Cause and Effect of Workplace Motivation

Motivation in the Workplace

Morale. This is referred to as the total satisfaction obtained by a particular person from their work, job, organization, environment, and superiors. It simply implies an individual’s happiness, satisfaction, and comfort (Ali & Anwar, 2021). Morale is a mental condition of individuals or groups that influences their attitude (Herron, 2022). In a nutshell, morale is a merger of one’s behaviors, opinions, manifestation of views, and attitudes, all consolidated together within a work environment, exhibiting employees’ attitudes towards working terms, relations with their employers, and work (Noor et al., 2019). Morale has two states, that is, high and low morale.

High morale refers to the determination at the place of work which is critical in attaining management goals (Noor et al. 2019). It can lead to a safe and healthy work environment, enhanced employee teamwork, quick resolution of conflicts, and enhanced productivity and motivation. On the other hand (Ali & Anwar, 2021), low morale contributes to features like poor conditions of work, increased rates of employee turnover and absenteeism, organizational conflicts, lack of motivation, low productivity, and employee frustration, amongst others.

In addition, whenever an organization introduces policies that promote workers’ well-being, health, and happiness, they benefit from having more productive and happier employees. Another instance is when a company spends money to pay for sick leave; however, such benefits enable sick employees to remain home and recover, minus worrying about their pay (Ali & Anwar, 2021). Moreover, by staying away, they do not spread their diseases to other staff, increasing the proportion of those working while ill (Herron, 2022). At the same time, being sick is known as presenteeism, which is more costly than absenteeism in lost productivity (Noor et al., 2019). Otherwise, employees given sick leave usually return to work when well rested and ready to be productive. Also, when a company has reasonable working hours, it translates to less work completed within a week; however, it also means that employees are not quitting due to overwork burnout.

Motivation. This can be defined as the process of inspiring individuals to action to achieve objectives. It involves arousing energy and desire in employees to exhibit continuous commitment and interest in a role or job or attempt to attain the objectives (Wahyudi, 2022). Motivation obtains a fundamental concern within every organization (Gift & Obindah, 2020). At the same time, morale is a secondary phenomenon since higher motivation results in higher productivity, while higher morale may not essentially result in higher productivity (Noor et al., 2019). Things attached to morale are primarily issues that are simply part of the work environment, while things attached to motivation are attached to individuals’ performance.

Motivation can be illustrated in two forms: extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is the kind of motivation that originates from external aspects (Wahyudi, 2022). For example, staff gets motivated through promotions or incentives offered by the employer. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand (Gift & Obindah, 2020), refers to the kind of motivation that originates from self-satisfaction. Intrinsic motivation is usually considered more favorable if compared to extrinsic motivation.

On the other hand, Employees that are not motivated become less productive, with unwanted conduct like carelessness and absenteeism, which results in low productivity (Herron, 2022). The challenge of motivation is one of the considerations when deciding on a compensation plan for workers to ensure they will be able to give the required output (Gift & Obindah, 2020). Therefore, motivating workers is essential for any organization that wants to maximize its productivity goals and survive.

Productivity. This is defined as evaluating how services and goods are produced per unit input (raw materials, labor, capital, etc.). It is measured as the proportion of the quantity of output produced to some of the input quantity used (Gift & Obindah, 2020). Several factors can impact productivity growth. They may include economics of scope and scale, shifts in other inputs like capital, stage of the business cycle, competitive pressure, management practices, and workforce skills (Wahyudi, 2022). The two main types of productivity include Partial Factor Productivity and Multifactor or Total Productivity.

Productivity is vital because enhanced productivity shows a greater output from a similar input measure. It refers to higher efficiency through which an economy or company can transform goods from resources (Gift & Obindah, 2020). Thus, an opportunity to create more from less (Herron, 2022). Moreover, enhanced productivity pushes economic growth; hence, an economy can consume and produce more services and goods from an equal amount of work. Equally, productivity can assist in maintaining a healthy work-life balance (Wahyudi, 2022). In general, increased productivity contributes to reduced production costs, overhead costs, the price of goods and services, higher profits for businesses, and higher per capita income, among others.

Motivation and Morale

Whereas morale is the feeling of encouragement and enthusiasm that originates from an individual, motivation is an individual’s drive to complete a task (Grace & McDonald, 2020). Therefore, the critical difference between morale and motivation is that higher motivation often results in higher staff morale (Ali & Anwar, 2021). Nonetheless, higher morale does not lead to a highly motivated staff since their attitude may not inspire them to work more efficiently (Grace & McDonald, 2020). As a result, high motivation contributes to higher productivity, while higher morale might not substantially contribute to higher productivity (Widya & Ketut, 2022). Furthermore, morale is considered a group concept (Grace & McDonald, 2020), while motivation is an individual concept (Gift & Obindah, 2020). Therefore, motivation considers individual differences among the staff members, and staff morale can be increased by factoring those dissimilarities into consideration (Ali & Anwar, 2021), thus, influencing the total work setting or group scenario.

Consequently, motivation obtains a primary concern within every organization. At the same time, morale is a secondary phenomenon since higher motivation results in higher productivity, while higher morale may not essentially result in higher productivity (Grace & McDonald, 2020). Things attached to morale are primarily issues that are simply part of the work environment, while things attached to motivation are attached to individuals’ performance.

In summary, even though both morale and motivation are considered fundamentals for realizing a positive work environment, there is a clear difference between morale and motivation (Gift & Obindah, 2020) (Grace & McDonald, 2020). Motivation is an individual’s drive to get work done, while morale is a feeling that originates from an individual cooperating (Ali & Anwar, 2021). Therefore, morale is treated as a group concept, whereas motivation is an individual concept.

Motivation and productivity

Motivation refers to how a group of individuals or individuals are encouraged to behave appropriately with the mind of obtaining some positive rewards (Gift & Obindah, 2020). An individual that is motivated does something unique, while an inspired individual goes beyond the call of duty. Productivity is, on the other side, illustrated as the optimal usage of resources while rendering services and producing goods that attain predetermined goals. In the current century, the global environment is competitive and dynamic (Gift & Obindah, 2020), and organizational survival is only possible through efficient and effective management of organizational resources. Human resources are one of the primary resources that require proper management since they play a critical role in attaining the organization’s short-run and long-run goals (Herron, 2022). Due to human beings’ complex nature, managing human resources is not easy—workers in a single organization exhibit different attitudes, beliefs, values, and personalities.

Consequently, there is a need for various mechanisms to motivate human resources to enhance productivity (Gift & Obindah, 2020). Currently, all managers and executives at all levels of the organization must recognize the contributions of motivation and adopt a range of means to stimulate it. Most leaders place excellent value on individuals and attempt to use more contractive perspectives to motivate workers. Employees that are not motivated become less productive, with unwanted conduct like carelessness and absenteeism, which results in low productivity. The challenge of motivation is one of the considerations when deciding on a compensation plan for workers to ensure they will be able to give the required output (Gift & Obindah, 2020). Therefore, motivating workers is essential for any organization that wants to maximize its productivity goals and survive.

Several organizations currently pay attention to developing their employees’ future resources. Also, a range of motivational theories has been postulated to explain human behavior at the place of work in various situations. The theories show that motivated employees are more productive than those who are not motivated (Gift & Obindah, 2020). Whenever employees are motivated, they efficiently use the company resources and diligently enact their skills and knowledge when handling organizational duties.