Importance of A Well Motivated Workforce
Why People Work?
People work to meet their basic needs like food, shelter, and clothes, etc. People work for an employer and get salaries which they use to buy basic necessities of their life. Although sometimes some people work as volunteers where they don’t get paid or pay scale is extremely low but people do it to serve their society.
There are some reasons discussed below why people work:
Money
They get the money that is used to meet the basic needs of a person.
Security
Most of the people work because they consider that they are secure at their job. With the pay they get, they can make their families secure.
Social Needs
People want to become a part of any social group. It may be employees of any organization or member of any sports club. They want to meet different people.
Esteem Need
When a person works somewhere, he works hard to get a higher rank and position in the organization.
Job Satisfaction
After having a good position in any organization, a person wants to do something more to get satisfaction.
Motivation
Motivation is the main reason behind the hard work of employees. Employees work hard and effectively for the organization when they are motivated by the organization.
The benefits of a well-motivated workforce: labor productivity, reduced absenteeism and labor turnover
Importance of a
Well-Motivated Workforce
There are various benefits an organization can have with a well-motivated workforce. Some of them are discussed below.
Labor Productivity
Well-motivated staff is always more productive. They don’t only produce more in quantity but the quality of work output is also increased. The well-motivated workforce is always more engaged in work to produce more output.
Decrease in Absenteeism
It is an obvious thing that an unmotivated employee will not feel easy at the workplace. That will ultimately increase absenteeism. While on the other hand in an organization, if an employee is well-motivated, he will try to give his best to the work and there will be very little absenteeism in that organization.
Employee Turnover
It is also observed that if employees are motivated at work, they don’t switch to other jobs. So that there is less turnover expected when employees are well-motivated.
Maslow’s Hierarchy
Abraham Maslow proposed a theory which is based upon different levels of needs. This is called the hierarchy of needs theory.
Physiological Needs
These are the basic needs of any person i.e. food, shelter, and clothes, etc. in the absence of these things, a person can’t live.
Safety Needs
These are the needs that a person requires for survival. A person needs job security. He needs safety and security for his/her family. Treatment for serious health issues and avoiding poverty is also included in safety issues.
Social Needs
No one can live in any society without interacting with each other. It is a social need of a person to interact with other people. A person interacts with his coworkers at his workplace from where he belongs. A student belongs to his class and school/college. Family interaction is also an example of the sense of belonging.
Esteem Needs
When a person works in an organization, he tries his level best to achieve the highest designation in his department or sometimes in the organization. he wants to be admired and recognized by his efforts.
Self-Actualization
This stage comes after various achievements. When you are free from financial tensions and can enjoy financial independence, you try to do something for your own satisfaction, you do whatever you want to do.
Key Motivational Theories:
Taylor and Herzberg
F.W. Taylor
Taylor started work as a laborer but soon became chief engineer in the factory where he worked. He started different experiments in the factory to improve the productivity of the laborers working there. According to Taylor, an employee is motivated for personal gain. If an employee is paid more, he will work more. If there is an increase in the pay of labor, his productivity and output will also be increased which will reduce the labor cost.
Though this theory is so simple, there is also some criticism on it as labor or an employee can be motivated by different means while
Taylor discussed the factor of money only. In the same way, if a person is not fulfilled or satisfied with his job, money can’t motivate or increase the productivity of him.
Herzberg
Fredrick Herzberg worked on engineers and accountants and proposed his theory. Basically his theory is based upon two factors i.e. basic factors or Hygiene and Motivation.
According to Herzberg, if the hygiene factor is not satisfied, these factors can demotivate the workers.
The list of hygiene and motivational factors is given below:
Hygiene factors
- Status
- Security
- Working conditions
- Company policies
- Relationship with supervisors and subordinates
- Salary
- Motivational factors
- Achievement
- Recognition
- Personal growth and development
- Promotion
- Work itself