Hey there!
I found an interesting article about job satisfaction, where it says that a bonus doesn´t have that much impact on motivation, they state that only 13% get motivated by it.
What do you think, which factors lead to job satisfaction? Are intrinsic or extrinsic motivation factors more important or is it better if there is a balance between those two.
I´m looking forward to hear your opinions!
Cheers
Tanja
http://uk.hrmanager.com/articles/share/88063/
Thank you for your post Tanja :)
AntwortenLöschenHell yeah, when I was working I would have been motivated by a bonus. But that was because my salary wasn't that amazing and there were no additional benefits with my job. So I would have embraced anything with the name "bonus". But generally I would have been happy, if my bosses had appreciated my work from time to time. I put a lot more effort into my job than some other colleagues, because I felt my customers deserved that. And in the end, we all got the same amount on our paychecks and nobody ever commented on our performance. Except of course, if anybody made a mistake. But a nice word or some appreciation of my performance would have been much more satisfying in the long run.
I guess the statement of the chief executive interviewed for this article really hits the nail on the hat: "Understanding employees and what makes them tick is vital in having a "happy and motivated workforce".
AntwortenLöschenEven though more money is always a nice-to-have, it is not really what drives most people. Of course, there are a lot of employees, managers and top executives out there for whom the zeros after the comma (English style of writing numbers ;) ) are everything that counts. However, most employees are not that predictable. The survey conducted nicely shows that features such as feedback (of course positive one), relationships with colleagues and the degree of control they have over their work, drive employees far more and lead to higher levels of motivation.
From my personal experience, I just can confirm this and also what Lisa pointed out above. What always motivated me the most was the feeling of having achieved and contributed something. Thus, getting things done is motivation factor, that works quite well for me. Also the level of control and responsibility I had over the job were important for me to like what I was doing.
In case there was positive feedback, or if someone expressed appreciation for what I was doing, this was a far better motivaton factor than the paycheck at the end of the month or an anyway non-existing bonus.
What I assume a big problem is that even though, in the end, granting higher bonuses turns out to be much more expensive to companies, sometimes it is simply easier for them to add a few hundred dollars to an employee's monthly pay check rather than really noticing, acknowledging and praising what this employee is doing and achieving for the company.
Thank you Tanja for sharing this interesting article. Personally, I do not want to state a "lump-sum" statement regarding the "real" and "preferred" needs of the workforce.
AntwortenLöschenIn my opinion it is a core competence of a decision-making person (deciding how much salary, incentives etc) to identify and address the needs of her/his employee in order to reach satisfaction respectively. Linking Maslow´s Pyramid of Needs to this issue, the most important determinant of employees´ satisfaction is self-realization, however, based on my personal experience in entrepreneurship, I would mention here that the material value of what people receive for their efforts is at least as important as the need for self-realization, especially during economically difficult times today.
Thanks for this article and your opinions so far.
AntwortenLöschenThrough my experience I can say, that it is very depending on the kind of job or task you are doing. If you are in a "salary" position, or in any kind of management position, you have the chance to influence your work so that you can feel the commitment and outcome; I would say this is what really motivates people. Combined with regulary feedbacks and financial bonuses of any kind (vouchers, payments, etc.) will have the highest effect.
If you are in a "wages" position, especially in mass production on an assembly line, like I was 16 years, it is not that easy to increase Job satisfaction. A lot of people start working there because of a very good wage in relation to the education needed. Then they start to have a family, build a house or buy a flat and therefore start to have a high amount of debts. I met a lot of people during my time there, which are really frustrated and demotivated and it is nearly impossible for a company, to get this people "on-board" again. Neither through positive feedback or more integration in the production process, nor through high premiums once or twice a year. They feel like "trapped" in the company, although it is their own fault or responsibility not changing their lifes. The only "motivator" for them is the money they get through this job.
I don´t want to say that there are only unhappy people in such fields of work, but as I said in another post, it is very depending on the task one is doing to which extent a company is able to influence the level of motivation, no matter if with intrinsic or extrinsic measures.
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AntwortenLöschenI believe that the salary is a rather important criteria as it helps to motivate but it's not everything in my eyes. I experienced during my internship that doing interesting things at work and working together with a great team is much more fulfilling than the pay check at the end of the month.... of course salary is important, and what happens in some companies where young professionals or interns are totally underpaid but still work as much as the average employees is totally unfair in my eyes... salary needs to be at a certain level, its a "hygiene factor" according to the 2-factor theory by Herzberg (hygiene factors do not give positive satisfaction, though dissatisfaction results from their absence) but the feeling of contributing to something while being at work and being able to enjoy a great work environment (&colleagues) counts for me personally much more. I wouldn't want to work in a company where i get paid 5.000 € per month but sit at the office all day long not liking the tasks, or the team, products, environment, etc.
AntwortenLöschenWell I can only tell you how we handle this in our hotel: After peak seasons (Christmas, August, etc.), where people do work many extra hours, we always award them with a financial bonus - and I can tell you, they sure as hell like it! However in general, I'd say real job satisfaction depends on whether you like what you do - in my opinion, it's as easy as that. There is this nice advertisement (I think its from the newpaper Standard?) - I don't know the exact lines but it is something like:
AntwortenLöschenIf everything you can think of on monday, when the day will finally end, and everything you think of on tuesday is when will it finally be wednesday, because on wednesday it will probably soon be thursday, and thursday means that friday is not too far away ... then you should seriously ask yourself, are you doing the right job??
We spend lots of time being in the company where we work - basically most of the time of our life. So one should really try to figure out, what he wants to do! So in my opinion - YOU are responsible for your job satisfaction! And one of the greatest goals in life - in my humble opinion - is finding work which you really like!
In the end, I want to tell you about my husband: he has a very hard job, where you need a lot of physical strength to do it. However, he loves it. On Sunday, he feels edgy to get to work again on monday - I think that's what it's all about.
I think people need the right mix to be motivated. Of course a good basic salary is an advantage and a little bonus might not be too bad either. However I think it is also very important to try to make the employee happy without monetary means. If the employee feels good at work due to a good atmosphere and the right interior to make him/her comfortable, he/she will also bring a higher output and increase the earnings of the company. Furthermore, I personally think that sometimes enterprises should spend more money on team building activities, after work activities etc than boni. Getting along with the colleagues and feeling sure in the team has a big influence on satisfaction.
AntwortenLöschenJob satisfaction is rated differently by all of us as the above comments show. Of course, money is definitely one of the most important factors for all of us, but there is much more that can play a key role to get satisfied at work. For me personally not only money or the variety of tasks is of great importance, but also the working climate and general atmosphere in the office is crucial for my well-being. I have made the experience in the past that if your colleagues are mean or do not act as team members your way to work can be filled with thoughts like “how do I endure this day” or “please may this day be a good one”. If you do not feel comfortable at work this can influence your performance, efficiency and ultimately your pleasure at work which in turn leads to reduced job satisfaction - other factors like compensation etc. turn out to be less important.
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