Employee Motivation Case Study

Employee Motivation also known as employee engagement is one of the fastest growing business topics these days around the globe. There are millions of dollars of revenue and countless man hours lost each year due low or no motivation of the workforce. Motivation is defined within the text as “the forces within a person that affect the direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary behavior” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2014, p. 124). Employee performance and determination are led by their motivation towards completing the task assigned. Keeping employees motivated not only saves the company time, but money as well. The average company loses approximately $1 million with every 10 managerial and professional employees who leave the organization

The truth about management is not every boss is a manager and not every manager is a leader. Leaders do not necessary have to be managers, but the team will produce better if this was the case. Respect within the chain of command if of up most importance and if this is not the case then employee motivation will suffer drastically. If an employee is forced to manage his manger then moral and motivation will not only go down for that employee but for the entire team and company alike. This will place perceived restriction on the well performing employee and their work either and drive will decrease and cause the organization to fell the effect sooner rather than later. This should not be confused with idea of an employee feeling they have the freedom to do as they like. Autonomy must be controlled to be successful as this will cause the issues if one or a group start going in the opposite direction of the company’s goals that were set. “Restrictions to employees’ autonomy have a strong impact on the employees’ motivational state, beliefs, and behaviors. Therefore, formal controls that restrict employees’ autonomy are likely to be particularly effective at encouraging desired behaviors from employees, but may have a cost in doing so” (Christ, 2012). Certain amounts of employee freedom are to be expected and accepted if they are to be trusted and encouraged to perform at the best of their ability, but they should not be left alone to decide the fate of the project or company within their own