Understanding Why People Work: Factors, Motivation, and Coping Strategies

This study delves into the meaning of motivation, its types and theories, and the various factors that motivate employees to work. It also discusses the positive and negative factors experienced by employees as a result of their job roles and strategies to cope with negative factors. The study is relevant to course code BMP3004, BSc (Hons) Business Management with Foundation.

BSc (Hons) Business Management with
Foundation
BMP3004
World of Work
Understanding why people work

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Meaning of Motivation ..............................................................................................................3
The various factors which motivate employees to work...........................................................5
The positive factors employees experience as a result of their job roles..................................5
The negative factors employees experience as a result of their job roles................................6
Strategies to cope with negative factors employees experience as a result of their job roles. 6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
The working for the people is very important as people work to make money so that
their basic needs can be fulfilled. The working provide the independence and control on the
life. When the people work they learn new things, skills are enhanced and new friends are
made through job meeting. The people working makes the contribution and to be part of
community. The people work for job satisfaction by choosing occupation of their interest
and builds human relationship (Brügger, A., 2020). The employees are motivated for the
working as motivation is part of management which initiates, guides and maintains goal-
oriented behaviour. It is a driving force behind human actions. In the study the discussion is
based on the meaning of motivation its types ans theory and various factors which motivates
employees to work. Furthermore, the positive and negative factors experienced by the
employees as a result of their job roles and strategies to cope with negative factors.
Meaning of Motivation
To achieve the desired course of action it is act of stimulating someone or oneself
which is known as motivation. It is the significant element in attaining and setting the
objectives. The motivation helps in satisfying certain conditions like wishes, desires by act in
such a way and it is a urge to behave. The motivation is separated into drives and motives. It
encourages the people by improving the efficiency to work towards goals. In the workplace
the people is stimulated with the physiological factors which can be success, recognition,
teamwork money etc. The motivation is of two types.
Intrinsic motivation- It defines which arises within the individual for the personal
satisfaction. It is concerned with the state of self-actualization and occurs at the time of
performing work. It includes the non-financial rewards such as participation, responsibilities
etc. the individual is driven by the interest or enjoyment in the task which is vital element in
cognitive, social and physical development. In the given task the individual skills are
improved and performs better by motivating intrinsically (Erol, O. and Kurt, A.A., 2017).
Extrinsic motivation- It defines to motivation which arises from outside of the
individual containing rewards, money recognition, fringe benefits, profit sharing, paid
vacation etc. etc. it is affected by the external factors which is mainly financial in nature. The
people are motivated and perform to receive something from others.
Maslow’s need hierarchy theory
This theory was introduced by Abraham Maslow in 1943 as a motivational model

which is related to human motivation and defining five stages of human wants which is
shown in the form or pyramid in hierarchical level. The bottom needs are satisfied before
attending to higher needs.
Physiological needs- For the human survival it is the biological requirement
involving food, water, clothing, shelter, sleep etc. it is essential for the humans to satisfy this
needs. In the workplace the individuals are motivated by providing them snacks, tea, coffee
and drinking water (Grills, S., 2020).
Safety needs- The need of safety and security becomes important after satisfying
physiological needs. This needs are fulfilled by the family ans society and the people
experience order, predictability and control in lives. The safety needs involve emotional
security, financial security, law and order, social stability, health and well being. In the
workplace the resources and personal property must be safe and protected and managers
guarantee the employees of no security threats.
Social needs- It is also known as love and belongingness needs which bis the third
level in the human needs. The belogningness defines the human emotional needs for being
part of group and for interpersonal relationship, affiliating, connectedness etc. The example
includes friendship, intimacy, trust and acceptance etc. the company organizes the social
activities and offer opportunities to build relationship outside the office so that there can be
high rate of employee engagement. The employees feel motivated to works hard when they
feel they fits and belong in the workplace (Jencks, C. and Riesman, D., 2017).
Esteem needs- In the hierarchy of Maslow it is a fourth level which involves self
worth, accomplishment and respect. The esteem need is classified into two category i) esteem

for oneself and ii) respect from others like status, prestige. In the workplace the employees
must feel that they are growing, and results are achieved by receiving positive feedback. The
employee esteem impacts overall engagement by offering regular recognition and
appreciation for the task performed by employees.
Self-actualization needs- It is the highest need in the motivational model which
defines to the realization of person potential, self-fulfillment, and seeking personal growth
and experiences. The employees in the workplace are motivated that they are doing their best
to have continue success in their career path. The self-actualized encourages growth and
engagement which feels employees trusted and empowered (Sánchez-Bravo, P and et.al.,
2021).
The various factors which motivate employees to work
Salary: The person feels motivated by the earning of high salary which pleases the
employer to retain his position. The salary gives the feeling of security and gains high status
ranking that he enjoys. The person do respectable work by earning high income. It provides
the short term satisfaction.
Promotion: The opportunity of the increased competition motivates the employees
which appeals to the lifestyle career anchor. The promotion helps in motivating the employee
by recognizing the opportunity of increased on-the-job experience. The employees produces
the high quality work, and receive recognition. The employees are motivated through
promotion by appealing sense of ambition (Spector, P.E., 2021).
Work Environment: The employees are motivated with the positive work
environment which defines to physical and non-physical environment. The physical
environment includes office space where employees work better. In the non-physical
environment the employees motivated value engagement and communication. In the
environment t employees are feel protected and earn harmless atmosphere.
The positive factors employees experience as a result of their job roles
Rewards and recognition- It is essential motivator for individual linked to
performance and developed by the manager. The rewards includes increment in pay and
promotion which needs to allocated for achieving the particular goal. The purpose of
rewarding and recognising is to encourage and motivates employees to promote positive
behaviour. It also helps in reinforcing good performance.
Company culture- In the workplace the positive company culture motivates the

employees where they feel more valued and enjoy their working by bringing them together.
The positivity of the company and team culture involves the well-being of employees,
equality and compassion between employees.
Professional development opportunities- The employee become self dependent and
contributes in the workplace more effectively. The manager males the genuine interest in the
development the employees are appreciated and valued which brings loyalty, retention and
motivation. The employees are inspired to work hard through development. The skills are
increased of employee which leads to ultimate success of the organisation (Wibrowski, C.R
and et.al., 2017).
The negative factors employees experience as a result of their job roles
Conflicts at workplace- The conflict and tension are created in the workplace is the
negative effect for the employee motivation. As the workers do not receive same level of
motivation might feel resentful towards the work which creates disharmony.
Poor management- In the organization the management team has the important role
as managers are responsible in motivating employees, planning, organizing and controlling
within the organization. The poor performance of the employees is due to poor management
which gives little feedback on employee performance due to poor leadership skills. The
employees wants to work with people who inspire them and have a vision.
Fair policies and practices- In the place of work the unfair policies and practices
demotivates and dissatisfies the employees. The individual experience the satisfaction from
the jobs when the decision is made in fair and equitable manner.
Strategies to cope with negative factors employees experience as a result of their job
roles
Providing opportunity to express opinions- The employees in the workplace must
have the opportunity to express their opinion so as to remove negative factors. The opinion is
related to policies and procedure and changes are recognised that impact the area of working
hours, pay etc.
Trust and respect- In the hiring of new employee they must be treated as trustworthy
and with respect. To confirm the original position the performance, truthfulness and
contribution must be verified to make the effective working (Zhu, M., Bonk and et.al., 2020).
Opportunities for growth- To motivate the employees the manger must develop the
career path plans and training should be render to have the promotion opportunities that leads
to organisation commitment.

Conclusion
From the above study it has been concluded that the employees must be motivated in
the workplace to have the satisfaction. The people work for improving their skills and to earn
money so that their basic requirements can be fulfilled. The motivation can be rendered with
ion the workplace and outside office. In this further it has describes the motivational model of
Maslow hierarchy needs which shows the basic five needs in hierarchical form moving from
bottom to top. The motivation can be in the form of positive and negative which affects their
working.

References
Books and Journals
Brügger, A., 2020. Understanding the psychological distance of climate change: The
limitations of construal level theory and suggestions for alternative theoretical
perspectives. Global environmental change, 60, p.102023.
Erol, O. and Kurt, A.A., 2017. The effects of teaching programming with scratch on pre-
service information technology teachers' motivation and achievement. Computers in
Human Behavior, 77, pp.11-18.
Grills, S., 2020. Understanding Everyday Life: Generic Social Processes and the Pursuit of
Transcontextuality. Symbolic Interaction, 43(4), pp.615-636.
Jencks, C. and Riesman, D., 2017. The academic revolution. Routledge.
Sánchez-Bravo, P and et.al., 2021. Consumer understanding of sustainability concept in
agricultural products. Food Quality and Preference, 89, p.104136.
Spector, P.E., 2021. Industrial and organizational psychology: Research and practice. John
Wiley & Sons.
Wibrowski, C.R and et.al., 2017. The role of a skills learning support program on first-
generation college students’ self-regulation, motivation, and academic achievement: A
longitudinal study. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory &
Practice, 19(3), pp.317-332.
Zhu, M., Bonk and et.al., 2020. Self-directed learning in MOOCs: exploring the relationships
among motivation, self-monitoring, and self-management. Educational Technology
Research & Development, 68(5).