..Motivation is something that is extremely vital in the workplace. Many organisations and businesses around the world are shaped around motivation, it is what keeps the company running at an efficient level as well as bring in new ideas that could be essential. It is obvious that un-motivated employees as well as un-skilled employees will not allow the organisation to succeed or at least do better than it could be doing. Motivation is something that is invisible and complex to define. It can only be perceived by what people are doing. Motivation shows that it has varied between individuals in the workplace, this has led to a variety of different explanations regarding it.
What motivates us at work? Pay is obviously the first answer that many people are going to give. Many organizations especially Amazon wouldn’t like to think that pay is the obvious workplace reward but it is one of the only factors that gives the worker the greatest sense of achievement. Karen May, the Vice President of people development at Google quoted that ‘To create the happiest, most productive workplace in the world.’ (Karen May, 2014). This was one of Google’s main principles and it is seen that the well-being of people, for example free health is also important in the workplace and might be uncommon but yet it is affordable for the company and it gives them a great deal of satisfaction to be working at Google. There are two types of rewards that an organisation gives: Those are intrinsic rewards and extrinsic rewards. Pay is an example of an intrinsic reward, a sense of achievement when there is more work coming from the individual worker. Extrinsic rewards are examples of pay raises and bonuses given by the manager.
Behaviour wise, rewards and punishments can be used to motivate workers pushing them towards a certain behavioural trait that the company wants them to have in order to have maximum efficiency. Although these ways of motivating workers may have results, it can be seen as manipulative rather than genuine motivation. Google does not see rewards and punishments as an efficient way of pushing workers to the limit, instead it causes more stress for the workers and makes them dissatisfied in the workplace
Extrinsic and intrinsic rewards both relate in terms of the well-known motivation theories of Herzberg (1966) and Maslow (1943), they are both integrated into content theories of motivation and many companies still base their motivational qualities on both of these theories.
So how can motivation be important for a company like Google? A company with sheer size such as Google needs to have efficient motivational techniques for their employees, due to the fact that operating this company requires people with great skill as well as the need of delivering products in an organised way. De-motivated people can affect the company on the big scale as like other companies, the main focus of Google is to have the greatest amount of profit as possible and at the same way keep the employees happy so that they can continue working and giving profits for the company. Google are professionals when it comes to keeping the people happy. It was even said by the Vice President of people development that ‘It’s less about the aspiration to be No.1 in the world, and more that we want our employees and future employees to enjoy it here, because that’s what’s going to make us successful.’ (Karen May, 2014)
The thesis of this essay is whether or not Google motivates and retains its talented staff as well as seeing if the motivational techniques they use on employees work. There will also be an observation of the different theories that come from the key theorists such as Maslow and Herzberg and put to context whether these theories are still used.
Main Body:
There are two theories that relate the most when it comes to motivation in Google;s headquarters and that is Abraham Maslow’s theory, Frederick Herzberg’s theory and. A brief explanation that will eventually be explained further of Maslow’s theory is that it is developed by a hierarchy of needs, which was then used as a theory of workplace motivation. Herzberg’s theory suggested that only some job characteristics could motivate people in the workplace, and that the hygienic factors (factor that characterises the environment of a person’s work) could only bring the workers dissatisfaction. The whole company of Sundar Pichai is built on a one of his most famous quotes and he states ‘I do think it is important to follow your dreams and do something which you are excited by. If you follow your heart and do what you like, you will always do much better. It doesn’t matter what your educational qualification is.’ (Sundar Pichai, 2015) which is basically the fundamentals of this culture that consists of people satisfaction and making the people be excited about their job and follow what their hearts say. It is a concept that inspires employees to take ownership as well as take action, and to give new instead of old. Sundar also believes that his concept can deliver results and earn trust by his employees. This way he can set a high bar in the company and at the same time give his workers a great amount of contentment in their jobs. Google is a company that considers its people to be it greatest asset and that everything is shared.
So how does this concept of this multi-million dollar company work and how does the motivational theories of Maslow and Herzberg relate to this concept. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is commonly the most familiar model of motivation. This simple triangle promises to make us understand what motivates people at work. Maslow did not intend this to be a theory of workplace motivation however it turned out to be perfect and is something that is widely encountered in the studies of people’s management career.
So what do the different elements in this hierarchy represent?
The physiological needs represent the survival needs, and includes things such as food and water. Safety represents the workers need for safety, health and security. Love/Belonging represents the sociality of the people and being part of a group as well as interacting with others. Esteem represents the need for status, recognition and self-respect. Lastly self-actualisation represents the sense of self-fulfilment, as well as achieving ultimate potential and creativity. This last part of self-actualisation relates to the concept of Sundar Pichai as he believes that his workers can have amazing output by giving them freedom. Google’s employees are allowed greater discretion on the amount of hours they work and also when they can go and have some free time whether it involves going to the gym, indulging in volleyball or even getting a massage. Furthermore, the firm allows it’s employees to do whatever they like q day every week which relates to self-actualisation as it gives them a sense of self-fulfilment once they have completed their work. Anything that is ethical and lawful is okay with Google.
Maslow’s theory looks at how workers can be satisfied in the workplace, Herzberg’s motivators and hygiene factors starts with the actual characteristics of the job. There are two distinct groups that can be divided to explain Herzberg’s theory. Herzberg mentions that ‘The motivating factors are the factors that has a great potential in increasing the satisfaction of the worker. It includes recognition for their achievements, the work itself, having responsibility, and the potential for personal growth (Herzberg, 1987:9). These are related to the higher levels of Maslow’s hierarchy as these are the largely intrinsic factors that are likely to satisfy them. The second part of Herzberg’s theory are the hygiene factors. These factors do not necessarily bring or increase satisfaction but this doesn’t mean that these are factors that should be ignored. If these factors are potentially ignored then it has a great chance of bringing employee discontent. The extrinsic factors described by Herzberg are ‘company policies, supervision, interpersonal relationships, working conditions, job status, job security and pay. (Herzberg, 1987:9). These are the conditions which are most likely to satisfy the needs of the bottom layers of Maslow’s hierarchy so there is a clear connection between the two theories.
How do both of these theories link to Google’s way of motivating employees? Relating Google’s employees to Maslow’s theory it is suggested that people are motivated by physiological, safety, belonging, self-esteem and self-actualisation. The reason why Google is so effective with their motivational methods is that they move up the pyramid of Maslow’s hierarchy from lower order needs to higher order needs. Google uses the extrinsic motivators that come from Herzberg’s theory and this way they are able to take care of the social, physical and security needs of their employees. These extrinsic motivators are things such as: Maternity benefits at 100 percent pay of a maximum of 18 weeks. Financial support for adopting a child. An on-site car wash is provided as well as oil change, bike repair, dry cleaning, gym and massage therapy are all the perks that are provided at the Mountain view area in Google. Lastly, lunch and dinner is available free of charge which are prepared by gourmet chefs. This gives the impression that having a job in Google with this type of environment motivates them more. It might seem like heaven but work still gets done and evidence has show’s that most of the Google products created by its employees were within twenty percent of their free time. These are all caused by the extrinsic motivators that are provided and it is proven that the motivational techniques used by the firm is extremely effective. On the other hand, the equity theory is used to motivate the employees because employees will be motivated when they realise that they are being treated fairly. Everyone is treated equally and every single person has their own voice and ideas are always respected by the people higher in the hierarchy. Workers are also allowed to determine their own work schedule which enchances the idea of being equally treated. As a result the people perceive that they are being treated fairly; therefore motivating them. With Google having such a unique and exceptionally employee-friendly workplace environment. Googlers actually feel like arriving to work as it will absolutely be worth it as well as performing their responsibilities industriously.
To conclude, in today’s competitive environment an effective way of motivating people is extremely essential. It is seen that Maslow’s and Herzberg’s theories are widely applied throughout Google’s workplace to motivate the employees and it still shows how effective it is as these simple intrinsic and extrinsic motivators make Google one of the biggest and most successful companies in the world. The managers in Google have certain guidelines they follow ‘Empower the team, express interest in employees success also the well-being of the employees including their career development’ (British Journal of administrative management, 2011). Google most certainly motivates and retains its talented staff and is known to be one of the best at doing that