Motivation Chapter 6

8/18/2019 Motivation Chapter 6

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INTRODUCTION

If I ask you why you choose to work, you will probably show me a strange faceor give me a blunt reaction. That is not surprising. Most people work becausethey do not have a choice! Most people work because they have bills to pay andto put food on table – to survive. Some people are fortunate enough to love whatthey do (at work!), and most people work only to get the pay cheque by the endof the month.

But what motivates people to work other than a pay cheque? Can it be more than just monetary? How about a sense of satisfaction at work? Most importantly so,

how do organisations motivate their people to increase their commitment to theorganisation? All these questions are more prevalent in the modern workplaceespecially when workers are now better aware of their rights and are payingmore attention to work-life balance.

Motivation is a major issue in organisations. I-O psychologists have conducted alot of research on issues of workersÊ motivation, job satisfaction, organisationalcommitment or loyalty and job involvement. As a result of these studies,numerous motivational theories have been proposed. In general terms,motivational theories are categorised into:

TTooppiicc

66

Motivation andob Satisfaction

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the topic, you should be able to:

1. Explain the concepts and principles of motivation and jobsatisfaction;

2. Describe the theories of motivation and job satisfaction; and

3. Discuss the importance of motivation and job satisfaction.


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TOPIC 6 MOTIVATION AND JOB SATISFACTION 79

(a) Content theories of motivation; and

(b)

Process theories of motivation.

In the following section, we will discuss some common motivational theories ingreater detail.

CONTENT THEORIES OF MOTIVATION

Content theories of motivation are concerned with the importance of work, thechallenges, growth opportunities and responsibilities work provides foremployees (Schultz & Schultz, 2010). This theory emphasises the specific needsnecessary in the job that motivate and direct human behaviour. These theoriesinclude:

(a)

Achievement motivation theory;

(b)

Needs hierarchy theory;(c) Motivator-hygiene (two factor) theory; and

(d)

Job-characteristics theory.

We will discuss each theory in detail in the following sections.

6.1.1 Achievement Motivation Theory

The need for achievement is what drives a successful executive. The area of

achievement motivation has been subject to intense research by DavidMcClelland and his colleague in the 1950s (Atkinson & Feather, 1966). Accordingto this theory, workers who have high needs for achievement tend to get greatsatisfaction from accomplishing certain goals at work and they are usuallymotivated to excel in whatever task they undertake (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

6.1

Like most people, do you work because you have to or because youwant to? If given a choice, how would you make your working life moreenjoyable?

ACTIVITY 6.1


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As a result of McClellandÊs research, three major characteristics of people whohave high needs for achievement have been identified:

(a)

They enjoy a work environment where they can assume responsibility for

solving problems;

(b) They take calculated risks and set moderate and achievable goals; and

(c) They need continuous recognition and feedback on their progress so theyknow how well or poor they are doing.

Numerous research findings have positively linked high needs for achievementand worker success (Schultz & Schultz, 2010). In a study conducted by Chen(2008), a research programme involving 200 employees in Taiwan found threemain factors important in achievement motivation, namely, perseverance,

competition and level of control at task. Overall, achievement-motivation theoryprovides a thorough explanation for the motivation of some workers and isconsidered to be one of the most widely applied motivational theories in theworkplace (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

Figure 6.1 depicts a motivational quote about achievement.

Figure 6.1: Motivational quote on achievementSource: http://www.despair.com/achievement.html


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6.1.2 Needs Hierarchy Theory

Popularised and created by Abraham Maslow, his hierarchy of needs theory

suggests that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy based on its level ofimportance (Maslow, 1970). According to Maslow, people always want whatthey do not already have. As a result of that, the needs already satisfied no longerprovide any motivation for that person. Figure 6.2 depicts MaslowÊs hierarchy ofneeds in detail.

Figure 6.2: MaslowÊs hierarchy of needs

Source: TimÊs Printable (2013)

MaslowÊs hierarchy of needs outlines five levels of needs in humans, namely:

(a) Physiological NeedsRefers to basic human needs including food, water, air, sleep and the drivesof sex and activity.

(b) Safety Needs

Refers to the needs for physical shelter and psychological stability.


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(c) Needs for Love or BelongingRefers to the social needs for love, affection, friendships, affiliation andacceptance by people.

(d) Esteem NeedsRefers to the needs for admiration and respect from others.

(e) Needs for Self actualisation

Refers to the needs for self-fulfilment, to achieve full potential and realisingfull capacities.

According to Maslow, these needs should be fulfilled from lowest to highest andnot everyone will be able to achieve all these needs in their lifetime. MaslowÊs

theory, although popular, has received little scientific support. Its complexitiesmake it difficult to test scientifically. However, his concept of self-actualisation ispopular with managers and executives (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

6.1.3 Motivator-Hygiene Theory

Also known as the two-factor theory of motivation, this theory deals with bothmotivation and job satisfaction. This theory, proposed by Frederick Herzberg(see Figure 6.3), has inspired organisations to re-look their existing jobs toincrease workersÊ motivation (Herzberg, 1974).

Figure 6.3

: Frederick Irving Herzberg (1923-2000)Source: Mukhtar Usmani (2010)


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According to his theory, there are two types of needs: motivator needs and hygiene needs. M

otivator

needs

create job satisfaction whereas hygiene

needs

create job dissatisfaction. Motivator needs which are high level needs motivate

workers to high performance. They are internal to the work itself and includenature of the individual work tasks, level of responsibilities, achievement,recognition, advancement opportunity, career development and growth.Motivator needs are similar to MaslowÊs concept of self-actualisation (Schultz &Schultz, 2010).

Hygiene needs, or lower level needs, produce job dissatisfaction. Opposite tomotivator needs, hygiene needs are external to the work itself and includefeatures of the work environment such as organisational policy, supervision,working condition, salary and benefits, interpersonal relationships, and so on. If

these needs are not satisfied, job dissatisfaction can occur. However, if theseneeds are satisfied, it may not necessarily result in job satisfaction. Hygieneneeds are similar to MaslowÊs concept of physiological, safety and belongingneeds (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

As a result of this theory, Herzberg believed in order to motivate workers,attention should be given to the internal job factors (as discussed before). If anexisting job position does not provide enough opportunity for workers to bemost effective, the existing job should be re-designed. This effort is called jobenrichment; where the job is expanded to provide more autonomy for theworkers to plan, perform and evaluate their work (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

Herzberg suggests the following four ways to enrich a job in organisations:

(a) Remove some management control over workers and increase theiraccountability and responsibility – hence increasing their autonomy.

(b) Create complete or natural work units whenever possible – allow workersto complete one unit of work rather than half of it.

(c) Provide regular feedback on productivity and performance directly toworkers rather than to their supervisors.

(d)

Encourage workers to take on new and more challenging projects and to become good in a particular task.

These four suggestions not only aim to increase the workersÊ autonomy but alsoaim to expand their level or knowledge and skills needed to perform a particular

job (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).


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6.1.4 Job Characteristics Theory

Greg R. Oldham Richard Hackman

Figure 6.4

: Oldham and HackmanSources

: http://www.business.illinois.edu/faculty/oldham.htmlhttp://www.bkconnection.com/users/j-richardhackman

Richard Hackman and Greg R. Oldham (see Figure 6.4) developed the job

characteristics theory of motivation after the job enrichment movement whichresulted from HerzbergÊs research. According to Hackman and Oldham (1976),there are certain job factors that influence worker satisfaction and attendance.However, these job factors do not influence every worker the same way, forexample, in term of individual needs for growth. It is found that workers withhigher needs for growth are more affected by job characteristics (than workerswith lower needs for growth).

In addition, the presence of certain job characteristics causes workers to feelpositively when they perform well at their job. Under this condition, they aremotivated to continue to perform well (because it will lead to good feelings)(Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

As a result of numerous studies, Hackman and Oldham identified five core jobcharacteristics (refer to Figure 6.5):


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Figure 6.5: Five job characteristics by Hackman and Oldham (1976)

Now, let us discuss the characteristics one by one.

(a) Skill Variety

Refers to the extent to which workers use their skills on the job. The morechallenging the job, the more meaningful it will be.

(b) Task IdentityRefers to the unity of a job in which workers are involved in making awhole unit of work or product rather than doing only parts of the work orpart of the product (imagine the production of an iPhone).

(c) Task SignificanceRefers to the importance of the job or task to the workersÊ and consumersÊwell-being (the work of an aircraft engineer affects the lives of more peoplethan a postal clerk).

(d) AutonomyRefers to the amount of authority, freedom or independence given toworkers in scheduling and organising their work.

(e) FeedbackRefers to the amount of information workers receive about their jobperformance.


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In general, the focus of these five areas is to grant workers greater responsibility(and accountability). This theory (similar to the others) postulates that byproviding greater responsibility to workers through job-redesign and job-

enrichment, greater job satisfaction and motivation to workers can be provided(Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

Table 6.1 summarises the content theories of motivation.

Table 6.1: Summary of Content Theories of Motivation

Content Theories of

Motivation

Description

Achievement motivationtheory

The needs for achievement drives or motivatesworkers to be successful

The pioneer of motivational research is DavidMcClelland

Needs hierarchy theory Workers are motivated to satisfy needs in order ofhierarchy

Once the lower level needs are satisfied, there will beno more motivation to pursue the same needs

Theory was created by Abraham Maslow

Motivator-hygiene theory Also known as the two-factor theory

Propose job-enrichment as a result of the study Theory was proposed by Frederick Herzberg

Job-characteristic theory Hackman and Oldham led the movement of job-enrichment

By giving workers more responsibility (and moreaccountability), they will be motivated to work andachieve more

Source: Schultz and Schultz (2010)

PROCESS THEORIES OF MOTIVATIONUnlike content theories of motivation, process theories of motivation focuses onthe cognitive (thinking) processes that are part of decision making. Under thesemodels, there are three theories, namely valence-instrumentality-expectancytheory, equity theory and goal-setting theory. In the following section, we willdiscuss each theory in detail.

6.2


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6.2.1 Valence-Instrumentality-Expectancy (VIE)Theory

Victor H. Vroom (see Figure 6.6), creator of the VIE theory, suggests that peoplemake decisions based on the expectancy that certain rewards will follow if they

behave in a certain manner (Vroom, 1964). Vroom argues that workers will workhard if they know their behaviour will lead to greater pay offs or benefits. Theywill be motivated to work hard if they expect this behaviour to lead to positiveoutcome such as a pay increase or promotion in the workplace (Schultz &Schultz, 2010).

Figure 6.6: Victor H. VroomSource

: http://www.avt.dk/faculty/faculty-members/victor-h-vroom/

In addition, the psychological value or valence of the reward or benefit varieswith the individual. In other words, how much a person values the reward or

benefit will determine the strength of the motivation (to achieve the reward or benefit) (Schultz & Schultz, 2010). To further explain the theory, the three facetsof VIE theory can be broken down as follows:

(a) Workers must decide whether or not a certain behaviour will have a highprobability of leading to a particular outcome (for example, goodattendance) – expectancy.

(b) Workers must determine whether or not the outcome will lead to anotheroutcome (for example, will good attendance lead to better bonus pay-out) –instrumentality.

(c)

Workers must decide whether or not those outcomes are sufficient enoughto motivate them to behave in certain ways – valence.


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The VIE theory received a lot of research support as it agrees with common senseand personal experience. It is likely we will work hard for the reward if weassume the reward to be something valuable to us (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

6.2.2 Equity Theory

Adams (1965) suggests that worker motivation is driven by their perception ofhow fairly they have been treated. He argues that workers, in general,(unconsciously) calculate the ratio of outcome to input and compare it with theircolleagues. If workers believe they have been receiving less than they are entitledto, the resulting feeling of inequity will motivate them to take action to bringabout a state of equity (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

In addition to AdamsÊ research, other psychologists extended the theory andsuggest three behavioural response patterns to situations of perceived equity orinequity (OÊNeil & Mone, 1998), namely:

(a) Benevolent People

Satisfied when under-rewarded, and feel guilty when being equallyrewarded or over-rewarded.

(b) Equity sensitive PeopleFeel everyone should be equally rewarded. They feel distressed when

under-rewarded and guilty when over-rewarded.

(c) Entitled People

Satisfied only when over-rewarded. They feel everything they receive isdue and they feel distressed when equally rewarded or under-rewarded.

Overall, not all research supports the equity theory (refer to Figure 6.7). There issome research that links perceived inequity with heightened sense of resentment,absenteeism, turnover and burnout (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

Figure 6.7: AdamÊs equity theorySource: Sinicki (2014)


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6.2.3 Goal Setting Theory

Edwin Locke, the founder of goal setting theory suggests that workersÊ primary

motivation to work is defined by their desire to achieve certain goals (Locke,1968). These goals represent what we intend to achieve in the near future(Schultz & Schultz, 2010). For example, you may set a goal that in three yearsÊtime you wish to graduate with first class honours. Setting challenging andspecific goals can drive and motivate people to perform in more effective ways(Schultz & Schultz, 2006).

Research has shown having goals leads to better work performance than nothaving any and having specific goals are more motivating than having generalgoals. It is also worth noting that goals that are too difficult to achieve may be

worse than not having goals at all (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

An important aspect in goal setting theory is individual goal commitmentdefined as the strength of a personÊs determination to achieve the goals (Schultz& Schultz, 2010). There are three factors that influence goal commitment:

(a) External factors –

Refers to authority, peer influence and external rewards.

(b) Interactive factors –

Refers to competition and opportunity to participate ingoal setting.

(c) Internal factors – Refers to cognitive (thinking) factors such as self-

administered rewards and expectations of success.

In general, goal setting theory has received considerably positive support fromresearch and has been shown to be one of the most practical theories ofmotivation (Locke & Latham, 2002).

Figure 6.8 depicts the SMART model commonly used in goal setting.


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Figure 6.8: SMART model in goal setting

Source: Hart (2012)

Table 6.2 summarises the process theories of motivation.

Table 6.2

: Summary of Process Theories of Motivation

Process Theories of

Motivation Description

Valence-instrumentality-expectancy theory

Describes that motivation is a result of workersÊ perceptionof what is important (and the outcome of it)

The three facets in VIE theory is expectancy, instrumentalityand valence

Proposed by Victor H. Vroom

Equity theory Workers are naturally and unconsciously comparing theamount of work they put in with the reward they obtainwith their colleagues

Workers who are treated fairly are more likely to bemotivated to perform more

Proposed by J. Stacy AdamsGoal-setting theory Workers who set hard but attainable goals are more likely to

be motivated to achieve the goals

Setting difficult and unattainable goals is worse than nothaving a goal at all

Developed by Edwin Locke

Source: Schultz and Schultz (2010)


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JOB SATISFACTION

Imagine job satisfaction as the quality of life at work. A lot of times people work

not because of satisfaction, but because they do not have a choice. Job satisfactionrefers to the positive or negative feelings a person has towards his or her job(Schultz & Schultz, 2010). It is one of the most researched areas in the field of I-Opsychology.

There are numerous factors that can influence job satisfaction, ranging from anassigned or personalised parking space to work overload and the sense offulfilment at work (Schultz & Schultz, 2006). In addition, personal factors such asage, health, length of job experience, emotional stability, social status, leisureactivities and so on can also affect job satisfaction. A research by Wang (2007)

found that job satisfaction affects the well-being of individuals even after theyhave retired from work. According to Wang (2007), those who reported highlevels of job satisfaction also reported greater health before and after retirement.

Interestingly, based on studies on twins, I-O psychologists suggested workattitude and satisfaction may have an underlying genetic basis (Schultz &Schultz, 2010). With that, it is generally accepted that life satisfaction is positivelycorrelated with job satisfaction. However, it is not clear which one causes theother.

As a result of that, I-O psychologists began to undercover some interesting factsabout job satisfaction by researching personal characteristics and on-the-job behaviour. In the following section, we will discuss each characteristic in detail.

6.3.1 Personal Characteristics and Job Satisfaction

Many personal characteristics influence job satisfaction. By re-designing andenriching existing jobs, organisations can easily increase workersÊ job satisfaction(Schultz & Schultz, 2010). Several characteristics are found to be related to jobsatisfaction, as shown in Figure 6.9:

6.3


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Figure 6.9: Personal characteristics related to job satisfaction

We will now examine each characteristic in detail.

(a) AgeIn general, the level of job satisfaction increases with age. In other words,

the older you get, the more likely you are to feel satisfied with your job(Schultz & Schultz, 2010). Most of the dissatisfaction is reported by youngerworkers. A study conducted by Westerman and Yamamora (2007) foundthat Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) reported a higher level of

job satisfaction than the Gen X and Gen Y (born in 1970 onwards).


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Many young people feel disappointed with their first job because they donot have sufficient challenges and responsibilities (Schultz & Schultz, 2006).However, how does age increase relate to increase in job satisfaction?

Researchers argue it can be due to three possibilities:(i) In the surveys conducted, the more dissatisfied younger workers may

have quit their jobs, so the remaining participants of the survey arethe older, satisfied workers.

(ii)

A sense of dissatisfaction may grow in older workers, but due to theage factor they may be less likely to quit their jobs in search of moresatisfaction. As a result of that, less dissatisfaction is reported fromthe surveys.

(iii)

Older workers may have greater opportunities to find fulfilment on

the job than younger workers. With years of experience under their belt, it may usually bring a greater sense of accomplishment withincreased confidence, competence, self-esteem and responsibility.

Figure 6.10 outlines job satisfaction and the aged worker from a newspaperexcerpt.

Figure 6.10: Newspaper excerpt about job satisfactionSource: http://www.patspapers.com/story_stack/item/older_workers_report_

higher_job_satisfaction/


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(b) GenderResearch in this area yields inconsistent and contradictory results. In otherwords, there is no clear indication that gender differences influence job

satisfaction (Schulz & Schultz, 2010). Detailed research yields, however,that it may not be gender that influences job satisfaction. For example,females are typically paid lesser than males. In order to gain better pay orhigher promotion, females may have to work harder than males to gaincomparable rewards (Schultz & Schultz, 2006). These factors can obviouslyinfluence oneÊs satisfaction at work.

Figure 6.11 shows the increasing number of female employees at work whoare potentially victims of „glass ceiling‰.

Figure 6.11: Female and glass ceilingSource: Bell (2012)

(c) Race

In the American context, more Caucasian than non-Caucasian workersreport satisfaction at work. Although a large number of non-Caucasianworkers (African-American especially) are thriving middle class people,there is also a large number of people who are unemployed, employedirregularly or too discouraged to seek employment (Schultz & Schultz,

2010). Under such circumstances, the primary concern for workers is notsatisfaction but finding a job that pays decently.

In the Malaysian context, surveys conducted by Ranstad in 2012 found that62 per cent of workers in Malaysia considered good salary as moreimportant than job satisfaction. Therefore, the link between race and jobsatisfaction is poorly established and receives little or no empirical support.


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(d) Cognitive AbilityResearch does not draw a direct link between cognitive ability and jobsatisfaction, but it is related to the type of work a person chooses (Schultz &

Schultz, 2010). People who are highly intelligent may find certain work to be less challenging, therefore leading to job dissatisfaction and boredom. Inother words, people whose job is not challenging enough for their level ofintelligence report higher job dissatisfaction.

Another factor related to intelligence is the level of education. Research hasfound that the higher the level of education a person possesses, the morelikely he or she is to be dissatisfied with his or her work. One possibleexplanation is that people who are more educated tend to have higherexpectations of their job. Many jobs, however, do not satisfy this

expectation (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

(e) Job ExperienceIn the early years of your career, you may feel satisfied with your job as thechallenges and environment are new. As the years pass, satisfaction mayslowly wane off if no regular feedback about your work is provided. Suchsituation may tend to escalate into job dissatisfaction.

Research, however, shows that job satisfaction appears to increase after anumber of years of experience (similar to age, as previously discussed).

(f)

Use of Skills

Overall, workers are happy and satisfied if they have the opportunities toexercise their skills (Schultz & Schulz, 2010). One of the most commoncomplaints of graduates is the lack of opportunity to use the skills theyacquired during college training.

(g) Job Congruence Job congruence refers to the match between workersÊ abilities and thedemand of the job. Research shows that the higher the job congruence, thehigher the job satisfaction of the workers (Schultz & Schultz, 2006). Theinverse relation between job congruence and job satisfaction is also evident.In other words, if a mismatch between workersÊ ability and demand of joboccurs, workers are more likely to report lower job satisfaction as they arenot able to perform their job effectively.

(h) Organisational Justice

Organisational justice refers to workersÊ perception of how fairly they aretreated by their organisation (Schultz & Schultz, 2010). When workersperceive low organisational justice, their job satisfaction, job performance


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and organisational loyalty are likely to decrease. Under such situations,workers are likely to report higher level of stress and grievances and mayseek other jobs.

In addition, workers who work under authoritarian leaders are likely tohave low perceived organisational justice. Research shows thatorganisational justice can be increased through getting workers involved indecision making which, in turn, also increases job satisfaction andorganisational loyalty (Mayer, Nishii, Schneider, & Goldstein, 2007). InFigure 6.12, the goddess of justice is blindfolded (to indicate that justice is

blind).

Figure 6.12: The goddess of justice is blindfoldedSource

: Peterson (2014)

(i) PersonalityResearch shows people with higher emotional stability are more satisfiedwith their work. In addition, happier people rate themselves higher in jobsatisfaction, show higher level of work performance and earn higher paythan those who are less happy (Boehm & Lyubomirsky, 2008).

Alienation and locus of control are two facets of personality found to belinked to job satisfaction. In detail, workers who reported lower levels ofalienation and a higher locus of control are more likely to feel satisfied withtheir work than those who are alienated at work. In addition, twodimensions of Type A personality are linked to job satisfaction, namely:

(i)Achievement

striving

– positively related to job satisfaction

Refers to the extent to which people work hard and take workseriously.


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(ii) Impatience or irritability – negatively related to job satisfaction

Refers to intolerance, anger and hostility.

(j)

Job control

Numerous researches support the notion that the greater control workershave at work, the greater the job satisfaction (Schultz & Schultz, 2010). In astudy of 3,125 workers in Japan, those who reported low levels of control atwork have four times the risk of committing suicide. A similar studyconducted in England yielded similar results, where workers with highercontrol of their work reported better health and higher levels of jobperformance and job satisfaction (Bond & Bunce, 2003).

(k) Occupational level

The higher the occupational status, the higher the level of job satisfactionexpressed by the workers. One possible explanation is that higher positionsoffer greater autonomy (which is directly related to job satisfaction),challenge and responsibility (in line with MaslowÊs hierarchy of needs).

Job satisfaction varies with job category. Self-employed persons, technicalworkers, professionals and managers report higher satisfaction thanworkers in manufacturing, service, wholesale and retail industries.

6.3.2 Job Satisfaction and On-the-Job BehaviourVarious factors such as productivity, pro-social and counterproductive

behaviour, absenteeism and turnover are related to job satisfaction. In thefollowing section, we will examine each factor in detail.

(a) Productivity

Extensive research conducted in looking at job performance and jobsatisfaction found a significant relationship between the two factors. Inother words, the higher the reported job satisfaction, the higher the jobperformance (Judge, Thoresen, Bono & Patton, 2001).

Most research in this area was conducted in terms of the individual worker.In contrast, I-O psychologists also conducted similar research in terms ofwork teams or department and found similar results.


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(b) Pro social and Counterproductive BehaviourHigh job satisfaction is found to be related to pro-social behaviour at work(or vice versa). Research has shown that workers who reported lower

satisfaction with work may resolve to anti-social behaviour at work as ameans to get back to the organisation because of real or imaginarygrievances (Schultz & Schultz, 2010).

(c) Absenteeism

Absenteeism is costly for organisations. In monetary terms, absenteeismcost businesses $30 billion a year in America. In a research conducted inAustralia, workers who believe organisations that were not fulfilling theirobligation in terms of providing job security, promotion opportunity andpay increase are likely to take additional days off (Deery, Iverson & Walsh,

2006).

One way to reduce absenteeism is through programme of rewards andrecognition for good attendance records. This has been reported from astudy conducted by Markham, Scott and McKee (2002) in a garment factory.

(d) TurnoverSimilar to absenteeism, turnover is also costly to organisations. Every timesomeone quits, money has to be spent on recruitment and re-training.Research has found a strong relationship between organisational loyalty

and turnover. The more loyal the worker is towards the organisation, theless likely he or she will quit.

Interestingly, age does not predict turnover (although younger people arelikely to quit) (Schultz & Schultz, 2010). When there is low unemployment,turnover is higher. One possible explanation for this is that good economyis usually accompanied by low unemployment. In good economical times,people may perceive that it is easier to find jobs in the hope of increasingtheir job satisfaction.

In contrast when the economy is poor, involuntary turnover due toredundancy or downsizing will have a negative impact not only on thelayoff workers, but also on the workers remaining in the organisation (itmight damage their morale or cause fear due to low job security).

In groups, discuss why you think absenteeism happens.

ACTIVITY 6.2


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• Content theories of motivation deal with internal needs that influence behaviours.

• Content theories of motivation are concerned with:

Importance of work;

Challenges;

Growth opportunities; and

Responsibilities work provides for employees:

• Achievement motivation theory – workers who have high needs forachievement tend to get great satisfaction from accomplishing certain goals

at work and they are usually motivated to excel in whatever task theyundertake.

• Needs hierarchy theory – created by Abraham Maslow and suggests humanneeds are arranged in a hierarchy based on its level of importance.

• MaslowÊs hierarchy of needs outlines five levels of needs in humans:

Physiological needs;

Safety needs;

Needs for love or belonging;

Esteem needs; and

Needs for self-actualisation.

• Motivator-hygiene (two factor) theory – deals with both motivation and jobsatisfaction.

1. Explain the impact of personal characteristics on job satisfaction.

2. Name two on-the-job behaviours that are costly to the organisation.

SELF-CHECK 6.1


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• Job-characteristics theory – created by Hackman and Oldham (1976) andfound that there are certain job factors that influence workersÊ satisfactionand attendance.

• Hackman and Oldham identified five core job characteristics, namely skillvariety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback.

• Process theories of motivation deal with external needs that influence behaviours.

• Process theories of motivation focuses on the cognitive (thinking) processesthat are part of decision making.

• Under these models, there are three theories, namely valence-

instrumentality-expectancy theory, equity theory and goal-setting theory.

• Job satisfaction refers to the positive or negative feelings a person hastowards his or her job.

• Several characteristics which are related to job satisfaction are:

Age;

Gender;

Race;

Cognitive ability;

Job experience;

Use of skills;

Job congruence;

Organisational justice;

Personality;

Job control; and

Occupational level.

• Job satisfaction increases with age, and has no significant relationship withgender.

• Job satisfaction can result in pro-social behaviour and vice versa.

• On-the-job behaviour such as absenteeism and turnover are very costly to theorganisation.


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Achievement motivation theory

Equity theory

Goal setting theory

Job characteristics theory

Job congruence

Job enrichment

Job satisfaction

MaslowÊs hierarchy of needs

Motivator-hygiene theory

Pro-social behaviours

Two-factor theory

Valence-instrumentality-expectancytheory

Atkinson, J. W., & Feather, N. T. (1996). A theory of achievement motivation .New York, NY: Wiley.

Bell, E. (2012). Gender differences in job satisfaction and pay. Retrieved from

http://trendandtonic.thefuturescompany.com/gender-differences-in-job-satisfaction-and-pay/

Boehm, J., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Does happiness promote career success? Journal of Career Assessment, 16, 101–116.

Bond, F., & Bunce, D. (2003). The role of acceptance and job control in mentalhealth, job satisfaction, and work performance. Journal of OccupationalHealth Psychology, 6, 290–302.

Deery, S., Iverson, R., & Walsh, J. (2006). Toward a better understanding of

psychological contract breach. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 166–175.

Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 55 , 137–163.

Hart, P. (2012). Using goal setting the SMART way . Retrieved fromhttp://releaseyv.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/using-goal-setting-the-smart-way/


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Judge, T., Thoresen, C., Bono, J., & Patton, G. (2001). The job satisfaction-jobperformance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review.Psychological Bulletin, 127, 376–407.

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Motivation Chapter 6

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