Every person has a different motivation for why they work and the way someone feels about their job and their workplace may determine how motivated they are. According to Pinder (2014), motivation can originate both internally or externally to achieve a specific goal and determine its form, direction, intensity, and duration. Job satisfaction is highly associated with job performance (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, & Patton, 2001) and can affect performance at organisational levels (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). To achieve job satisfaction, accomplishing a goal is vital for determining commitment to further challenges (Locke & Latham, 2002). In turn, job satisfaction may lead to increased effort and motivation to work. The question of what motivates workers, and what contributes to their satisfaction has stimulated broad research and theories. For example, Maslow (1943) and Herzberg (1959) motivation theories, McClelland (1961) acquired needs theory, Vroom (1994) expectancy theory, and Locke & Latham (2002) goal setting theory. These theories will be discussed to help explain why Ryan has become demotivated at work, and ways to improve this situation.
Maslow (1943) stated that motivation is based on people’s needs and effort to fulfill them. McClelland (1961) built on his work creating the acquired needs theory. He believed three motivators develop throughout human’s lives: a need for achievement(nAch), power (nPow), and affiliation (nAff). People can exhibit a combination or a specific one of these motivational needs. Ryan’s lack of motivation may be explained if he is high in nAch, therefore, has a strong need to accomplish challenging goals, and likes receiving regular feedback to judge performance. However, the extra managerial workload is causing him to struggle to meet deadlines and accomplish challenging tasks potentially demotivating him. To improve his motivation, distributing Ryan’s workload with others may increase the likelihood of accomplishing tasks resulting in a sense of achievement increasing motivation.
Furthermore, Ryan’s lack of motivation may be explained if he is a high in nPow individual but unable to influence others or make an impact with his work. Due to the extra workload, Ryan is unable to complete tasks to his normal high standard and is frequently criticised by the director. Therefore, Ryan may lack motivation if he feels his work is not satisfactory so is unable to gain prestige and control or make an impact in ways a manager would. To improve this situation, power needs may be met by offering Ryan the opportunity for advancement by promoting him as the boss and giving the project manager role to another employee. Not only will this take away the extra workload, it will allow him to obtain leadership and control which may improve his motivation. Lastly, if Ryan is high in nAff then he has a need for co-operative relationships, and the desire to be liked. As the director rarely seems satisfied with his work and he is not receiving excellent performance appraisal’s (PA) anymore, his lack of motivation may result from feeling unsupported and unappreciated by others. Feedback highlighting what he is doing well and appreciation for the workload he has occupied may give the opportunity to perform better in a co-operative environment potentially improving motivation. As every employee is at different stages in their lives, they will require different management techniques so ensuring Ryan is able to meet the needs of the motivators important to him may increase his motivation at work.
McClelland (1961) concept of achievement as a motivator is also related to Herzberg (1959) motivation-hygiene theory as people high in nAch tend to be interested in the motivators. This theory explains factors contributing to job satisfaction, dissatisfaction and motivation. Factors leading to satisfaction, named the motivators, included achievement, recognition, responsibility, and growth. Whilst dissatisfaction factors, named hygiene factors, included supervision, relationship with colleagues, work conditions, salary. In relation to satisfaction factors, Ryan holds significantly more responsibility than previously due to managing the workload of two people over the past 9 months. However, he is unable to complete tasks to his high standard, therefore, the responsibility is affecting his achievements and growth in the company. He is also frequently criticised by the director who is rarely satisfied with his work, thus Ryan is not receiving the recognition he deserves for the work he is doing. Consequently, if Ryan is high in nAch according to McClelland (1961), then he will be interested in the achievement motivator. As this is not being fulfilled, this may have led to feeling no satisfaction at work resulting in a lack of motivation.
Additionally, the factors leading to dissatisfaction, such as salary, may explain Ryan’s lack of motivation. As he has not received the expected bonus nor does his salary compensate for the extra workload, this may have resulted in no satisfaction causing a lack of motivation. To improve this situation, Ryan would need to discover ways to improve his satisfaction and reduce his dissatisfaction which may improve motivation. For example, explaining to head office that he is unhappy his salary does not compensate for the extra workload, thus a salary he is satisfied with may improve his motivation. However, a limitation of Herzberg (1959) theory is that individual differences are not considered. As individuals needs can change over time, they might have different priorities at different ages. Therefore, it is essential to understand which factors leading to satisfaction and dissatisfaction are important to each individual. For example, if Ryan finds his relationship with his colleagues most important, then increasing his salary may not improve his job satisfaction and motivation if his relationship with colleagues has not improved.
Whereas Maslow (1943) and Herzberg (1959) look at the relationship between needs and the effort to fulfill them. Vroom (1964) introduced the expectancy theory concerned with the cognitive variables reflecting individual differences in work motivation. He believed people will be motivated if they believe their effort will lead to good performance and valued rewards. He stated performance at work is based on individual factors including personality, skills, knowledge, and abilities. Expectancy is considered a belief that an increase in effort will result in an increase in performance. For example, working harder will result in a bonus. Vroom (1964) expectancy theory is based on three beliefs; valence refers to an individual’s belief that rewards and outcomes of their efforts are valued and desirable. Expectancy refers to a belief in own ability to achieve the valued outcome. Finally, instrumentality refers to the belief that high performance and effort will result in valued outcomes. According to Vroom (1964), if one of the beliefs are not met, individual’s motivation and effort is likely impacted. Ryan may be demotivated due to lacking in instrumentality. He holds the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform well and he valued the bonus he has consistently received. However, his increased effort is not leading to greater performance as he is not receiving excellent PA as previously, and he is not receiving the salary or expected bonus he valued. Therefore, he may be unconfident whether there is a relationship between performance and outcome. To improve this situation, if Ryan receives a salary compensating for the additional effort he is putting in then the instrumentality belief will be met that his performance and effort can result in a valued outcome potentially improving motivation.
Additionally, as the excessive workload has caused Ryan to struggle meeting deadlines and completing tasks to his normal high standard. Setting a goal could be a good way to attempt to accomplish tasks which may lead to satisfaction and increased motivation.
Managers often use goal setting to improve and maintain performance (DuBrin, 2012) According to Locke & Latham (2002) a goal refers to something which individuals aim to accomplish. They provided a well-developed goal-setting theory of motivation referring to the effects of setting goals on performance. They proposed that specific, difficult goals, alongside individual’s commitment and feedback, are key to motivation. Therefore, accomplishing a goal may result in increased motivation, or lower motivation if the goal is not accomplished. Locke and Latham (1990) indicated that higher performance results from setting specific, difficult goals compared to ‘do your best’ or no goals as these goals do not give a focused target. Latham and Baldes (1975) found truck drivers were not loading their trucks to its full capacity resulting in extra trips and greater petrol costs. They set specific difficult goals and ‘do your best’ goals in which they found those set specific difficult goals displayed improved performance by finding new ways to modify their trucks to judge the truck weight accurately. Suggesting performance improves with specific hard goals. Therefore, Ryan’s lack of motivation may be explained by the inability to accomplish specific, difficult goals resulting in decreased performance. Additionally, Kanfer and Ackerman (1989) found setting a specific, difficult goal for a complex and novel task can decrease performance rather than ‘do your best’ goals. This is due to task-specific goals requiring more attention, therefore, distracting attention from developing appropriate task-relevant strategies. Consequently, it is important to ensure that if the boss’ work Ryan has taken on is complex and novel, then perhaps avoiding specific, difficult goals, and focusing on ‘do your best goals’ for the extra workload will improve performance, therefore, increasing motivation.
Furthermore, for goals to affect performance, individuals must choose attainable goals to ensure commitment. Goal commitment is considered highest when people believe goals are attainable and when their values are related to goal attainment (Locke, Lathem, & Erez, 1988). Therefore, Ryan’s lack of motivation could be explained by unachievable goals causing a lack of commitment. To improve this situation, he could benefit from participating in the goal-setting process to ensure goals are achievable. This may increase the likelihood of accomplishing tasks resulting in increased satisfaction with his work, improving motivation. Feedback is also important to achieve goals and retain commitment. Without feedback, people are unaware of how they have progressed, and the effort needed to reach the goal (Sorrentino, 2006). Ryan has always received excellent PA but his recent PA highlighted weaknesses in his performance. Therefore, Ryan may not put in the effort if he is unhappy with his feedback. To improve this situation, he could benefit from feedback his PA highlighting how well he is performing certain tasks, and what he needs to change to improve performance which may help him develop ways to manage the workload. This relates to McClelland (1959) as high in nAch individuals have a strong need for feedback on progress therefore understanding Ryan’s motivational needs is vital. Consequently, the main finding of goal setting is that individuals perform better when set specific, difficult but attainable goals than nonspecific, or no goals. Additionally, individuals must accept the goals, and obtain feedback regarding performance (Latham, 2003). Therefore, Ryan’s lack of motivation could be improved by ensuring specific difficult goals are achievable for his workload as a project manager and setting ‘do your best’ goals for the boss’s workload which may involve complex and novel tasks. In turn, accomplishing goals will increase his satisfaction resulting in higher motivation.
In conclusion, wide research and theories have been developed to understand what motivates workers and what leads to job satisfaction. Based on the theories discussed Ryan’s lack of motivation could be explained by various elements. To improve his lack of motivation, he could benefit from focusing on particular concepts. Based on the goal-setting theory and findings by Kanfer and Ackerman (1989, Ryan could set specific difficult goals for the project manager role familiar to him and focus on ‘do your best goals’ for the extra managerial workload that may involve complex and novel tasks. In turn, accomplishing more goals may result in increased satisfaction and improved motivation. Additionally, Vroom (1964) expectancy theory takes into account individual differences between people which is not evident in Maslow (1943) or McClelland (1961 motivation theories, who assume everyone is essentially the same. Therefore, identifying which belief Ryan may be lacking, and ensuring the beliefs are being met may potentially improve his motivation and effort.
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