What does and does not motivate people ?

The management literature is full of real case histories on what motivates and does not motivate people. A preliminary initial broad range of the different approaches that have been tried to draw lessons for the future is presented here. 

The traditional Victorian style of strict discipline and punishment not only failed to deliver the goods, but it also left a mood of discontent and resentment amongst the working class.

Instead of positive results, punishment seems to have generated negative results and increased animosity between 'them' (the management) and 'us' (the workers). The 'carrot' approach, in comparison to this, involving acceptance, appreciation and acknowledgement of commitment, has greatly enhanced the working environment, generated the 'goods' and provided immense satisfaction to the employees.

At the British Psychological Society Conference in Bournemouth in January 2006, Liverpool John Moores University discovered from studies into disciplinary practices that continuous reinforcement is the best way to make children act (The Daily Telegraph, 2006). The study claimed that teachers note a 'dramatic' change in a discipline that raises the amount of support for good conduct and decreases criticism directed at unruly pupils. When teachers were encouraged to increase the amount of praise from 54 to 85 per cent and decrease 'telling-offs' from 46 to 15 per cent, compared with almost a quarter before the move, the result was 6 per cent of pupils disturbing or failing to work. So, the motivating mantra appears to be 'catching someone doing something right.'

People also say that inspiring his or her staff is the key duty of the boss. What they really mean is that managers need to have items that activate people and influence people to participate in the desired behaviour. Managers ought to do this both personally and internally so that workers can deliver and gain pleasure from the 'goods' as well.

This may seem somewhat inconsistent, but it seems to work. In the manager's kitbag, the main tools for producing the desired behaviour change (i.e. motivating the team) are:

• Approval, praise and acknowledgement
• Confidence, reverence and high expectations
• Loyalty, given the possibility of obtaining it
• Improvement in individual skills to carry out a task
• Building trust and self-esteem
• Removing organizational barriers that stand in the way of performing mance by individual and group (smooth business processes, systems, methods and resources)
• Enrichment of the Job
• Effective communication
• Incentives for finances.

While everyone will have their preferences, the list is arranged for many in some order of significance - it is interesting to note that cash for many people is way down the ladder of motivators.

Organizations may want productive and responsible workers, even happy ones, but the ultimate aspiration seems to be for free workers - and for work that liberates the individual rather than limits it. There is an increasing demand for 'job autonomy' from employees, which means having a greater say on how, where and when their job is done, with, perhaps above all, an expanded learning opportunity.

References 

1. The Daily Telegraph (2006) 6 January
2. Management Today (2004) December
3. Replicon. (2016). Why Money Doesn’t Motivate Employees - Replicon. [online] Available at: https://www.replicon.com/blog/why-money-doesnt-motivate-employees/ [Accessed 9 Jan. 2021].

4. Harvard Business Review. (2003). How to Motivate Your Problem People. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2003/01/how-to-motivate-your-problem-people [Accessed 10 Jan. 2021].

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