Study after study has shown that what motivates employees is not money. Money can make employees unhappy if they are not sufficiently compensated, but it has not been shown to lead to motivation, satisfaction or performance.
Fortunately, in a tight economy, what motivates employees most are free things, such as:
1. A manager who expresses caring and compassion for employees.
2. Clear job expectations and feedback.
3. Being on high-performing work-teams with inspiring coworkers.
4. Being praised at least once per week. Specific praise is better than general praise.
5. Providing opportunities for training, growth, and development.
6. Allowing employees to specialize and do what they do best.
7. Providing employees with opportunities to take on challenges. The optimal challenge level for intrinsic motivation is 4 out of 5.
8. The way that goals are formed—Goals framed as performance-mastery or performance approach are best. These are goals that are framed around improving or selecting the best. The least effective goals are framed as performance-avoidance, which means that the worst performance will be selected (the goal is framed around what to avoid).
9. Framing goals around the type of motivation individual employees have. The most common three types of motivation are affiliation (seeking stronger relationships), power (seeking leadership), and achievement (seeking knowledge).
10. Conveying a positive mood. The mood of leaders is contagious to others. Leaders who convey a cheerful mood have more positive, productive, and motivated employees.
Comments