MOTIVATION

Motivation



Motivation

Introduction

Work motivation pertains to the dynamic person and contextual factors that influence an individual's ongoing choice among goals, allocation of personal resources (in the form of time and effort), and strategies implemented for goal accomplishment. An individual's motivation, expressed in terms of goal choice, behavioral intentions, intensity of effort toward goal accomplishment, and persistence has long been recognized as a key determinant of job performance and work adjustment. Over the past 80 years, diverse approaches to work motivation have converged on a broad picture of how motivational processes operate.(Kanfer, 2000, 75)

Discussion

Emerging theory and research on the influence of aging on work behaviors and outcomes suggests a complex picture with respect to both motivation and work outcomes. Early investigations, building largely on advances in cognitive aging theory and research, focused on the implications of developmental decline in cognitive abilities for job performance. Although developmental decline in select cognitive processes was associated with decline in some jobs, evidence quickly accumulated that other age-related changes in knowledge, skills, and job relevant traits such as dependability are positively associated with job performance. These two opposing processes are probably responsible for the findings of a near-zero correlation between age and performance. As a consequence, contemporary formulations of work and aging have adopted a more flexible fit perspective, in which the impact of age on job performance is viewed as best evaluated in terms of the fit between age-related changes in the individual and work role demands.(Kanfer, 2000, 75)

An individual's motivation for work and motivation in the workplace has long been regarded as a critical factor in career success and effective job performance.(Houston, 2000, 713) The graying of the workforce and concerns about future labor shortages have spurred organizational personnel to consider how adult development and age-related experiences may influence motivation for work and best practices for motivating older workers. In this section, we consider implications of recent theories and research for basic personnel selection, training, and management functions.

Motivation Theories

Theories of work motivation aim to understand (a) the conditions that encourage people to invest energy in their work (energize), (b) the activities that they focus their efforts on (direction), and (c) what makes them sustain these efforts over time (persistence). For instance, various models point to ways in which workers can be energized by appealing to particular needs that they are expected to have.(Houston, 2000, 713) Other models provide insight into the direction work-related efforts are likely to take by examining the particular behavioral choices that people make. Finally, theories derived from principles of psychological learning help us understand why certain behaviors are more likely to be sustained than others are.

Although the validity of these motivational processes and their relevance to work-related behavior has been demonstrated in a large body of empirical research, this work is typically used to understand processes underlying the behavior of individual workers as separate agents. As a result, 20th-century insights into work motivation tend to emphasize people's individual needs, their own independent goals and expectations, and the personal outcomes they ...