Types of motivation

 

Types of motivation

According to the self-determination theory, people have three basic needs which are autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy refers to the need to feel in control of their behaviors and goals. Competence is the need to gain expertise of different tasks and learn different skills. When employees feel confident that they have the skills and knowledge required to do something, they will take initiative in completing tasks. Relatedness is the sense of belonging to a group of people who acknowledge the employee and care for them. (Li et al., 2021)

According to Ryan and Deci’s theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), three motivation types can be defined based on the self-determination theory, namely amotivation (lack of motivation), extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation, along with six‘regulatory styles’. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation regulated through intrinsic factors such as personal interest whereas amotivation is the lack of any motivation with no regulation. Extrinsic motivation is dependent on external factors and has four regulatory factors affecting it, namely external, introjected, identified, and integrated. To shift from external to integrated regulation, values and goals should become internalized and integrated. These are promoted by autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Cook & Artino, 2016). 

 

Figure 1: Self-determination theory and motivation (Cook & Artino, 2016)

 

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation implies motivation that comes from the external surroundings of the employee. They can be financial or tangible benefits which motivate the employee to do a better job. These can be a bonus, salary increment, a promotion, a company-paid vacation, day-outs, etc (Choi & Presslee, 2022). Extrinsic motivation factors can also be non-tangible benefits such as praise, recognition, feedback on performance, and posting in hall of fame (Fischer et al., 2019). The extrinsic rewards are usually decided not by the employee but the employee’s manager.

Externally motivated employees do their work in order to receive a reward. In this sense, they do not perform well because they want to help the organization or to achieve job satisfaction, but rather to obtain some sort of material compensation. Sometimes, extrinsic motivation factors can adversely affect the employee’s creativity (Cooper & Jayatilaka, 2006). In general, it is speculated that those at the lower-level positions of a company show better performance when provided with extrinsic motivators such as higher salary and bonuses (Turner, 2017).

 

Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation comes from within the employee and depends on psychological factors rather than materialistic factors as in extrinsic motivation (Ali et al., 2022). Intrinsic motivation is connected to personal satisfaction and the desire to do one’s job well (di Domenico & Ryan, 2017). According to experts, intrinsic motivation is more productive compared to extrinsic motivation because the drive that comes from within the person makes them enjoy what they are doing (Abels et al., 2016).

Sources of intrinsic motivation are highly diverse. They can be the desire to please superiors, stand out among colleagues, enhance a certain skill, etc (Manzoor et al., 2021). Intrinsic motivation makes an employee strive to develop themselves which results in high performance and efficiency.

Hence, intrinsic rewards are psychological in nature and provides positive emotional reactions to work while encouraging the employees to make positive behavioral changes (Manzoor et al., 2021).

 

Other types of motivation

In addition to extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, motivation can be categorized in other methods (Jain et al., 2019).

·       Positive motivation

Positive motivation encourages the employee to work better to achieve positive rewards which can be monetary or non-monetary in nature.

·       Negative motivation

Negative motivation elicits a sense of fear in the employee in the sense that they would be rebuffed if they do not well. Negative motivation is least recommended in a workplace as it damages the psychology of the employees, harming the organization in the long-term.

·       Reward-based/ Incentive motivation

This is a positive form of motivation where the employee strives to work hard to obtain a reward that is usually materialistic in nature. This is a form of extrinsic motivation.

·       Fear-based motivation

Fear-based motivation, although not recommended, puts a feeling of accountability and responsibility to the employee’s mind. The fear of disappointing superiors and colleagues can also work as a motivational factor for employees. Fear-based motivation is an extrinsic motivation that is imparted externally.

·       Power-based motivation

Power-based motivation is an extrinsic form of motivation which is best suitable for individuals who are motivated to do better when they hold more power. For instance, a team leader is motivated to perform better due to their obligation to lead their subordinates and team members. The desire to hold power over others is also a form of power-based motivation.

·       Achievement-based motivation

Achievement-based motivation works best for employees who yearn to make their presence known by achieving titles and better positions within the organization. Achievement-based motivation comes from within the person and is therefore intrinsic.

·       Competence motivation

This is an intrinsic form of motivation which is generated through the desire to make oneself more competent and skilled, providing a sense of satisfaction.

·       Attitude motivation

Attitude motivation is an intrinsic form of motivation which is driven by the sense of wanting to do something good or perform better. This can be a feeling within the individual that makes them want to fix something when they see a fault or an error or to help someone in need. Attitude motivation depends on the culture, education, and personality of an employee.

·       Affiliate motivation

Being an intrinsic motivation method, affiliate motivation is created by the employee’s desire to belong to a group and be accepted. This desire encourages them to perform better and become acknowledged by the colleagues.

References

Abels, E., Howarth, L., & Smith, L. (2016). Envisioning Our Information Future and How to Educate for It. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science Online, 57(2), 84–93. https://doi.org/10.12783/issn.2328-2967/57/2/1

Ali, A., Abbas, S. F., Khattak, M. S., Arfeen, M. I., Ishaque Chaudhary, M. A., & Yousaf, L. (2022). Mediating role of employees’ intrinsic motivation and psychological safety in the relationship between abusive supervision and innovative behavior: An empirical test in IT sector of Pakistan. Cogent Business & Management, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2022.2039087

Choi, J. (Willie), & Presslee, A. (2022). When and why tangible rewards can motivate greater effort than cash rewards: An analysis of four attribute differences. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 101389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aos.2022.101389

Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R. (2016). Motivation to learn: an overview of contemporary theories. Medical Education, 50(10), 997–1014. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13074

Cooper, R. B., & Jayatilaka, B. (2006). Group Creativity: The Effects of Extrinsic, Intrinsic, and Obligation Motivations. Creativity Research Journal, 18(2), 153–172. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326934crj1802_3

di Domenico, S. I., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). The Emerging Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation: A New Frontier in Self-Determination Research. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00145

Fischer, C., Malycha, C. P., & Schafmann, E. (2019). The Influence of Intrinsic Motivation and Synergistic Extrinsic Motivators on Creativity and Innovation. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00137

Jain, A., Gupta, B., & Bindal, M. (2019). A Study of Employee Motivation in Organization. International Journal of Engineering and Management Research, 09(06), 65–68. https://doi.org/10.31033/ijemr.9.6.11

Li, Z., Yang, Y., Zhang, X., & Lyu, Z. (2021). Impact of Future Work Self on Employee Workplace Wellbeing: A Self-Determination Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.656874

Manzoor, F., Wei, L., & Asif, M. (2021). Intrinsic Rewards and Employee’s Performance With the Mediating Mechanism of Employee’s Motivation. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.563070

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54–67. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020

Turner, A. (2017). How does intrinsic and extrinsic motivation drive performance culture in organizations? Cogent Education, 4(1), 1337543. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2017.1337543