Employee Satisfaction and Motivational Factors

IntroductionMotivation is directly correlated with employee retention. Leaders should prioritize understanding what motivates an employee to ensure the sustainability of the organization. By understanding the needs, drive and goals of an employee, managers can invest in the professional development of the employee to ensure satisfaction in the workplace. In addition, organizational culture can be developed through shifting leadership styles to shape the culture in favor of the team. This paper explores the various motivational factors that drive employees in organizations.Leadership Styles and MotivationA strong leader can motivate employees to go above and beyond in terms of assigned tasks. In contrast, a poor leader will instill dissatisfaction which results in turnover and missed deadlines. Chen and Cuervo (2022) surveyed 443 full-time employees in Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Great Bay Area China. They found that if employees have a positive perception of their leadership, through a transformational leadership style they perform their assigned tasks beyond expectation, partially because of employee motivation. Conversely, employee motivation can be negatively affected by dissatisfaction in leadership style. Bhana and Bayat (2020) focused on ethical leadership in their study. They found a linear relationship between employee items and line management leadership of 74.7 percent, which suggested significant correlation. They also found that line management leadership directly affects behavior and employees' performance in a South African Higher Education Institution in KwaZulu-Natal. Further investigation revealed that 46.8 percent of participants disagreed with the assertion that their line management leadership is dedicated and passionate. Finally, they found that their participants felt that line management leadership did not respect the needs, abilities, and aspirations of employees. These findings express the importance of effective leadership strategies for the motivation of employees. Leaders need to be present and empathetic towards the needs of stakeholders at all levels of the organization to ensure productivity. Leaders who are not invested in their employees cause them to feel unvalued, which results in a decrease of productivity that can affect long-term sustainability and the reputation of the organization. Employee development combined with modernized workplaces and workplace flexibility can elevate job performance as well as job satisfaction. Leaders should invest in providing these needs within the organization to help ensure employees are motivated in an effort to improve retention.Firzly et al. (2020) expressed the importance of autonomous motivation over controlled motivation to develop interpersonal behavior. Since employees are aware of supportive and thwarting behaviors, they will react accordingly. Thus, it is important to provide them with organized leadership that guides and assists them. Leaders need to provide clear directions about what is critical to the organization and maintain consistency in responsibilities and duties. By maintaining this example, employees have a standard set of expectations and are set up to achieve success. (Bahan and Bayat, 2020) In addition, flexibility permits employees a sense of control which can also act as a motivating factor. Davidescu et al. (2020) found workspace flexibility and functional flexibility can act as motivators as they increase the level of job satisfaction. Job satisfaction positively correlates with motivation at work. If an employee is satisfied by the work that they perform, then they are likely to want to complete tasks to help sustain the organization.It is critical that leaders facilitate an environment that provides opportunities for development. Luhgiatno and Dwiatmadaja (2020) explained the importance of investing in resources to allow innovative employees to flourish. They stated that emphasis should be placed on learning in an open context. This means that leaders should provide the team with opportunities to learn new skills and provide them with the necessary resources to complete the tasks involved in self-development. Supervisors need to listen to middle management when they request these needs be met for their employees. Managers should be given the opportunity by organizations to rework environments and cultures to provide opportunities for meaningful work. (Yilmaz and Kaya, 2022) The breakdown between one level of management to another can result in a lack of morale in front line workers who feel their voices are not heard. In turn, middle management will feel discouraged as they demonstrate drive but lack support to implement ideas and strategies that can better optimize the overall success of the organization.Behavior and MotivationHuman behaviors are instinctive, and leadership needs to be aware of how their behaviors affect employees, as well as if the intrinsic desires of employees are met. Firzly et al. (2022) examined how the interpersonal behavior of a mentor affects the motivation of a mentee at work by studying 368 undergraduate students from a Canadian University. Findings suggested needs-thwarting behavior led to a decrease in well-being, work engagement, and controlled motivation. In direct contrast, there was a positive correlation between needs-supporting behavior and greater autonomous motivation, well-being, and work engagement. Also, needs-supporting behavior negatively correlated with turnover intention of employees in the workplace. Creativity is another behavior that shows positive motivation in employees. In a separate study, Kim et al. (2021) paired 382 Chinese employee-supervisors with 106 teams to study how creativity affects motivation. Cognitive diversity and creativity led to intrinsic motivation in teams and individuals. Learning goals reflected this correlation. The stronger the perception of cognitive diversity, the higher the intrinsic motivation increased to meet the learning objectives. There was also a positive relationship between cognitive diversity and creativity in which learning goals enhanced through intrinsic motivation. Therefore, this evidence suggests that organizations should invest in initiatives that provide leaders with a chance to work with their team in creative and cognitive challenges that promote a desire to learn. This will result in self-motivation among employees. In addition, leaders need to be mindful of the perceptions they create within the workplace. By being actively engaged with their team or those they supervise, leaders can develop relationships with their employees and better understand what drives their efforts for success.A leader can develop a lasting relationship with their mentee by acknowledging their contribution to the success of the organization. Motivation from satisfaction can result from work being perceived as meaningful. To achieve this, transpersonal relationships must be developed and maintained at work. (Yilmaz & Kaya, 2022) Firzly et al. (2022) explained that while colleagues, managers and supervisors all support the employees needs the direct mentor assigned to the employee has a unique relationship that builds a distinct rapport. Thus, this form of motivation is critical to ensure employee performance and organizational success.Health and MotivationA healthy lifestyle is desirable for mental and emotional benefits. People naturally desire the opportunity to live an active and healthy lifestyle. Work environments that provide unhealthy habits can exhibit high turnover because of being in an undesirable place for emotional and physical well-being. Studies also show a connection between health opportunities and motivation in the workplace. This is in support of the health self-empowerment theory. This theory explains the positive relationship between an increase in motivation and other modifiable behaviors with an increase in the desired behavior. Meaning that if one is motivated to be healthy, they will be more likely to achieve healthy habits than someone who is not motivated. Theoretical framework can be used to implement workplace health promotion programs to increase such motivators and remove barriers that would prevent healthy behaviors. (Williams et al., 2020) Knippen et al. (2018) surveyed 816 members of an urban academic-medical institution. They found that less than 10 percent of participants reported their health as excellent status and that 20 percent of participants had life challenges that prevented them from seeing a primary care provider. This evidence supports the need for health programs that focus on perception of positive norms and accountability. Accountability and positive self-identity are also behaviors that can translate into other beneficial aspects of employee success. It is beneficial to the organization to invest in developing these habits while also ensuring the well-being of employees.Diversity, Inclusion, Value and MotivationPeople want to feel like they belong and provide value to the organization they work for. There is a desire to feel important and needed. By providing them with this, leaders can ensure that employees participate and are involved in organizational implementation strategies. (Pleasant, 2017) Explored the relationship between inclusion and diversity in the workplace and employee engagement. They found that performance within the organization is a shared outcome resulting from employees' desires for inclusion and diversity. They concluded that performance could be leveraged to understand the desires of employees regarding diversity and engagement. This directly applies to implementation strategies and can be utilized to increase their success rates. Yilmaz and Kaya (2022) found that teacher contributions have a connection to value and organizational identity of self. However, there is a lack of literature on this subject. They sampled 330 teachers in Kahramanmaras and found that there is a positive relationship between meaningful work and organizational identity. When describing meaningful work, they included concepts of work relationships, meaning at work, leadership at work, humility at work and transcendence at work. These findings directly support the idea that inclusion results in increased engagement. These behaviors are desirable in a motivated employee.Tertiary institutions are businesses at heart, which sell higher education and science services. Thus, successful management often focuses on industrial management and professionalism in practice. (Luhgiatno & Dwiatmadaja, 2020). However, educators do not come from this background and are not motivated by traditional industrial practices. Instead, concepts such as dignity of profession drive educators through concepts of meaningful work and organizational identity. (Yilmaz & Kaya, 2022) Leaders who guide educators must understand that they have a deeper sense of meaning and belonging in their profession than a typical business employee. By ensuring that educators feel valued and that they make a difference in the lives of those they teach, all while living a healthy lifestyle, university leaders can decrease turnover and improve employee satisfaction in their institution.