Motivation to work: motivators at work

Psychology A2 · Organisational Psychology. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

Extrinsic motivators come from outside the task: pay, bonuses, profit-sharing and performance-related pay. Intrinsic motivators come from doing the work itself and from how the person is treated: praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging.

Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory says people have three basic psychological needs: competence, autonomy and relatedness. When work satisfies them, motivation is of high quality and comes from within.

Landry et al. (2019) applied this to money. In study 1, students were offered a cash reward for a task. When the reward was presented in a supportive way, their needs were better satisfied and they were more motivated and performed better than when it was presented in a controlling way.

Rules to remember

Pay: fixed wage or salary. Bonus: an extra payment for reaching a target.
Profit-sharing: staff receive a share of the company's profit. Performance-related pay: pay depends on the individual's measured performance.
Empowerment: giving workers authority and trust to make decisions about their own work.
Competence: feeling effective and able. Autonomy: feeling that you choose your own actions. Relatedness: feeling connected to others.
A reward that feels controlling reduces autonomy and can lower intrinsic motivation.
Landry et al. (2019): what matters is how a reward is presented and what it means to the person, not only that it is given.
Landry et al. study 1 was a laboratory experiment with students: good control, but low ecological validity and limited generalisation to employees.

Common mistake

Do not write that Landry et al. showed cash rewards always harm motivation. The finding is about presentation: a reward offered in an autonomy-supportive way helped, and the same reward offered in a controlling way did harm.

Worked example

Two managers offer the same bonus. Manager A says, 'This bonus shows how much we value your skill.' Manager B says, 'You must hit this target or you will not get the bonus.' Which team is likely to be more motivated, according to Landry et al.?

Manager A's words give information about competence and leave the workers free to choose, so autonomy is supported.
Manager B's words put pressure on the workers, so the bonus feels controlling and autonomy is frustrated.
Self-determination theory says satisfied needs lead to better motivation and performance.

Answer: Manager A's team, because the reward is presented in a way that supports autonomy and competence.

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