Factors Influencing Employee Motivation: A Comprehensive Analysis

This essay critically examines the statement that employee motivation is solely affected by pay, arguing that various other factors significantly influence worker motivation in the workplace. It delves into the importance of a positive company culture, emphasizing its role in fostering employee engagement and productivity. The essay highlights the impact of training on skill enhancement and knowledge acquisition, contributing to increased motivation. Furthermore, it discusses the relevance of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, suggesting that addressing employees' physiological, safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization needs is crucial for boosting motivation. Recognition and effective communication are also presented as essential components. Additionally, the essay explores the significance of flexibility in work structures and shift timings. The conclusion reinforces that while pay is important, a holistic approach encompassing culture, training, communication, recognition, and the fulfillment of diverse needs is essential to enhance overall employee motivation.

Marketing principles

Marketing Principles
“The only thing that effects employee motivation is the level of pay”
Motivation to the employees is considered as the level of energy, commitment and also creativity
of workers towards their assigned work. In the workplace, it is important that employees should
be motivated so that positive outcome can be attained. Without motivation it will not be possible
for the employees to work with dedication towards the task. So, in this paper the discussion will
be made on the topic related to “Employee motivation is effected by pay only”. By considering
this argument it can be stated there is not only one factor which impact the employee motivation
but it can be stated that pay is one of the main aspect that is necessary to boost the motivation
level of the employees. So, it can be difficult to agree on the statement that “only pay can
motivate the employees”. It has been observed that there are various other aspects affecting the
level of motivation of workers in the workplace. It can be argued that Yes, pay is one of the
essential factor that should be present at the time of motivating the employees but the employee
motivation is not only impacted by the factor related to pay (McLeod, 2018).
The first argument can be related to “Is positive culture effect the motivation level of the
workers”? One of the aspects that impact the motivation of workers is culture of the company. It
is necessary for the management to maintain the positive culture in the workplace so that it can
be easy to boost the productivity level of the employees. It has been observed that one of the best
factor that effect the motivation level of the employee is positive culture. Positive environment in
the company should be there so that it can be simple for the employees to share their views and
opinions with the other employees or with the top management (Velten and Lashley, 2018).
If the culture of the company is positive then it can affect the motivation level of the employees
and also it is beneficial as it can assist in achieving positive outcome in the highly competitive
market. So, it can be stated that culture of the company also plays one of the major role in
effecting the overall employee motivation in the workplace. Pay can be the factor that impact
employee motivation but if the culture of the company is not positive then how the employee
will work and earn money (Othman et al., 2018). Therefore, the employee focuses on the
working culture so that it can be easy to attain the positive results. If the pay is not high or
according to expectation, then also the employee can await for the next time to be appraised but
if the culture is not positive than how it can be easy to motivate the employees for their work.
Without positive culture it will be not easy for the employees to sustain the company but without
1

Marketing Principles
pay the employee can sustain and can manage their work effectively (Wlodkowski and Ginsberg,
2017).
The next argument is “How training impacts the employee motivation in the workplace”. Yes, it
can be stated that training can be one of the essential factor that helps the employees to feel
motivated in the positive manner. It is important for the company to focus on giving training to
workers so that they can enhance their skills and knowledge in context to the organizational
activities. This is also one of the factors that can help in motivating the employees in the
workplace. If effective training is given to the workers then they will have clarity in their overall
working pattern. Through training it can be simple to boost the motivation by enhancing their
knowledge and also to give them the information related to the overall activities which are
conducted in the workplace (Haff and Triplett, 2015).
At the time of training, it has been observed that top management or the trainer give feedback to
the employees which help them to bring improvisation in their work and due to this they are able
to give their best and also through proper training it can be easy for the employees to earn more
incentives. In this context it can be said that pay is important but without training it will not be
possible for the employee to give their best towards work. By considering the concept of training
it can be simple for the employees to identify their strength which is considered as one of the
factor of motivation. When employees get to know about their strength then there is change in
the overall behavior and attitude of the employees towards the work. The motivation level of the
employees is affected just because of training because through training it can be easy for them to
emphasize on the long term prospects and also it is the opportunity for the employees to gain
knowledge about the organizational activities (Shaker, Christensen and Bergdoll, 2017).
In context to pay offered to the employees, it can be stated that the company should focus on
considering the theory related to Maslow hierarchy of needs. In this theory there are five factors
on which the company should emphasize so that motivation level of the employees can be
boosted. This theory satisfies the basic need of the employee rather than only pay. In this theory
there are five stages. The first need is physiological need in which the emphasis is on the basic
needs like water, shelter and food and this need can be fulfilled with the pay offered to the
employees. But the next need is safety needs in which the focus is on the personal security,
employment, health and resources offered to the employees. By considering this it can be stated
2

Marketing Principles
that pay is not only the factor which effect employee motivation but it is important for the
management to focus on giving job security and also the security of health and resources to the
employees (Shields et al.,2015). The next factor or the step is concerned with love and
belongingness needs. In this it has been observed that to impact the employee motivation level,
the emphasis is on maintaining the relations with the employees and also in this it is important
for the management to focus on maintaining the friendship and sense of connection with the
employees who are working in the workplace. The next stage focuses on the esteem need in
which it is important for the management to emphasize on giving respect, freedom and self-
esteem to the employees. In this pay is not only the factor but also it is important for the top
authorities to give respect to the employees so that their motivation level can be boosted. If the
employees are given high pay but they are not respected or given respect then it will not be
possible for them to manage their work and give their best towards the assigned work.
The last stage in Maslow hierarchy of needs is self-actualization need in which emphasis is on
attaining the full potential. This includes creative activities but in this factor pay is less important
that the potential value. So, this also states that it is necessary for company to emphasize on
boosting the motivation of workers by not only considering the pay but also the factors like
safety needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs should be considered so that employees
can feel good and positive (Kanfer and Chen, 2016).
The next factor that can affect the employee motivation is recognition. It is important for the
management to analyze the performance of the workers and to offer rewards so that they can feel
motivated and positive behavior towards work can be generated. By generating the positive
behavior of the employees it can be seen that employees can feel confident and can give their
best towards the assigned work. Recognition given to the employees according to the
performance can help in boosting the non-performers in the workplace and also with this it can
be simple to accomplish the set targets in the highly competitive market. In this it can be stated
that pay if not only important to motivate the employees but if the management focuses on
giving recognition then it can be easy to enhance the efficiency of the employees towards their
work (Bradler et al., 2016).
The argument is also related with “Is Communication can be considered as one of the factor that
can help in motivating the employees”. So, it can be argued that yes, communication is one of
3

Marketing Principles
the important aspect that should be there in the workplace so that it can be simple for the workers
to give their best and also by having proper channel of communication the employees can share
their views and opinions freely (Miner, 2015).
But if the pay offered to the employees is good but they are not able to communicate effectively
and also they could not share their share their views and opinions, then will not be considered as
the motivation factor (Binder, 2016). Therefore, the top authorities of the organization should
emphasize on maintaining honesty and also there should be effective two way communication
between the workers and the management so that the issues faced by the employees can be
shared with the management easily (Ruesch et al., 2017). Flow of communication if effective can
help in boosting the level of motivation of employees and also it positively impacts the
productivity level of the employees in company (Habermas, 2015).
It can be said that apart from the pay offered by the management to the employees, shift timing
and flexibility in the overall working structure also plays an essential role. It has been observed
that flexibility in the working structure of the employees can help in enhancing the motivation
level of the employees. Flexibility impacts the way of working of the employees. If there is
flexibility then employees will focus on the activities with dedication and also with the interest.
To boost the motivation, the management should offer chance to the employees to come at the
shift timings which they want. It will help to enhance the dedication level of the employees and
also their interest towards the work (Leary and Baumeister, 2017).
But it can be argued that if pay is not good and if there is flexibility in the working then also the
employees will happily work towards the activities of the company. Therefore, it can be said that
one of the factor that can affect the employee motivation is also related with flexibility. Apart
from pay, the employees can easily be motivated if flexibility in the working pattern is offered
and also if employees are set free to work according to their needs and wants. If they are
performing well the flexibility should be offered so that they can feel good and motivated
towards the work (Aguenza and Som, 2018).
So, it can be concluded that pay is not only the factor that effect the employee level of
motivation but there are many other factors that can assist in enhancing the overall motivation
level of the employees. The factors like positive culture, training, and flow of communication,
4

Marketing Principles
recognition and flexibility in the working structure can affect the motivation of workers in the
company. It is also important for the management to emphasize on considering the Maslow
hierarchy of needs theory as it not only helps in satisfying the basic needs of the employees but
it also helps to consider the other factors related to respect, trust, friendship, self-esteem, self-
achievement and also friendship in the workplace. If these factors are considered then it also
affects the overall level of motivation of the employees in the highly competitive market.
Therefore, it can be said that “Pay is not only the factor that affect the motivation level of the
employees”.
5

Marketing Principles
References
Aguenza, B.B. and Som, A.P.M., 2018. Motivational factors of employee retention and
engagement in organizations. IJAME.
Binder, J., 2016. Global project management: communication, collaboration and management
across borders. Routledge.
Bradler, C., Dur, R., Neckermann, S. and Non, A., 2016. Employee recognition and
performance: A field experiment. Management Science, 62(11), pp.3085-3099.
Habermas, J., 2015. Communication and the Evolution of Society. John Wiley & Sons.
Haff, G.G. and Triplett, N.T. eds., 2015. Essentials of strength training and conditioning 4th
edition. Human kinetics.
Kanfer, R. and Chen, G., 2016. Motivation in organizational behavior: History, advances and
prospects. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136(9), pp.6-19.
Leary, M.R. and Baumeister, R.F., 2017. The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal
attachments as a fundamental human motivation. In Interpersonal Development (pp. 57-89).
Routledge.
McLeod, S., 2018. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. [Online]. Available at:
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html . [Accessed on 29 January 2019].
Miner, J.B., 2015. Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership.
Routledge.
Othman, A.K., Mahmud, Z., Noranee, S. and Noordin, F., 2018, March. Measuring Employee
Happiness: Analyzing the Dimensionality of Employee Engagement. In International
Conference on Kansei Engineering & Emotion Research (pp. 863-869). Springer, Singapore.
Ruesch, J., Bateson, G., Pinsker, E.C. and Combs, G., 2017. Communication: The social matrix
of psychiatry. Routledge.
6

Marketing Principles
Shaker, G.G., Christensen, R.K. and Bergdoll, J.J., 2017. What Works at Work? Toward an
Integrative Model Examining Workplace Campaign Strategies. Nonprofit Management and
Leadership, 28(1), pp.25-46.
Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., Johns,
R., O'Leary, P., Robinson, J. and Plimmer, G., 2015. Managing employee performance &
reward: Concepts, practices, strategies. Cambridge University Press.
Velten, L. and Lashley, C., 2018. The meaning of cultural diversity among staff as it pertains to
employee motivation. Research in Hospitality Management, 7(2), pp.105-113.
Wlodkowski, R.J. and Ginsberg, M.B., 2017. Enhancing adult motivation to learn: A
comprehensive guide for teaching all adults. John Wiley & Sons.
7