Theories of Work Motivation, How do we explain WHY people do what they do?

Introduction Motivation can be defined as the processes that account for an individual 's intensity , direction and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal (Robbins , 2002 . The three key elements of this definition are intensity , direction and persistence . Intensity is how hard a person works towards the goal , direction is the method or the way in which he channelizes his efforts towards the goal and persistence is how much a person can persevere to achieve the goal

Motivation is intrinsic in an individual , because every individual has a different set of

needs . These needs determine our work behavior and thus the quality of work we do . Unless these needs are aligned with organizational objectives , a person will not be motivated . To align them , the various motivation theories help managers set appropriate goals and rewards to their employees . These theories provide managers with the foundation to derive their metrics and to understand employee behavior

Work motivation theories have been developed since 1950 , the earliest being Maslow 's Hierarchy of Needs , which went with a rigid structure of the needs of an individual . Later researchers have come up with many more theories that are better backed empirically than Maslow 's theory The most important work motivation theories are Maslow 's Hierarchy of Needs , Herzberg 's Two Factor Theory , Goal Setting Theory , Equity Theory and Expectancy Theory

Maslow 's Hierarchy of Needs

The Hierarchy of Needs is the most popular motivation theory . Developed my Abraham Maslow in the 1950s , it lists five human...