The importance of motivation in the workplace
Motivation is the desire to work well and to keep working for this business. The specification gives three reasons it matters.
Attracting employees. A business known as a good place to work receives more and better applicants, and can recruit without paying more than its rivals. One with a poor reputation must either pay a premium or accept whoever it can get.
Retaining employees. Motivated staff stay. That matters because staff turnover is expensive — recruiting and training a replacement costs money, the new person is unproductive at first, and the knowledge the leaver had goes with them.
Productivity. Motivated employees work harder and more carefully. Higher productivity means lower costs per unit, which links back to 2.3.1 — and better quality, since people who care about their work make fewer mistakes.
The cost of poor motivation shows up as absenteeism, high staff turnover, poor quality work, complaints and low output — all of which raise costs.
- Motivation
- the desire to work well and to keep working for this business
Financial methods of motivation
The limitation running through all of them is worth stating: money motivates, but not indefinitely. Pay that is too low is a powerful demotivator, but once pay is felt to be fair, further increases have a smaller effect than most people expect — which is why non-financial methods exist.
Non-financial methods of motivation
The specification names three.
Job rotation. Moving employees between different tasks so the work is more varied. It reduces the boredom of repetitive work, and it makes staff more flexible, since several people can now cover each task. But the work is not made more interesting in itself — it is several boring jobs instead of one — and training is needed for each task.
Job enrichment. Giving employees more challenging and interesting work, with greater responsibility and the chance to use more skills. It is more effective than rotation because it changes the nature of the work rather than the sequence of it, and it develops people for promotion. But not everyone wants extra responsibility, training is needed, and some may expect more pay for it.
Autonomy. Giving employees control over how they do their work — the freedom to make decisions rather than following instructions. It shows trust, which is itself motivating, and people close to the work often find better ways of doing it. But it requires capable, well-trained staff, and it fits badly with a centralised structure, where decisions are made at the top.
Worked example
A warehouse has high staff turnover and low productivity. Pay is already above the local average. Recommend how to improve motivation.
- Note what the question rules out: pay is already above average, so raising it further is unlikely to be the answer and would add permanent cost.
- Infer the likely cause: warehouse work is often repetitive, which is a classic source of low motivation regardless of pay.
- Recommend job rotation, so staff move between tasks and the work is less monotonous — this also makes cover easier when people are absent.
- Add job enrichment or autonomy: giving experienced staff responsibility for organising their own area or training newcomers.
- Justify the choice against the financial alternative.
Answer: Non-financial methods, since pay is already above the local average and raising it further would add permanent cost for little effect. Job rotation would reduce the monotony of repetitive work, and giving experienced staff responsibility for their own area or for training others would enrich the role. Both cost little and address the likely cause — the nature of the work rather than the pay.
Common mistake
Job rotation and job enrichment are different. Rotation varies which tasks someone does; enrichment makes the work itself more challenging and responsible. Only enrichment changes the nature of the job.
- Job rotation
- moving employees between different tasks so the work is more varied, which reduces boredom and makes staff more flexible
- Job enrichment
- giving employees more challenging and responsible work, so the job itself is more satisfying
- Fringe benefits
- non-wage rewards offered to employees, such as a company car, discounts or health cover
Before you practise
- Motivation matters for attracting employees, retaining them and raising productivity.
- Poor motivation shows as absenteeism, high turnover, poor quality and low output — all of which raise costs.
- Financial methods: remuneration, bonus, commission, promotion, fringe benefits.
- Money motivates, but its effect fades once pay is felt to be fair.
- Non-financial methods: job rotation, job enrichment, autonomy.
- Rotation varies the tasks; enrichment makes the work more responsible; autonomy gives control over how it is done.
- Financial methods act quickly but briefly; non-financial methods act more slowly but last longer.
- Most businesses use both — fair pay first, then non-financial methods on top.