For years, managers, psychologists and academics have been interested in theories about motivation - why we get out of bed and go to work every morning; why some people are willing to do a great job despite being faced with huge challenges on a daily basis; why others can’t do even the simplest thing without making mistakes; and why seemingly small things such as the removal of a water cooler in the canteen can have hugely detrimental effects on work performance. A large body of research has been written attempting to tackle these issues - some of which have gained considerable currency inside businesses as they try to get the most from their workforce. This article introduces a few of the more established and popular theories.

Money as a Motivator

This theory states that all workers are motivated primarily by the need for money; so if you want to get the most out of your workforce, you pay them more. This has particular effectiveness in areas where payment is directly linked to the accomplishment of objectives. This theory is prevalent in many businesses in the form of performance related pay, incentives, bonuses and promotion schemes. While few would argue that it does not have some validity (indeed it is the driver behind most sales forces the world over), it is not an all-encompassing theory. It doesn’t really address the sometimes complex reasons why people are motivated by money. It excludes people who are not driven primarily for money. It does not, for example, apply to voluntary organisations. In addition, it may not work if meeting the financial objectives might threaten other entitlements, creature-comforts or rights, such as an employee’s location, network of friends, employment conditions or current level of job satisfaction.

The Hierarchy of Needs

This theory is probably the best-known motivation theory. It was coined by Abraham Maslow during the 1940's and 1950's. In essence, it states that our motivations are dictated primarily by the circumstances we find ourselves in, and that certain "lower" needs need to be satisfied before we are motivated towards "higher" accomplishments. Let's take an extreme case: if we were stranded in a high mountain range after a plane-crash, all our energies would initially go into finding food, shelter, defence and possibly, medical assistance. Only after these needs were satisfied would we seek other objectives such as respect, friendship, care of others and sexual fulfilment. If all these goals were answered then we would be free to seek purer goals such as enlightenment, wisdom, great works and perpetual remembrance. Maslow divided these objectives into 5 distinct stages, starting at "physiological" needs and ending at "self-actualisation" needs. In practice, the theory has its application in ensuring that the workforce have sufficiently comfortable surroundings and working conditions in order for them to be free to do their best for their company. If your technical writers are stuffed 4 people per desk into a Portakabin with no windows which fluctuates between -10 degrees in the Winter and +50 degrees in summer, you should not expect them to write Shakespeare¹.

Theory X and Theory Y

Douglas McGregor in 1960 advanced the idea that managers had a major part in motivating staff. He essentially divided managers into 2 categories – Theory X managers who believe that their staff are lazy and will do as little as they can get away with; and Theory Y managers who believe that their people really want to do their best in their work. Theory X managers believe that staff will do things if they are given explicit instructions with no wiggle room, and plenty of stick if they don’t do what they are supposed to do. Theory Y managers believe their people work their best when empowered to make appropriate decisions. Theory Y² has begun to replace Theory X as the dominant management philosophy in many organisations (except your workplace, of course).

AAP Theory

This theory was developed by D.C. McClelland and D.G. Winteer in 1969. Essentially it groups people’s needs into three different categories – the need for Achievement, the need for Affiliation and the need for Power. Taking a less hierarchical approach than Maslow, it acknowledges that different strokes are required for different folks. Some people will have strong motivations in some or all of the categories, while others will have little or none. So, in order to get the most out of people you must make the goals and objectives fit with each individual’s needs. Don’t expect someone with high affiliation needs to be a great parking warden or sports referee!

Dual Factor Theory

Another theory to gain prominence at this time was Frederick Hertzberg’s Dual Factor theory. He identified two separate groups of factors that had a strong bearing on motivation. He called the first group "Hygiene Factors" because they strongly influenced feelings of dissatisfaction amongst employees. Hygiene factors include working conditions, pay, and job security. According to Hertzberg, they don’t motivate employees as such, but if they are not there, they can adversely affect job performance. The other group he called "Motivation Factors" because they had a role in positively influencing performance. Such factors include achievement, career progression and learning. Hertzberg went on to state that you can forget about workforce motivation if you don’t get the hygiene factors right first of all. Fixing the downstairs toilets is not normally a recipe for a 50% productivity improvement.

Equity Theory

John Stacy Adams posited another theory in 1965. Here he looked at how motivation was affected by the degree of fairness within an organisation, particularly within a group of peers. Consider the situation where nine sales representatives are given a company Mercedes, but one of them is given a Toyota, even though that person believes he did just as good a job as his colleagues. How would that last sales representative feel? Now there’s nothing wrong with a Toyota, but by comparing one's own circumstances to the treatment of others in a similar situation, very intense feelings can be experienced. These feelings could lead to intense positive or negative motivations. It’s completely relative, and could apply to a peer group of millionaires when comparing each others yachts, or hair-transplants. In practice, managers need to be careful in singling out an individual for special treatment within a group of peers because of the emotions this can engender.

Expectancy Theory

Victor Vroom in 1964 put forward the notion that people are driven by the likelihood of genuine success in achieving particular objectives. Three barriers need to be jumped by managers if they want to motivate their people to succeed. First of all, they need to connect the task to be performed to the likelihood of better results. Secondly they need to set expectations that there are positive benefits to the employee in achieving those results, and thirdly they need to ensure that these benefits are of value to the employee. For instance, there is no point asking your engineers to be happy about coming in a half-hour early in future if you can’t properly explain how this will lead to eventual real benefits for the engineers themselves. Telling them that it will increase senior management’s bonuses doesn’t tend to work so well.

To sum up

All the popular motivation theories have their flaws and detractors, but they do give us an insight into some of the mechanisms at work in day-to-day organisational life. A number of key messages ring true – firstly, people are not automatons: their reasons for behaving in a certain way are more complex than just money or laziness. Secondly, different people are motivated differently – there is no such thing as a simple, all encompassing solution; thirdly, its important to get the work environment right if you want to get the most from people; and finally, managing perceptions and expectations is very important if you want to help people get the most from their work.