Meaningfully Motivating Employees

Every company wants motivated employees. Meaningful or effective motivation, though, is more complex than buying some close-out T-shirts, slapping a corporate logo on them, and draping them over employees’ office chairs or mailing the shirts to their homes. 

Correct motivation inspires employees, who work (even) harder as a result. Productivity rises. Teams meet goals. Leaders resolve whatever challenge they are facing, and then the next, with energy and optimism. 

But incorrect motivation can backfire. Maybe an employee doesn’t want another T-shirt; maybe a merit raise, or an extra day off, or a shift in work hours would mean more. In this case, attempted motivation may insult the employee or even increase turnover. 

How can leaders ensure that their well-meaning attempts at motivation don’t fail?

Two SIOP Fellows, Edwin A. Locke, Ph.D., and Marylène Gagné, Ph.D., offer their insight. 

Locke is a Dean’s Professor (Emeritus) with the University of Maryland. Along with Dr. Gary Latham (currently with the University of Toronto), he developed an internationally known theory about goal setting. Locke’s work has been supported by several research grants, and he has served as an organizational consultant. 

In the T-shirt example, the result may have been destined to fail, if the employee’s fit at the organization isn’t right.

“It is important to know the employees' values,” Locke said, “to make sure they match what the organization offers.” 

Gagné, a professor with Curtin University’s Future of Work Institute in Perth, Western Australia, said that motivation often affects an employee’s work performance. That effect is part of her research. 

Often, motivation provides a “bridge” for an employee to maximize opportunities, she said, citing the self-determination theory that Edward Deci and Richard Ryan developed. 

“When people have more autonomous forms of motivation, such as doing something out of enjoyment or interest or doing something because it is personally important or meaningful,” she said, “it leads to better performance and better well-being.” 

However, when people have more controlled forms of motivation, such as doing something to get a reward or approval from others, or to avoid getting punished or criticized, Gagné said, “it does not lead to sustained performance or high-quality performance, and it is also associated with lower well-being.” 

Gagne suggested that I-O psychology practitioners who want engaged employees consider autonomous motivation, which gives employees the freedom to choose what is personally most motivating. 

One employee might choose different working hours, for example. Another employee might choose recognition among peers. And yes, a T-shirt might even prove to be the exact motivation that was intended. The point is that each employee had the freedom to choose what means the most to them.