Only extrinsic factors are required to motivate employees to work harder
Hard work constitutes the commitment of time to achieve set goals. It is all about focusing and having the capability to work as a team or alone. Motivation is a crucial factor affecting job performance, and for that reason, a higher motivational level easily results in hard work in an organization. Nevertheless, it cannot be assumed that high or low levels of motivation must result into an increase or decrease in the level of hard work otherwise, the actual cause will be missed (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).
Muogbo (2013) explains that extrinsic factors help in fulfilling safety and psychological needs while the intrinsic factors help with employees' perceptions and feelings about the situation of their jobs and this is required in the fulfilment of self-esteem, self-actualization, competence and hard work. There are some financial rewards found in organizational setups including; fringe benefits, bonuses, retirement plans, salaries, stock options and commissions which fulfil both the extrinsic and intrinsic needs of employees and motivate them to work harder. Individuals have varying needs and perceptions concerning their jobs. Therefore, for employees to work extra hard, they do not only need the extrinsic factors but also the intrinsic since they have different values for different employees. This paper assesses the provided statement by arguing that both extrinsic and intrinsic factors are necessary to motivate employees to work hard.
In the case of the extrinsic factors, most employees are identified as sensitively concerned on bonuses and pay. They easily get motivated by pay as compared to any other reward. Based on previous research by Osterloh and Frey (2013), financial rewards have large motivational impacts than most rewards. This is because money plays an important role in catering for individuals' multiple needs in the day to day activities. Coordination of resources requires extrinsic factors by linking the monetary motives of employees to organizational goals (Osterloh and Frey, 2013). Nevertheless, when individuals work hard because of extrinsic reasons like status, money and other benefits, it is likely that they will not achieve the set goals. Hard work without attaining set goals is useless just as Zander (2018) purports. Additionally, when the goals are met, the employees are less happy since they find them less meaningful. This feeling is as a result of working tirelessly to achieve a reward rather than to attain goals. This situation results in reduced effectiveness of extrinsic rewards in organizations.
On the other hand, intrinsic rewards have impacts on the performance of individuals and organization. For instance, workers of an organization can reach esteem stage of development and even the phase of self-actualization through intrinsic factors of motivation. These kinds of rewards enhance and encourage employees to challenge themselves, carry out tasks competently, and cooperate with colleagues to carry out their jobs in a harmonious environment (Danish et al., 2015). Additionally, intrinsic rewards also give room for workers to have a high concentration and keep them in a self-managing and energized state. Higher levels of intrinsic rewards push employees to work hard as marketers and informal recruiters in the organization. They achieve this by actively recommending their friends to work for the organization and also commend services and goods to potential clients.
Caligiuri, Mencin and Jiang (2013), show that intrinsic motivation results in a win-win situation for the employees and the organization. Employees feel satisfied and happy as they experience the feelings of self-worth and achievement through their hard work. The organization at the same time also experience increased profits due to the hard work brought about by employee satisfaction. Intrinsic rewards facilitate high competency and satisfaction levels. Employees, in this case, are triggered to have more fun, interest, excitement and confidence while working resulting in enhanced performance of the organization. Research suggests that most organizations give workers equitable pays, which are not tied to their performances, to ensure and attract high participation, and also to rely more on intrinsic motivation factors to work hard and improve performance (Trstenjak, Stilin " Tomljenović, 2016).
Having looked at both extrinsic and intrinsic rewards, it is clear that extrinsic rewards work best for a short-term period while intrinsic takes the long-term (Firestone, 2014). Performance result of employees when extrinsic factors are used, are obtained in a quick review and expected easily. However, it also enhances the firm's competitive advantage in the industry. Intrinsic rewards on the other side increases work satisfaction. Work satisfaction can be considered as an excellent motivator for employees to work extra hard in an organization and produce quality outcomes (Smith " Shields, 2013). Therefore, it improves the performance of a firm. In the long run, intrinsic rewards are very effective because intrinsically motivated employees carry out tasks assigned to them willingly. The employees, in this case, find their responsibilities either interesting or challenging and are satisfied to get them done.
Both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations have disadvantages, and for that, they need each other. In case one cannot work effectively, the other will. A study indicates that extrinsic motivation can at times diminish the intrinsic motivations of an employee (Cerasoli, Nicklin " Ford, 2014). As a result, the personal desire of the job is reduced thus, high-stress build-up, low satisfaction and less effort, if the firm only relies on the extrinsic factors. Psychologists argue that extrinsic rewards are not the only motivators for hard work (Csikszentmihalyi, 2014).
According to Osterloh and Frey (2013), the intrinsic motivation crowding out effect by the use of extrinsic incentives is significant especially when the monetary compensation is distinguished as controlling and therefore results into stress from outside. Once the employees find out that the job is challenging and exciting at the same time, they are most likely to be attracted by not only the extrinsic rewards such as pay but also the intrinsic. The conclusion by Osterloh and Frey (2013) shows that the introduction of financial rewards results in decreased contribution level. Additionally, job satisfaction can be seen as a weakness of intrinsic motivation when an employee does not get satisfied with his work. His performance is affected hence leading to the damage of the whole team performance and even, the organization.
In conclusion, both extrinsic and intrinsic factors are needed to improve the performance of workers in an organization. Although many researchers indicate that intrinsic motivation is more necessary for hard work to be observed in an organization, both rewards have issues that influence the level of hard work and performance. All that matters are the strategies used by the organizations when applying the motivation incentives to effectively manipulate the situations. Organizations should consider both extrinsic and intrinsic factors since they can influence situational motivation for short and long-term periods. For instance, extrinsic factors might trigger an employee to work hard on an exciting task and receive bonuses, and intrinsic will enable them to work hard in order to gain experiences and knowledge from the very job.
References
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