3 Motivation Theories to Increase Workplace Productivity

Everyone wants to be more productive, but getting motivated enough to complete tasks can appear impossible. Here are three popular theories of motivation that can help you increase workplace productivity.

Hertzberg's Two-Factor Theory

Psychologist Frederick Herzberg developed the Two-Factor Theory of motivation in the 1950s. He found two factors that affect employee motivation and satisfaction.

1. Motivation factors – These factors lead to satisfaction and motivate employees to work harder. For example, a person enjoying their work, feeling recognised and career progression.

2. Hygiene factors – These factors lead to dissatisfaction and a lack of motivation if they are gone. For instance, salary, company policies, benefits, relationships with managers and co-workers.

Herzberg's Two Factor Theory. Source: Biggerplate

While motivation and hygiene factors influenced motivation, they appeared to work entirely independently of each other.

Though motivation factors improved employee satisfaction and motivation, the absence of these factors didn't necessarily cause dissatisfaction. Moreover, hygiene factors didn't increase satisfaction and motivation, but their absence caused dissatisfaction.

How to apply it to the workplace

This theory states that you need to improve both motivation and hygiene factors for the happiest and most productive workforce.

To help motivate your employees, make sure to:

• Appreciate and support your employees.
• Give feedback and make sure they understand how they can grow within the company. 

To prevent job dissatisfaction, you should:

• Ensure your employees feel that they are treated right by offering them comfortable working conditions and adequate pay. 
• Pay attention to your employees.
• Form supportive relationships with them.

Remember that all of your employees are different, and what motivates one employee might not motivate another. 

Hawthorne Effect

Henry A. Landsberger first described the Hawthorne Effect in 1950. He noticed a tendency for some workers to work harder and perform better when researchers were observing them.

The researchers changed several physical conditions throughout the experiments, such as lighting, working hours and breaks. In all cases, employee productivity improved when a change happened. The researchers decided that employees became motivated to work harder to respond to the attention being paid to them, instead of the actual physical changes themselves.

How to apply it to the workplace

The theory suggests that employees will work harder if they know someone's observing them. While you should not hover over your employees watching them all day, you could try giving consistent feedback, letting your employees know that you know how they're doing.

Show your employees that you care about them and their working conditions may also motivate them to work harder. 

Expectancy Theory

Expectancy Theory suggests that workers will choose how to behave depending on the outcomes they expect as a result of their behaviour. In short, we decide what to do based on what we expect the result to be. For instance, some people work longer hours at work because they expect a pay rise.

This theory also suggests that the process by which people decide their behaviours is influenced by how likely they perceive those rewards to be. For example, workers may be more likely to work harder if they had been promised a pay rise than if they had only assumed they might get one.

The Expectancy Theory. Source: Wikispaces

This theory has three elements:

1. Expectancy – the belief that one's effort will result in their desired goal. It is based on experience, self-confidence, and the difficulty of the goal.

2. Instrumentality – the belief that one will receive a reward if they meet performance expectations.

3. Valence – the value one places on the reward.

According to this theory, employees are most motivated if they believe that they will receive the desired reward if they hit a realistic target. They are not motivated if they don't like the reward or don't think their efforts will be rewarded.

How to apply it to the workplace

You need to set achievable goals for your workers and provide rewards that they want.

Rewards don't have to come in the form of pay raises, bonuses or all-expenses-paid nights out. Praise, opportunities for career progression and "employee of the month"-type rewards can go a long way in inspiring your employees.

Hopefully, these theories could help your organisation to improve employee productivity as well as motivation. Keep in mind that your employees are one of your most important assets.

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Sources: EPM, The Economist, Wikispaces

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