Before we can answer HOW important employee motivation and job satisfaction are, we first need to understand WHY they are important. This article will cover the link between motivation and job satisfaction and provide your business with tools to improve motivation and performance, as well as employee wellbeing.
It should be evident that a place where people spend most of their day has a strong impact on their feelings, actions, and thoughts. “Find a job you enjoy, and you will never have to work a day in your life”, said Mark Twain. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to work within a specific industry you enjoy, it can be the workplace in general, the monetary rewards, the benefits the employer provides, or simply the people you work with.
Why Is Motivation And Satisfaction Important?
As a natural consequence of this fact, there is a growing responsibility (and need) for employers to understand what motivates their employees. It’s essential when creating jobs and conditions to have a grasp of what satisfies employees to understand better what factors promote and influence employee motivation and job satisfaction.
Being motivated and satisfied with one’s job is important. After all, we spend so much time at work that employees need to feel motivated, satisfied, and happy because, in the end, people are essential to productivity.
How Important Is Motivation And Job Satisfaction For Performance?
Motivation in the workplace is a powerful energy that drives and encourages employees, resulting in higher organizational performance. Based on a study from 2015 by Professor Andrew J. Oswald from the University of Warwick, his findings showed that being “happy” results in an individual being approximately 12% more productive.
It’s always difficult to put a number on such a thing. But it’s an undisputed fact that employee motivation and job satisfaction are important for employees to be and stay productive to help the company flourish.
The Link Between Motivation And Job Satisfaction
Motivation is simply the desire to undertake the process to get what you want. As mentioned earlier, employees can be motivated by a number of reasons such as the workplace in general, money, employee benefits, their colleagues, recognition and rewards. Motivation can also be fear of being fired, of retaliation, or of being embarrassed in front of colleagues.
In the first positive examples employees will experience both motivation and job satisfaction but not in the latter examples. When motivated by fear employees might begin to resent both their work and the employer, and are most likely to quit their job if a possibility turns up. This concludes that high job satisfaction is linked to high motivation, while high motivation doesn’t need to be linked to high job satisfaction.
Fundamentals of Job Satisfaction
When it comes to employee motivation and job satisfaction, there are some fundamental criteria to make employees thrive in the business.
5 fundamentals of Job Satisfaction:
- Being able to use their strengths. To thrive at the workplace, employees have to do the work they are best suited for doing and enjoy doing. If your employees like what they are doing, they will walk that extra mile because they are motivated.
- Knowing why they are doing it. As mentioned before employee motivation and job satisfaction are linked and if your employees are driven by positive motivation they will be more satisfied with their work situation. Find out the “whys” and make clear you want to meet those wants.
- Having great working relationships. Co-workers play an essential part when it comes to employee motivation and job satisfaction. A highly motivated team who enjoys working with one another is unstoppable. A key to team motivation and better employee relationships is to be thoughtful when hiring new team members and to think thoroughly about how they will interact with the rest of the team.
- Being able to grow. Overcoming challenges and learning new skills brings a deeper, more lasting satisfaction than a reward gained without any struggle. Allowing employees both personal and professional development will increase employee motivation and job satisfaction.
- Knowing how success is measured. For an employee to be successful, it is essential to know how success is measured in the company. Clear communication and frequent feedback will increase motivation and performance at the workplace.
How To Increase Employee Motivation And Satisfaction To Improve Performance
Anyone can face a dip in motivation now and then but when an employee is constantly disengaged this becomes a problem that needs to be solved. Down below you will find three strategies to improve employee motivation and satisfaction to increase performance.
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Include your employees in the goal-setting process:
If you promote a culture where your staff is encouraged to set their own goals according to the company’s purpose, your staff will feel more involved in the company and get a greater understanding of what is expected of them. Having the opportunity to influence the tasks or their work pace increases the employees’ motivation and satisfaction.
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Show your employees their purpose:
Most people want to feel like what they do matters and once you have given the employees a clear sense of their purpose in the organization, their motivation and job satisfaction will rise.
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Recognize people’s efforts:
When acknowledging the hard work your employees do, you are allowing them to build a sense of security and make them understand how valuable they are to the company. So let your superstars know how much they mean to the company to keep employee motivation and satisfaction sky-high to enhance performance.
Improve Productivity With Remente’s Mental Wellness Platform
To show your employees their purpose and recognize their work, you must first be able to measure employee productivity with help from an employee mental wellness platform. Remente offers a system making it possible to monitor productivity by collecting data from health and productivity surveys sent out to your employees to answer anonymously. This gives the staff a safe channel to speak up their mind and for you as an employer to discover any issues related to employee motivation and satisfaction.
Remente doesn’t just offer hard data, we also supply solutions. We provide digital motivational tools enabling staff members to influence their motivation, productivity, and wellbeing utilizing a holistic approach. Our tools to improve motivation and performance includes:
- Daily video sessions with coaches
- Goal Setting Guide
- Day Planner
- Life Wheel Assessment
- Mood Journal
Apart from motivational tools, Remente also offers courses, goal plans, and articles about motivation, performance, work-life balance, and professional development.
5 Courses Related To Employee Motivation And Satisfaction Provided By Remente:
- How to motivate yourself
- Learn the SMARTEST way to set goals
- 7 steps for a more wonderful life
- Unlock your potential by visualizing your success
- 3 steps to finding balance in life
The system provided by Remente will give your company tools to include employees in goal setting, show them their purpose, and reward their hard work. It will also give your employees the tools to grow personally, practice self-care, and find the balance between life and work. The positive ripple effects are many; happier employees, higher productivity, lower costs, and higher employee retention.
Sign up for a free demo of Remente today and experience the rise of employee engagement for yourself!