Background Review and Synthesis of Literature
Topic: Importance of motivating employees in the workplace
Article #1: Bredahl et al. (2015)
For organizations to comprehensively understand factors that may be a hindrance to employees’ motivation, it needs to comply with workplace physical exercise, which reduces musculoskeletal disorders. The researchers employed the use of interviews for twenty weeks for office workers. There was also the use of randomized control trials. The employees were doing sedentary work in the office. They were engaged for only twenty minutes, which was to be carried for three days in a week. The study explored factors that can either motivate or bar employees. The findings of the study indicated that the increased level of interaction between employees and managers might be critical in ensuring the motivation of employees. The study concluded on the need for employees to have a secure connection between them and the managers, as this will be critical to enable them to realize and deal with issues facing them. Also, there is a great need to ensure that there is the use of legitimate interventions, which can be critical in producing positive results among employees. The findings of the study are similar to other studies because it details the need for motivating employees to prevent issues like employee turnover and low production in the workplace.
Article #2: Cloutier et al. (2015)
The motivation of employees in an organization is a critical step in steering the organization forward. For there to be stability and growth of an organization, it is critically important to ensure that the organization retains its employees. As a result, there are different kinds of strategies that the organizations can use to ensure that there is the retention of employees. For example, there is a need for ensuring that there is effective communication between the managers and the employees, as this helps to solve issues and air grievances. Secondly, the organization should diversify its workforce. Also, it should ensure that it employs skilled employees. Lastly, the training of employees in the organization is a critical step in ensuring the improvement of employees, which helps them deal with different challenges in the organizations.
The findings of the article are that the organization should always ensure that they motivate their employees. It is a finding, which is similar to the other materials. In this regard, it provides the need for ensuring that the employees in an organization are motivated. There will be improved performance. The article offers that motivation is a critical component when an organization needs to retain its top-performing employees. When there are no proper strategies used in motivating employees, the organization will always suffer the risks of employee turnover, which has been a severe problem affecting organizations in most countries. The primary objective of using these strategies is to ensure an increased length of time that the employees are taking to serve an organization. The article also provides a set of recommendations, which can be critical for managers in ensuring that they retain their high performing employees.
The article provides a conclusion that high employee turnover is a severe problem affecting organizations all over the world. The cost and time involved when recruiting new employees and replacing the old ones pose an issue for companies. In this regard, they should always strive to ensure that they keep the old ones by using the motivation, as mentioned earlier strategies. As a result, they will be maintaining employee morale, which will be reducing the problem of employee turnover.
Article #3: Conrad, Ghosh & Isaacson (2015)
Various studies have explored ways through which the employees can be motivated in the workplace. As a result, the studies have determined that motivation is a critical factor in reducing employee turnover. As a result, the researchers were investigating the missed management learning opportunity. The study participants include public-practice physicians and physicians’ leaders in Minnesota and Minneapolis. The number of study participants was two thousand five hundred and forty-seven who were engaged in the study in 2013. The primary method of collecting information was through a survey, which was sent to them via the internet. The study participants provided almost similar responses. In this regard, they stated that job security and having interest were some of the factors motivating them to continue working in the organizations. It is a finding that provides the need for leaders to pay attention when dealing with challenges in organizations. It also enforces the requirement for leaders in organizations to instill a sense of job security among their employees. Also, the study showed that as there is an increase in the salary of employees, money becomes a less motivating factor. Also, as they age, interest becomes the primary factor motivating the older employees. These factors are crucial in ensuring that employees remain in an organization. As a result, the findings of the study are similar to other studies. It provides some of the factors that motivate employees. The study concludes that leaders in organizations should ensure how to promote a sense of job security. Also, increasing the interest of older employees is useful for them to remain in work.
Article #4: Gerhart & Fang (2015)
The role of payment and remuneration has been eliciting debates among scholars in the past decennia. However, pay per performance has received little attention as one of the factors for motivation. The findings of the article are that pay per performance can have detrimental impacts on the levels of motivation, as some expect payment according to the level of performance they are providing to an organization. The finding of this study is not similar to other studies. It is because it delves into the need for an organization to ensure adequate payment to the employees, depending on their level of performance. The study concludes that even though compensation has been a significant way to provide motivation, lack of adequate payment (pay per performance) may have adverse effects on workplace morale. The researchers recommend the need for carrying further studies on how pay per performance influences workplace motivation.
Article #5: Guillén, Ferrero & Hoffman (2015)
It is critically important for an organization to understand motivating factors for employees, as this will be useful in achieving its objectives. As a result, this article delves into some of the factors that may be motivating employees. It finds out that organizations are not considering spiritual and ethical dimensions, which may be detrimental to their efforts in ensuring the motivation of employees. It is a finding that is similar to other studies since they both seek ways of motivating employees. The article concludes by stating that there is a need for improving management practices to ensure the flourishing of employees in the workplace.
Article #6: Massenberg, Spurk & Kauffeld (2015)
Peer and supervisors support are some of the critical factors predicting when an employee is supposed to get a transfer. The team training interventions can also be essential in improving the level of performance among employees, which may ensure promotion, and thus, development. However, the process of integration of team members into training programs may be challenging. Due to this, the use of social support when an organization is conducting training ensures that there is transfer motivation. Thus, this article is similar to the others since it delves into the ways that can be useful for motivating employees. In conclusion, the report provides that transfer motivation and support can be used to ensure the motivation of employees.
Article #7: Perryer et al. (2019)
The use of gamification enhances workplace motivation. The gamification has a critical effect on individuals, as they encourage cooperation instead of competition in the workplace. As a result, it can be useful in ensuring that there are facilitation and satisfaction of the needs of employees. In this regard, the organizations can use the process in ensuring that the needs of its employees are satisfied. The article is similar to the other since it provides how the organization can motivate their employees. In conclusion, the material provided the need for aligning gamified systems with the long-term goals of an organization, as this will be improving the organization’s performance.
References
Bredahl, T. V. G., Særvoll, C. A., Kirkelund, L., Sjøgaard, G., & Andersen, L. L. (2015). When intervention meets organization, a qualitative study of motivation and barriers to physical exercise at the workplace. The Scientific World Journal, 2015. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2015/518561/
Cloutier, O., Felusiak, L., Hill, C., & Pemberton-Jones, E. J. (2015). The Importance of Developing Strategies for Employee Retention. Journal of Leadership, Accountability & Ethics, 12(2). http://www.m.www.na-businesspress.com/JLAE/Pemberton-JonesEJ_Web12_2_.pdf
Conrad, D., Ghosh, A., & Isaacson, M. (2015). Employee motivation factors. International Journal of Public Leadership. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJPL-01-2015-0005/full/html
Gerhart, B., & Fang, M. (2015). Pay, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, performance, and creativity in the workplace: Revisiting long-held beliefs. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032414-111418
Guillén, M., Ferrero, I., & Hoffman, W. M. (2015). The neglected ethical and spiritual motivations in the workplace. Journal of business ethics, 128(4), 803-816. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-013-1985-7
Massenberg, A. C., Spurk, D., & Kauffeld, S. (2015). Social support at the workplace, motivation to transfer, and training transfer: a multilevel indirect effects model. International Journal of Training and Development, 19(3), 161-178. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijtd.12054
Perryer, C., Celestine, N. A., Scott-Ladd, B., & Leighton, C. (2016). Enhancing workplace motivation through gamification: Transferrable lessons from pedagogy. The International Journal of Management Education, 14(3), 327-335. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472811716300404