the
work environment offers good physical conditions, fair salary and wages, quality supervision and
much more. On the other side, they also satisfy the motivation needs by giving praise,
recognition, opportunity for advancement and so on.
CONCLUSION
From this assignment, it has been concluded that motivation acts a driving force that
enables an individual to work better and harder for the achievement of company's objectives and
targets. The manager is responsible to account the needs, wants and desires of their employees so
that they can be inspired and motivated for their work. There are many theories and concepts are
introduced by different scholars which can be used in modern workplaces for the purpose of
motivation. In this essay, Maslow hierarchy need theory and Two-factor theory of motivation are
explained. Maslow theory explains the five basic needs of employees such as physiological,
safety and security needs, social needs, self-esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Two-
factor theory of motivation is based on two factors that are hygiene and motivator factors. This
theory suggests that if these factors are not present in the working environment they may result
in the dissatisfaction of the job and ultimately, employees gets demotivated for their work.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Brandmiller, C., Dumont, H. and Becker, M., 2020. Teacher perceptions of learning motivation
and classroom behavior: The role of student characteristics. Contemporary Educational
Psychology, 63, p.101893.
Brough, A.R. and Martin, K.D., 2020. Critical roles of knowledge and motivation in privacy
research. Current opinion in psychology, 31, pp.11-15.
Dietz, L., Burmeister, A. and Fasbender, U., 2022. Ability, Motivation, and Opportunities. Age
and Work: Advances in Theory, Methods, and Practice, p.80.
Gómez-Urquiza, J.L. and et.al., 2019. The impact on nursing students' opinions and motivation
of using a “Nursing Escape Room” as a teaching game: A descriptive study. Nurse
education today, 72, pp.73-76.
Schunk, D.H. and DiBenedetto, M.K., 2020. Motivation and social cognitive
theory. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 60, p.101832.
Shahid, S. and Paul, J., 2021. Intrinsic motivation of luxury consumers in an emerging
market. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 61, p.102531.
Slemp, G.R., Field, J.G. and Cho, A.S., 2020. A meta-analysis of autonomous and controlled
forms of teacher motivation. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 121, p.103459.