Understanding the Three Types of Motivation in the Workplace

Motivation in the workplace comes in many different types. In fact, this could be said to be the most important type of motivation there is. After all, motivation is the one thing that makes the difference between a productive employee who gets everything done without putting in too much effort and a worker who always puts in his or her best effort but does not get paid for it. So which is the best?

Motivation from the workplace comes in two types: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from within. It is something you internalize and it comes from being motivated by what you can contribute to the organization. Some individuals are intrinsically motivated by the fact that they could serve the public in some way by performing their job well. Other individuals are not so intrinsically motivated but are driven by the need to prove themselves. They are extremely motivated by the idea of getting a promotion or getting a pay raise. So the two main types of motivation are intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation comes from the intrinsic rewards of performing a task. This could be financial, recognition, or personal. These rewards are very powerful and have the potential to induce someone to perform even when they are not really motivated. Intrinsic motivation is a major force in managing employees. But once you remove extrinsic incentives from the equation, intrinsic motivation starts to fade.

Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, comes from external sources. It could be the recognition that an employee has reached a certain level of competence. Sometimes, employees get recognition for being more qualified than their peers, which can be a strong form of intrinsic motivation.

Recognition and encouragement can also be very powerful motivator tools. Sometimes, the most important job of an employer is to ensure that an employee is highly motivated in the workplace. So the types of motivation in the workplace include job assessment, achievement motivation, recognition-based and non-conformist. Understanding how people make use of these different types of motivation techniques will help managers predict how to deploy these in the workplace. For example, some people may rely on achievement motivation. They use this mainly to boost the employee's self-esteem and to make them more inclined to work hard. Other people may make use of communication motivation techniques in the workplace. This may be because managers are constantly communicating with employees and addressing issues that are faced at work.

Sometimes, there are mixed types of motivation in the workplace. This occurs when employees have internal conflicts within their selves about their competencies. This can be resolved by meeting the needs of the employees and giving them the resources that they need to perform better. One example of intrinsic motivation includes peer affiliation motivation, where co-workers support the employee and work well together.

Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is an external motivator that gives a reward in the form of monetary or non-monetary gifts to employees who exhibit the right behaviors in the workplace. These rewards may come from superiors who recognize the employee's performance. The concept of intrinsic motivation differs from extrinsic motivation because it relies more on the actions of the individual. It may not be related to peer support or an external source. Workplace competency motivation includes three strategies. The first one is known as the performance reward strategy. This requires managers to reward workers who exhibit competent behavior in the workplace. These can be monetary or non-monetary rewards. A boss may also give an employee recognition or bonus for competence-motivated initiatives.

The second strategy of extrinsic motivation involves an employer finding ways to make workers happy. Extrinsic motivation can be given by offering vacation discounts or free meals. This kind of motivation is quite popular in the workplace because many employees are able to use them to their advantage. The third extrinsic motivation involves rewarding employees who have good attendance records. This is usually done through bonuses or special raises.

Many employers use all three types of incentive motivation in the workplace. They tend to be most successful when employees are motivated to do their best. Employees may not always see the immediate benefits of their efforts. However, they eventually will as long as they feel a sense of accomplishment and pride when they receive their reward.