2. Motivation Flashcards
What is motivation?
The psychological forces determining the direction, level and persistence of employee effort and behaviour
What is equity theory?
Individuals are motivated by fairness. People assess the equitability of their treatment (outcomes relative to inputs) through social comparison
What is inequity?
Exists whenever relative input-outcome ratios are unequal
Undesirable and anxiety raising
People take steps to reduce perceived inequity through various means and react more strongly to under-reward than over-reward
What steps can be taken to reduce perceived inequitability?
- Pay fairly
- Attend to ongoing social comparison processes - equity is in the eye of the beholder
- Be accountable: when outcomes unfair, make sure process is fair and have credible explanation (NB distributive justice = outcome, procedural justice = process)
- Demonstrate care and concern for employees (beyond equity concerns, responding to needs)
What is intrinsic and extrinsic motivation?
Intrinsic motivators = content of the job, what you ask me to do at work. Makes you want to do something for its own sake and keeps you motivated in the long run.
Extrinsic = hygiene factors + job environment (conditions in which you expect me to work). Makes you do something for the sake of the reward (or avoid punishment) - focus on the outcome, less sustainable
What are examples of hygiene factors?
Avoiding dissatisfaction: salary, job security, working conditions, quality of supervision, company policy, administration, interpersonal relations
What are examples of motivators?
Nature of work, sense of achievement, recognition, responsibility, personal growth, advancement
What is the carrot-and-stick approach?
Traditional motivational technique - Easy to threaten people or offer them a reward to get them to act in a certain manner (particularly in a position of power)
However, behaviour only as the carrot/stick is in place, internalisation is more sustainable
What is freedom and threat?
Freedom: belief that one can engage in a particular behaviour, including what one does, when, and how
Threat: any attempted social influence that works against exercising that freedom
What is a disadvantage of using rules and threat?
PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTANCE
Human behaviour in response to a perceived loss of freedom in the environment (psychological reactance is aroused in response to a threat to a freedom). People may want to do what has been forbidden.
What is a disadvantage of using reward as a motivator?
Reduces intrinsic motivation- eg more likely to continue blood donation if no payments given
Extrinsic incentives erode intrinsic motivation - undermines formation of an identity as an individual who (eg behaves altruistically)
Note Google - 20% of time on own projects - high intrinsic motivation and birth of Gmail
What is self determination theory?
Where someone is in control of their own choices: 4 stages:
Extrinsic Regulation (feels controlled, for reward)
Introjected Regulation (feels controlled, for self esteem)
Identified Regulation (feels autonomous, done for care of cause)
Integrated Motivation (feels autonomous, done as part of identity)
What has research shown about the effects of controlling systems?
Reduce intrinsic motivation for fun tasks and internalisation of other tasks
What steps can be taken to avoid reducing meaning and autonomous motivation?
Don’t override people’s better judgement (creates feeling of disempowerment over how work was done)
Treat others fairly (distributive and procedural justice)
Give people work that has a point
Don’t take employees for granted
Do not disconnected people from supportive relationships
Don’t put people at risk of physical and emotional harm
What are 3 features of environments that support autonomy?
Provide a meaningful rationale
Acknowledge the behavers perspective
Convey choice > control
What is job crafting?
The practice of (re)shaping the job you are expected to do so you can enlarge the parts that are important to you
May involve task crafting, relational crafting or cognitive crafting (altering how one perceives tasks and their meaning)
What is flow?
State where you are so immersed in an activity that you become unaware of passage of time (in the zone)
Goal is clear, feedback immediate, balance between opportunity and capacity, one is present in what matters, control is no problem, sense of time altered and loss of ego
Intrinsic motivation
What is Sunday Neurosis?
“that kind of depression which afflicts people who become aware of the lack of content in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest.” Frankl
What is adaptation theory?
People overestimate impact of life events eg passing exam, break up, moving away
Can tell if they will make us feel good or bad but will underestimate how fast we will adapt, happiness one year later tends to revert to the baseline before the event
What are goals?
Performance objectives to which individuals commit themselves
According to goal setting theory, when are goals motivating?
When they are:
Specific
Challenging
Accepted by employees (goal commitment)
Accompanied by feedback
According to goal setting theory, what constitutes effective feedback?
The 6 Ss:
Specific Supportive Solution Oriented Soon Sufficient frequency Source credibility
What is pre goal attainment positive affect?
The pleasurable feeling you get as you make PROGRESS towards a goal
What is post goal attainment positive affect?
After achieving something you want. Often lower than expected, with pre goal attainment most pleasurable
What is the hedonic treadmill?
We respond to attaining our goals by setting more
Can increase speed (promotions, money) but will stay in same place (happiness)
What are problems with goal setting? How can these problems be avoided?
Creates competition
Stop putting effort in after goal is achieved
Focus on outcome vs task per se
Increases unethical behaviour - getting to outcome by any means
Avoided by rewarding the process and not only the outcome
