What Really Motivates Workers

Amabile, T., & Kramer, S. (2010). What really motivates workers. Retrieved March 10, 2010 from: http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.waterfield.murraystate.edu/ehost/detail?vid=1&hid=7&sid=abb23a60-d328-45cf-8382-85d81b846988%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN0047193009-4#db=buh&AN=47193009

This article, published in Harvard Business Review, describes the results of a study done to find out what factors are the best motivators for employees. There are five common factors that were studied: recognition, incentives, interpersonal support, support for making progress, and clear goals. In a survey of managers, the majority believed that recognition was the number-one factor. In fact, the factor that ranked last in the survey turned out to be the number-one factor: making progress. Employees that feel they are making progress toward a goal in their workday are the ones with the greatest job satisfaction and have the highest level of motivation. Recognition is still a great motivator that manager should use from time-to-time, but making progress is more of a daily factor that can play a more important role. This is an important subject for managers to understand because if a manager can help an employee learn to reach daily goals to where they can see that they are making real progress, this will go a long way in motivating workers to give their best while on the job.