Motivation and Employee Engagement

Motivation and Employee Engagement

According to the McGregor (1960) X and Y theories, theory X assumes that the employees are lazy and are likely to avoid work. They believe that they lack the intrinsic motivators to perform their work. Therefore employees need to be supervised, and there will need external factors to increase their motivation to work. The lack of external motivators will result in the employees approaching work lazily. The use of this theory in an organization results in the hindrance of employee motivation, productivity, and morale. Theory Y, on the other hand, assumes that employees have sufficient intrinsic motivation for work, such as leaving a mark and needs for achievement. Employees in this theory are said to have natural motivators; therefore, they enjoy their work and are often creative and visionaries in their place of work. As compared to the X theory, employees are more likely to be productive since they have their freedom to perform to their very best without ultimate control.

Organizations need employees who come with some extra internal motivation within them to succeed at work. Organizations, in return, should expect accountability rather than being controlling. Theory Y emphasizes empowerment, which involves task and employee selection. Employee engagement leads to advances, such as improved customer orientation. Employee engagement refers to the two-way relationship between the employees and their organization. To improve employee engagement in an organization, managers should use the following drivers; providing support and encouragement, providing constructive feedback, recognition, and raise to the employees. Also, the roles of each employee should be clear, and resources should be submitted to accomplish the functions. Providing opportunities for employees to learn, grow, and freedom. Last but not least, the employees should have a voice in that their views are listened to valued.

There are three main categories of motivational theories; content theories, process theories, and contemporary theories. Maslow, Herzberg, and relatedness and growth are the content theories, while the process theories explain how motivation comes about and how satisfaction is achieved. The use of both content and process theories should put into use in the organization to ensure that employees are motivated. The process theories include expectancy, equity theories, and porter Lawler model. Both the Maslow and expectancy theories allow the individuals to determine which results are most likely to motivate the employees, which ultimately dictates the measures to take as factors of their experiences and expectations. The understanding of Maslow about the effect of unsatisfied needs relates to the expectancy theory under the process theory. In the expectancy theory, it’s the need to satisfy the essentials is what motivates people in that a person decides to take a specific activity in a manner which they believe meets the needs they have. Hence, people are more motivated in cases where there are clear and concise goals; for instance, in a team, the team members understand the tasks they should and how it would benefit them.

However, both theories have their differences, which include. Individuals in the Maslow hierarchy theory get motivation from something more than monetary benefits and job fulfillment. Therefore a vast consideration of different factors boost the motivation of the employees in an organization. In the process theories, on the other hand, expectancy theory illustrates motivation as not applying to all cases as it relates to the efforts involved in tasks and performance and the compensation gain and real fulfillment. This is because its performance differs from one person to another. Also, the expectancy theory is more complicated than Maslow’s approach in their efforts to motivate employees. This is because, in the expectancy theory, the efforts to perform a task are dependant on the surroundings and the capability to dictate the ultimate achievement of a person.

This theory might fail to apply to many people. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, on the other hand, has the option of working towards self-actualization rather than achieving it may be the best motivation of a majority of people. Some people work in decent-paying jobs but fail to satisfy their job objectives while those paying minimum wages achieve their goals. The manner of the hierarchy which ranks from psychological needs followed by safety and security need, social needs, esteem needs, and ultimately self-actualization needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory arrangement is more realistic and applicable and allows individuals to exploit their potential through the satisfaction of the needs contrary to expectancy theory which limits on rewards and job satisfaction.

In conclusion, the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory has more motivation to employees as compared to the process theories. Although they are similar in other aspects, they differ in more areas. Although the use of rewards to motivate employees is popular, precautions should also be taken. They come with their shortcomings, such as; people become more dependent on the awards in that if they lacked the rewards, their motivation would also be lost. Also, for people who have intrinsic motivation, the rewards can make the work less fun for them as they enjoyed it even without the awards. Last, bonuses should not be considered as a substitute for ensuring the employees are engaged. According to the 25-50-25 rule, 25% of individuals in the workplace are highly motivated, 50% are somehow motivated, and the remaining 25% is completely withdrawn.