Motivation in Work Environment

Main needs and expectations to be taken into account in considering the motivation of people at work are described below.
Most of the working people have their physiological, security and belongingness needs satisfied. Their behaviour is mostly directed towards satisfying the fourth order needs of power, prestige and status. These are also called 'ego needs' or 'esteem needs' or 'social motives'. These needs have been found to influence work behaviour of people in different work settings. These needs are described below:
The need for activity is a desire to be constantly doing things. This kind of person is a hard worker. The opposite of this is passivity, which is also a need to relax and not be disturbed.
The need for extension is a desire to be helpful to others and to provide one's services to the organisation or nation. People dominated by this need will be good social workers and maintain good interpersonal relations.
The need for dependence is the need to consult others before making any decision. Such people feel insecure and want to be protected. They lack initiative and always look for direction from others.
The need for independence is a desire to do things individually and to be one's own self. They prefer freedom. Like to make decisions. They dislike interference. They may consult others but do not seek approval.
The need for power is desire to influence others and gain control over them. Such people like to lead and enjoy giving directions to others. They are argumentative and seek leadership positions.
They need for aggression creates a desire to dominate others and to demonstrate one's own strength at times, even physically. These people talk loud, are argumentative and may get into physical fights.
The need for status and prestige is a desire to be respected and treated with deference specially by others in the social situations. These people are status conscious, they may run for offices and show authoritarian tendencies when working with others.
The need for recognition demands recognition for one's accomplishments. These people may be completely demotivated if their work is not immediately recognized.
The need for achievement is a concern for excellence. People dominated by this need are generally active, work hard, set high goals, take challenging tasks, desire pleasure from doing difficult things and look for quality.
In addition to the nine important needs mentioned above, there are two others that fall into second and third order needs that are important in the work place. These are the need for security and need for affiliation.
The need for security is the need to be secure about one's own livelihood and to be sure to continue to have it, the domination by this need calls for economic security and causes frustration at lack of job. If people grumble about the job or save money for future, they are expressing a deficiency in this area, and the organisational policies are worth looking at.
The need for affiliation is a concern for establishing or maintaining warm and affectionate relations with others. To fulfill this need people join groups, invite people and develop attachment.
The satisfaction of these eleven needs mentioned above are important in the work place. The organization must provide opportunities to satisfy these needs to ensure a motivating environment in the work place. Understanding these needs and behaviour indicators of these motives help us to understand the people. Each person is different and unique and has a different mix of these needs in different degree in him/her. This must be appreciated and the working environment must be so structured that it provides opportunities for satisfying these needs. If these are considered carefully then there can be high motivation of people at work.
It is important to create conditions where scientists and other workers' energies are not expanded totally in meeting their basic needs, but where opportunities exist to satisfy higher order needs. Create a climate for inter-dependent work rather than dependency. In the work place create a competitive climate through recognition of good work and a productive climate through personal example. The emphasis should be on problem solving rather than avoidance and attempt should be to motivate individually through guidance and counselling.
Various studies have been conducted for the management of motivation in the work situation. It is worthwhile to examine the results of some of these studies. The first of these studies is the Hawthorne experiment. In 1924, efficiency experts at the Hawthorne, Illinois, plant of the Western Electric Company designed a research programme to study the effects of illumination on productivity.