Problem 1: What Drives Them?
Motivation → the conditions responsible for the intensity, persistence, quality, and
directionality of persistent behaviour.
Early Motivation Theories → the earliest motivation theories were based on
psychodynamic theories, namely Freud’s. Motivation was thought to be a result of
people’s instincts, an innate drive towards accomplishment. However, basing motivation
solely on instincts was redundant due to its circular nature – for example, people work
because of a monetary instinct, but that instinct was only realised as a result of working.
Instincts were replaced with drives, motives, and needs in Maslow’s need theory, which
included environmental influence in motivation. At the same time, Skinner developed his
behaviourist approach, weighing environmental influence more heavily than Maslow did.
A broader view was Lewis’ field theory, proposing that various psychological elements
interact, influencing motivation. The application of field theory to the industry became
known as group dynamics.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION
In Performance → motivation is considered to be correlated with work productivity, an
example being the performance and productivity measurement system by Pritchard. A
basic model of his system describes how regardless of one’s abilities, if their motivation
is close to 0, their performance will be close to 0 too.
In Work-Life Balance → looking at ones work-life balance provides context to their
motivation as it hints whether family and leisure or work are more motivating factors. More
motivation from work results in more investment in it, meantime more motivation from
family-time could mean less preoccupation with work. Overemphasis on any aspect of life
results in underemphasis of others, meaning less motivation and energy allocated to
them.
In Personality → highly motivated behaviour has been associated with two personality
traits, specifically, high conscientiousness and low neuroticism. There is also a
relationship between motivation and one’s locus of control (LOC), meaning whether one
attributes experiences to their own actions or to external causes. Higher motivation is
related to an internal LOC, that is, attributing experiences to one’s own actions. Finally,
more motivated individuals tend to have an optimistic view on life, also referred to as a
positive attributional style.
Motivation → the conditions responsible for the intensity, persistence, quality, and
directionality of persistent behaviour.
Early Motivation Theories → the earliest motivation theories were based on
psychodynamic theories, namely Freud’s. Motivation was thought to be a result of
people’s instincts, an innate drive towards accomplishment. However, basing motivation
solely on instincts was redundant due to its circular nature – for example, people work
because of a monetary instinct, but that instinct was only realised as a result of working.
Instincts were replaced with drives, motives, and needs in Maslow’s need theory, which
included environmental influence in motivation. At the same time, Skinner developed his
behaviourist approach, weighing environmental influence more heavily than Maslow did.
A broader view was Lewis’ field theory, proposing that various psychological elements
interact, influencing motivation. The application of field theory to the industry became
known as group dynamics.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MOTIVATION
In Performance → motivation is considered to be correlated with work productivity, an
example being the performance and productivity measurement system by Pritchard. A
basic model of his system describes how regardless of one’s abilities, if their motivation
is close to 0, their performance will be close to 0 too.
In Work-Life Balance → looking at ones work-life balance provides context to their
motivation as it hints whether family and leisure or work are more motivating factors. More
motivation from work results in more investment in it, meantime more motivation from
family-time could mean less preoccupation with work. Overemphasis on any aspect of life
results in underemphasis of others, meaning less motivation and energy allocated to
them.
In Personality → highly motivated behaviour has been associated with two personality
traits, specifically, high conscientiousness and low neuroticism. There is also a
relationship between motivation and one’s locus of control (LOC), meaning whether one
attributes experiences to their own actions or to external causes. Higher motivation is
related to an internal LOC, that is, attributing experiences to one’s own actions. Finally,
more motivated individuals tend to have an optimistic view on life, also referred to as a
positive attributional style.
