This article answers the questions ‘What is motivation?’ and ‘Why people work and what motivates them to work?’.
Business managers want to motivate workers to work hard and efficiently, so that they produce as many good quality products as they can during their worktime.
By studying motivation in the workplace, you can find out how this can help managers and businesses achieve a well-motivated workforce.
What is motivation?
In general, motivation refers to all internal and external factors that stimulate people to take actions that lead to accomplish something meaningful for them. It is the desire, effort and passion that drives people to achieve a goal.
The UK Institute of Management gives the following definition of motivation: ‘Getting someone to do something you want or, on an individual basis, wanting to do something for yourself for a particular reason’.
In business management, motivation means the desire of workers to do the job, or a task, quickly and well with enthusiasm. Motivation in business will result from the individual worker’s desire to achieve objectives and to satisfy needs and wants.
Why people work?
Why do you come to work? Do you use both your time and resources well? How hard do you work at your job? What will make you work harder? Do you work harder on some days than you do in others? Why do you work harder and more efficiently on some days than on others?
If you know the reasons why and answer these questions, then this could surely help you to improve the way you work every day!
Most of the time when you ask people why they come to work they will say ‘to earn money’ so they can buy things to fulfill their needs and wants. But, in fact, there are also many other reasons that motivate people to work every day.
Motivation in a business organization results from a combination of factors such as money, job safety security, working with nice and friendly people, how interesting the work itself is, promotion prospects and opportunities for career progression, etc.
These are the main factors that encourage employees to be interested in their work and committed to their jobs, so that they can work harder and more efficiently every single day.
Sources of motivation
There are two sources of motivation known to people including:
- Intrinsic motivation. This comes from within ourselves, like the enjoyment of the activity itself, the desire for personal growth or the pursuit of meaning.
- Extrinsic motivation. This comes from external factors, like rewards, punishments, recognition or social pressure.
Dynamics of motivation
Here are some key things to understand about motivation:
- Motivation can fluctuate. It is not a constant state, and even for highly motivated individuals, it can ebb and flow depending on circumstances, moods, and progress towards goals.
- Multiple motivations can coexist. Often, we are motivated by a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
- Motivation impacts many aspects of life. It affects our performance, productivity, decision-making and overall well-being.
In summary, motivation is the internal drive that pushes people to take action towards goals and engage in certain behaviors. It is the ‘why’ behind our actions, the force that gets us out of bed in the morning and keeps us working late on a project.
