I've just read four studies on employee motivation to which I was
directed by an article in HBR. Interesting and pertinent stuff. There's the
2111 study by Yoon Jik Cho and James Perry called "Intrinsic Motivation and
Employee Attitudes: Role of Managerial Trustworthiness, Goal Directedness, and
Extrinsic Reward Expectancy," the 2010 study by Timothy Judge, et al called
"The Relationship Between Pay and Job Satisfaction," the 2002 "Five Factor
Model of Personality and Job Satisfaction" by Timothy Judge, Daniel Heller, and
Michael Mount, and finally, the 2001 study by Judy Cameron, Katherine Blanko,
and W. David Pierce called "Pervasive Negative Effects Of Rewards On Intrinsic
Motivation: The Myth Continues." If I understand them correctly, the first
concluded that employees who are intrinsically motivated are turned on and
tuned in three times more than employees who are extrinsically motivated, and
consequently are happier, feel better, and get more done. The second study
found that you can't buy motivation and involvement with salary and position;
and if you can, not much beyond the need to provide the material basics. The
third study found that the happier, more self-confident, more kindly and
caring, more attentive and more aware, more attentive people are, the more
they tend to see the glass as half full and to like their jobs; that employees'
personalites, their attitudes and emotions, are much better predictors of
happiness on the job, hence productivity, than are their salaries. But--and
this is a big "but"--the personality of the managers, not the employees', was
the most important determinant of the extent the workers enthusiastically work
at their work. And, in fact, the fourth study supporting, Deci's WHY WE DO
WHAT WE DO, issued the warning that a primary focus on and use of extrinsic
rewards may be a demotivating force.
The first point is that all these studies remind me of the 1999 classic
study by Ed Deci, Richard Ryan, and Richard Koester, "A Meta-Analytic Review Of
Experiments Examining The Effects Of Extrinsic Rewards On Intrinsic Motivation
" that found negative effect of external incentives on intrinsic motivation,
and positive effect of internal motivators such as autonomy, ownership, and
connection.
The second point is that intrinsic motivation is a stronger predictor
of job performance than extrinsic motivation.
The third point is that people who focus too much on what I'll call
"things" are more often than not are evaluating themselves by their paycheck
and position, playing the comparison game, and preventing themselves from
enjoying their jobs.
And finally, none of these mega studies are talking about the elements
of "thingology:" technology, content or product, and production method.
They're all about people; they're about attitudes of service, meaningfulness,
purposefulness, and relevance; they're about the driving or halting force of
emotions, both positive and negative.
So, I wonder if we should extrapolate all this from business job to
academic job, from business managers to academic administrators and faculty,
from workers to students, from the business workplace to the academic campus
and classroom, from business pay and position to academic salary, tenure,
promotion, grades. After all, the one thing both places have in common is
people. So, maybe we should add people to the mix of technology, content, and
pedagogy if we want to increase teaching and learning motivation and
achievement across the academic board.
Make it a good day
-Louis-
Louis Schmier
http://www.therandomthoughts.edublogs.org
203 E. Brookwood Pl http://www.therandomthoughts.com
Valdosta, Ga 31602
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