Motivation in the Workplace

Motivation can occur differently in each and every one of us. There are a lot of factors that can affect the level of individual motivation in the workplace. Also, there are several different ways in which a person can motivate oneself and others to be productive and stay productive in the workplace which can spill over to other areas in life outside the workplace.

I think some of the motivation that has to occur in the workplace in order to be productive has to come from the inside the individual first before any outside stimulus or stimuli can increase the level of motivation. The internal motivation to be productive in the workplace for me is pride in my work. I have pride in the work that I do and cannot perform less than 100% at my job which is why most of the time I give more than 100% because even though the task might not be the greatest, I know that I will be evaluated by upper management and the quality of my work has to speak for itself so that is my number one internal motivation.

One external factor that helps my colleagues and I to stay productive at my workplace is advancement in the workplace. The opportunity for advancement in the company that I work for keeps me motivated to excel at the quality of my work and learn from my mentors in order for learning and growth to occur. I know that all of my colleagues are happy with the positions that they have but also want to move up in the company and they all know that the quality of work that they produce as well as the level of productivity has an effect on their promotion which is one thing that my colleagues and I have in common.

Another external factor that allows my colleagues and I to stay productive at our job is the type of task that we are performing more specifically the sharing of an unpleasant task. I know that personally, any task that I am assigned to complete is completed which is considered productivity but there are some tasks that might be tedious or time consuming which is where the level of motivation can decrease and so will the level of productivity. When such as task occurs, we all work together in order to complete it so instead of just one individual dealing with the annoying task, it is broken up into small parts that all of us can contribute to throughout the day and have it completed. I think that collaboration in the workplace is necessary at times because in our situation it has helped us feel more like a team instead of an isolated individual in the workplace.

Another factor that helps to increase the level of motivation in the workplace is reinforcement and rewards. I have to say that my colleagues are very driven people but if one of them accomplishes something really great in the workplace, I know that reinforcement in the form of a simple acknowledgement or a pat on the back is needed because I have seen the results when acknowledgement occurred and when it did not. A simple thank you or great job can greatly increase the motivation to be productive