All of us have various reasons and motivations why we work in a particular organization. For some of us, getting stimuli for good upholding the work ethics serve as such a motivation. Suppose you want to enhance your style of management, help your colleagues feel they are valuable in the team, and be more emphasized on your professional aims. In that case, you need to know the motivation stimuli theory.
In this post, we will share everything we know about the motivation incentive theory, plus the ways of its application in your career.
First of all, let’s figure out what motivation stimuli theory is.
It is a theory of behavior based on the thesis that a force for the stimuli and reinforcement serves as the primary motivation for the workers. The approach also claims that people believe that they act and behave in the workplace will lead to rewards, plus they escape from the actions that can result in the penalty.
Depending on what incentives they have, the workers can act in different ways in the same situations. For instance, if the worker does not want to have a bad review for his project or not to have this review, he will work very hard on it. All of them are motivated – when the project ends, after checking to get a reward or escape from the penalty.
Based on situations and time, the value of the same stimuli can be various. All people can measure the same stimuli in different ways. When defining what people have motivation for various incentives, here, both social and psychological factors can matter. There is one condition when incentives serve as instruments for motivation – when the reward that people gain for their actions is really appreciated.
Now, let’s speak about the incentive types. Like in many spheres, there are two of them – positive and negative.
Under the positive incentives, we mean the worker’s assurance that he will get what he wants if he performs his job well (like promotion, recognition, etc.).
The negative incentives mean correcting mistakes or preventing particular behavior (for example, different penalties or demotions).
Besides the types, the incentives are also divided into two categories – financial and non-financial.
As for financial stimuli, here, it is all simple – if the workers can get a pay increase or some promotion, they will work harder and make all their efforts. The cash compensation can serve as a positive psychological effect, but it also provides security for the workers.
When it comes to the non-financial stimuli, they, in their turn, have several subtypes:
- Security of job – In terms of people’s motivation, it is one of the motivation types that can really work. For example, if you want your workers to contribute to the business, give them the probation period or term of office. This way, they will feel safe. And when they feel it, when they understand what their contributions are, they will make more efforts to make the organization more prosperous. Besides, there are some ways of strengthening the security of the job – for instance, the every-year review of job performance with positive strengthening and meaningful recalls.
- Acclaim – Here, the employers can introduce the rewards for various purposes (for example, for hard work, reaching the aim, or when the worker has been in the organization for a long period. In many organizations, employers connect the cash reward and the acclaim. For example, the employee of the month – it is a common practice. Or you can simply commend your worker on the staff meeting. This way, you also show your colleagues what work ethics they all should seek.
- Professional growth – One of the great motivation sources is the improvement of professional skills. There are many ways of motivating the workers to do it – training compensation, taking part in seminars and conferences, or making an internal program on improving the skills. Besides, you can introduce a hiding program. What does it mean? It means that you send the workers from your sector to work in the other sphere of your company. This way, they learn all the details about the organization process.
- Promotion – It is one of the most significant driving forces for people. Besides, it can give the possibility of development and improvement, plus it serves as motivation and satisfaction for the workers. Additionally, the promotion aims to help the employees succeed in their professional growth. Usually, the workers feel safer when they get the promotion. The common are the cases when they earn the raise and promotion at once.
And now we have finally come to the final part – how to use the motivation stimuli conception in your work.
It can be very helpful when you have a clear vision of how your fundamental valuables influence your motivation to succeed in your job. The fundamental valuables include your ideas, convictions, and personal ethics that play a significant role when making an important decision in your life. When you define your fundamental valuables, you will better understand how you react to various incentives and what response you get. After that, you can simply use these stimuli to serve you as motivators in reaching your professional goals. There is one more advantage in realizing your fundamental valuables – it can also help you find a workplace and job that will perfectly correspond to them. Thanks to this, you will definitely be happier and more effective at your job.
When you define the fundamental values, you should take into account three essential aspects:
- think about the things you like the most in your today’s job
- what moments of your job let you feel happy
- what things you expect within your workday
After you define your fundamental values, you can make some corrections to your job life. For instance, if you understand that the non-financial stimuli serve more for you as a great motivator than the monetary ones, you can ask your employer to give you the promotion or other opportunities to contribute to your growth as a professional.
