Maximizing motivation at work

How to maximise motivation at work & the importance of “intrinsic” and “extrinsic” rewards. 

Reading time: 5 minutes

Motivation is an internal state that individuals experience, influenced by different external and internal parameters such as the social context and other people. According to Frederick Hertzberg, motivation is developing within each person and remaining unique to that person.

Motivation has two main types. It can either be extrinsic (driven by a specific reward, usually money, points, credits), or intrinsic (driven by inner pleasure, values, inherent satisfaction), or both.

There are a few different approaches and theories explaining how motivation, performance and customer satisfaction interact in the workplace. For many years, it has been generally believed that money was the primary reason leading people to show up at work. Nowadays, it is widely believed that work has a series of latent functions, such as giving individuals the opportunity for social interaction, acting as a source of creativity, identity and mastery, as explained by Marie Jahoda. 

Research into the field of motivation by Richard Ryan has shown that intrinsic rewards are a more powerful motivator than extrinsic ones. However, not all occupations display those latent functions to the same extent. For instance employees in non-profit organisations overall appear to have more internal motives than i.e. taxi drivers or ride-hailing app drivers .

Living in London, and using Uber and other ride-hailing apps frequently, as a means of transportation, I have always been curious to understand what is it that makes drivers motivated to keep going, driving for extensive hours and continue to pick up and drop off passengers in a constant loop. 

In this article, I will be looking closely at the type of motivation that derives from work, using Uber drivers as an example. The main point I will be making is that work in general has a mixture of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards but individuals who focus on the intrinsic ones are overall happier and more motivated on a daily basis. 

At selfsquared, we have been working with young professionals who are lacking motivation at their work. We have been actively helping individuals identify their passions and skills and seek careers that provide them with a mixture of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards, focusing more on the internal ones, to maximise job satisfaction and happiness.

A recent survey by Alex Rosenbalt has shown that at their majority, Uber drivers’ motivation highly depends on pay, with 56% among drivers reporting that they are financially reliant on Uber as their primary source of income, being primarily motivated by the monetary rewards associated with the job. But what about the intrinsic rewards of the job? Do they exist? Is there any satisfaction coming out of driving?

Taking a deeper look into the Uber app’s design, there is a feature which is sending notifications to drivers i.e. “you nearly made it to earn £50”, forcing them to work more, drive longer hours, motivating them to gain more extrinsic rewards, i.e. money. Despite being an easy and effective motivator, economic rewards in the case of Uber are having effects of tiredness and fatigue on drivers, making them obsessed towards reaching their daily goal, without placing emphasis on the quality of their services. 

Testimonials from Uber customers: “The vast majority of drivers are not being nice to passengers.” as reported by Gloss, McGregor & Brown reveal that the lack of Intrinsic rewards may lead to lower job motivation, satisfaction and performance.

On another note, Uber drivers, make more money per hour than conventional taxi drivers and even more than their community’s median hourly wage, which seems to be a good financial incentive for an individual to join the Uber business. However, higher salary does not mean greater effort. A passenger reports: “I gave him 2 stars. I left a little note, and said that he didn't have a GPS and so I had to do it”. Complaints reveal that Uber drivers underestimate the customers’ demands, which could potentially spring from their primarily extrinsic motivation, which is less powerful than intrinsic, therefore showing less effort and poorer performance.

Empirical support for the above argument also comes from Heyman & Ariely’s laboratory study which showed that participants would make more effort performing a task in exchange for no money ‘social request’ or for rewards in the form of a candy/cookie ‘social rewards’ instead of payment in the form of money ‘monetary rewards’. Therefore, the conclusion from the above is that intrinsic rewards, such as accepting a social request, or being given a social reward such as candies are more powerful motivators than extrinsic rewards.

The principles outlined by Heyman & Ariely above, explain that employers should also stress the intrinsic rewards employees would gain through the job, such as (in the case of Uber drivers) having a good rating and self-image, rather than highlighting the importance of working more for more money.

Despite Uber mainly promoting the job’s extrinsic rewards, it should be acknowledged that intrinsic rewards also exist in their driver’s day-to-day work life. Specifically, some drivers have reported being motivated by the social experience as much as the income, claiming that they only drove for Uber for social interaction with others. Those drivers’ testimonials, highlight that there are additional intrinsic rewards that they extract from working with Uber, such as being occupied, interested in client’s stories, being active and having the opportunity for social interaction. This type of work also gives drivers a social support network, skills of engaging with passengers and shaping their self-image, which are some of the latent functions of work.

Furthermore, the existence of ratings between 1 and 5 stars, constitutes a factor that intrinsically motivates drivers to obtain a high rating and preserve a positive image which would in turn lead them to higher revenues. Overall, there seem to be both extrinsic as well as intrinsic rewards, associated with the job of being an Uber driver however, Uber primarily promotes the extrinsic ones.

This observation can have wider implications to employees but also to employers. Since motivation plays a key role in employees' performance, personal drive and retention it can be concluded that a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards’ motivational system would be the most beneficial in the workplace.

Intrinsic rewards are important for employees as they foster a sense of community, personal fulfilment and inner purpose. At the same time, extrinsic rewards are the main reason why traditionally people have been seeking employment. Therefore, keeping monetary rewards at competitive levels also appears to be crucial.

What are your main motivators at your work? Are you focused on the intrinsic or extrinsic rewards? Or both?

At selfsquared, we can help you identify what motivates you the most and work together towards finding the perfect balance between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards in your career and beyond.

- Christie