Motivating Employees

Motivating Employees
Linda Garrison
Axia College University of Phoenix
February 4, 2011

    Many employees go to work every day knowing that they have a job to do in order to earn a paycheck so should we expect our supervisors or managers to motivate us with rewards such as raises, bonuses, or a pat on the back to do the best job that we can or must we have self motivation to the job and to take pride in our work?
    There are two types of motivation, intrinsic motivation which is defined as: A desire to perform a behavior that stems from the behavior performed, or provided by activity itself. (Psychology: An Introduction, Twelfth Edition, by Morris, Charles G. and Maisto, Albert A., Published by Prentice-Hall, © 2005, Ch. 9 p. 332)¹ Extrinsic motivation is defined as: A desire to perform a behavior to obtain an external reward or avoid punishment. (Psychology: An Introduction, Twelfth Edition, by Morris, Charles G. and Maisto, Albert A., Published by Prentice-Hall, © 2005, Ch. 9 p. 332)²
    An employee who has takes great pride in his or her work and who wants to do the very best job for his or her employer exhibits intrinsic motivation. It is as if some employees take the approach of a child who likes to play with friends, play games, or even ride his or her bike on a warm summer day, or like some adults who like to work puzzles, play a game of tennis with a friend, or even work out at the gym. Some may look at his or her job the very same way in that it is a giant puzzle that has pieces missing or in the wrong place and they need to make the puzzle complete.
    On the other side of this would be the employee who exhibits extrinsic motivation or one who needs someone such as a manager just as a child needs the guidance of a parent. In other words when a child does not clean his or her room they may have a punishment of not being able to have a friend over to play, but when the child does as asked by the parent the reward of having the friend over... [continues]

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