Motivation in a workplace is what is believed to be behind the behavior and the workers. It regulates the level of performance in the workplace. Satisfaction is the pleasure or joy of making tasks and the sense of achievement in having done a given task perfectly. If the workers are motivated, their job performances will increase, and they will realize increased job satisfaction. The attitudes and behaviors of the workers in the workplace can be managed by Motivation and Satisfaction, which reduces conflicts in the workplace, making activities run smoothly in the workplace. Psychology at work is important since it helps identify and solve rising issues within the place of work, improves the morale and dynamics in the workplace, and increases the workers’ Satisfaction. Different theories explain and affect Motivation and Satisfaction in the workplace. They include; Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory, the Job characteristics theory, and Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory.
Maslow’s needs hierarchy theory is one of the most important workplace inspirational theories. It advocates that human beings get motivated to satisfy five important necessities. As the title suggests, they are arranged in a hierarchy and represented in five steps; physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. It is stated that when a need is satisfied, it is not a motivator, and when an individual need has been attained, he or she gets the Motivation to reach the other levels of the needs. The individual’s innate wish to work our way up the hierarchy that the needs are not satisfied motivates him or her to pursue Satisfaction rather than the attainment of the needs (Buyao & Danyang, 2020,1274). Therefore, it is said that for employers to be fully committed to the goals of the workplace, they must meet every level of the needs of the employees. If they fail to meet their needs, there will be no job fulfillment.
This theory affects Satisfaction and Motivation in the workplace as it provides a framework for employers to understand how workers can be motivated. The need hierarchy suggests that individuals are motivated to satisfy particular needs, from the basic ones to the complex. For example, an employer can motivate a worker with the need for safety; he can do this by giving him or her a job that offers a safe and secure working environment. The theory affects Motivation and Satisfaction in that it helps employers manage attitudes and behaviors in the workplace. It impacts job satisfaction and Motivation and improves productivity in the workplace. It helps eliminate poor behaviors and attitudes in the workplace that can lead to a hostile working environment and thus leads to legal issues.
Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory suggests that motivating aspects like pay and benefits, acknowledgment and accomplishment need to be met for an employee to be contented in the workplace (Heyns & Kerr, 2018. 8). Hygiene aspects, for example, job security, working conditions, interactions among employees and the management quality are associated with employee satisfaction. This theory suggests that when these hygiene aspects are low, employees are disgruntled; when the aspects are high, the employees are not disgruntled but not necessarily satisfied. It is assumed that when the persuaders are met, the workers are satisfied.
Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory influences Satisfaction and Motivation in the workplace by proposing that there are aspects that bring about Satisfaction in a workplace. This helps employers understand all the factors that motivate, satisfy, and dissatisfy their employees. This theory makes employers know how to interact with workers in the workplace. This reduces negative attitudes and behaviors in the place of work, thus increasing productivity. Through this theory, the employers get to know what causes conflicts in the organizations and approaches to managing these conflicts. For example, conflicts caused by the policies in the workplace. The policies may not favor all the workers, leading to dissatisfaction.
The Job characteristics theory suggests that particular features of a job lead to a higher level of Satisfaction and Motivation among employees. It has five components; job identity, significance, skill variety, autonomy, and feedback. Employees with tasks with a high level of these features are expected to be more contented with their jobs than those with tasks with a low level of these features. These components influence psychological states. Improving these factors in a workplace leads to a better working environment and thus increases job satisfaction (Siruri &Cheche, 2021, 165). This theory influences Motivation and Satisfaction in the workplace. When jobs are not identified, the employees will not get satisfied. Therefore, it is important to improve these five components in the workplace.
Maslow’s needs hierarchy, the Job characteristics, and Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theories help manage attitudes and behaviors in the workplace, which affects the Motivation and Satisfaction of employees. Employers can manage these attitudes with positive or negative reinforcements. Managing behaviors and attitudes in a workplace helps create a positive atmosphere; this positive environment is significant for the worker’s morale and Motivation. When the workers feel good about their environment, they are likely to engage and produce more. Cooperation and teamwork will also be fostered in the workplace, and thus operations will run smoothly. When workplace behaviors and attitudes are managed, there will be no conflicts. This makes the workplace more effective and productive because there are no conflicts. There will be a positive image of the workplace (Cuganesan et al., 2018,55). When a place is known for having a positive atmosphere, it entices more clients and customers; therefore, the workplace will grow and be more successful. Therefore, when disrespect and behaviors are managed in the workplace, the employees will easily get motivated and satisfied.
There are conflicts in workplaces; these conflicts may prevent employees from being motivated or satisfied and can lead to low productivity in the workplace. These conflicts can be managed using different methods depending on the particular needs of the workplace and the kind of conflict being addressed. Methods, for example, mediation where a third party is included. The mediators do not take sides or decide for the parties; instead, they assist them in communicating more efficiently and arriving at a mutually agreeable resolution (Folger et al.,2021,10). Another method is arbitration, this approach is similar to mediation, but the arbitrator has the power to make decisions. This helps when both parties are not in a position to reach an agreement. Many workplaces use both approaches depending on the conflict to be solved.
Intercultural communication in a workplace is when individuals from dissimilar cultures communicate. This is the sharing of information between individuals from dissimilar cultures in an effective and understandable manner. Diversity in the workplace includes individuals from diverse backgrounds, perceptions, and experiences. Diversity can include aspects, for example, gender, race, disability, age, ethnicity, and sexual alignment. Diversity and intercultural communication can affect the working environment both positively and negatively. On the positive side, it can lead to an increase in creativity, understanding, and knowledge. On the negative side, it can lead to tension, conflicts, and misunderstandings.
In conclusion, Motivation in a workplace is what is believed to be behind the behavior and the workers. It regulates the level of performance in the workplace. Satisfaction is the pleasure or joy of making tasks and achieving a task perfectly. There are different theories that explain and affect Motivation and Satisfaction in the workplace. They include; the theory of Maslow’s needs hierarchy, the Job characteristics theory, and Herzberg’s motivator-hygiene theory. These theories help manage attitudes and behaviors in the workplace, which affects the Motivation and Satisfaction of employees. Psychology at work is important since it helps identify and solve rising issues within the place of work, improves the morale and dynamics in the workplace, and increases the workers’ Satisfaction. Managing behaviors and attitudes in a workplace helps create a positive atmosphere; this positive environment is significant for the worker’s morale and Motivation.
When the workers feel good about their environment, they are likely to engage and produce more. Psychology at work is important since it helps identify and solve rising issues within the place of work, improves the morale and dynamics in the workplace, and increases the workers’ Satisfaction. Conflicts in workplaces may prevent employees from being motivated or satisfied and can lead to low productivity in the workplace. These conflicts can be managed using different methods depending on the particular needs of the workplace and the kind of conflict being addressed. Diversity and intercultural communication can positively and negatively affect the working environment, leading to increased creativity, understanding, knowledge, tension, conflicts, and misunderstandings.
Bibliography
Buyao, W. and Danyang, L. (2020). Maslow Needs a Reinterpretation of the Theory of Hierarchy —Thoughts Based on the Theory of Ecosystem. Psychology of China, 2(12), pp.1273–1285. doi:10.35534/pc.0212098
Cuganesan, S., Steele, C. and Hart, A., 2018. How senior management and workplace norms influence information security attitudes and self-efficacy. Behaviour & information technology, 37(1), pp.50-65.
Folger, J.P., Poole, M.S. and Stutman, R.K., 2021. Working through conflict: Strategies for relationships, groups, and organizations. Routledge.
Heyns, M.M. and Kerr, M.D., 2018. Generational differences in workplace motivation. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(1), pp.1-10.
Siruri, M.M. and Cheche, S., 2021. Revisiting the Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model and Herzberg’s two-factor theory: Propositions on how to make job enrichment effective in today’s organizations. European Journal of Business and Management Research, 6(2), pp.162-167.
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