Hygiene and Motivation Factors for Employee Engagement

Employee engagement has been linked with almost every aspect of management in some or other form. Although there are not enough evidences to support a direct relationship between them but several factors show that they are indirectly connected with each other. In the same way, the hygiene and motivation factors have also been associated with employee management. In fact, they have proven to be dependable and unswerving predictors of the level of involvement and engagement of employees towards their jobs.

Motivation factors are intrinsic conditions that influence the level of employee engagement. They have the ability to satisfy one’s own psychological needs including sense of achievement, personal and professional growth, proficiency and status in the organization. The psychological fulfillment at any stage of an individual’s career plays a vital role in determining his or her involvements and commitment towards their work as well as the organization.

Hygienic factors, on the other hand, are considered the extrinsic conditions that motivate employees to perform their best and feel committed towards their work. The factors such as working conditions, organizational culture, remuneration, perks and benefits, job security and relationship with colleagues and subordinates and immediate supervisors play an important role and make them stay within the organization and grow with it.

Motivation Factors

• Recognition: It is the prime responsibility of an organization to recognize the efforts made by employees. Along with its HR department and a reputed management firm, it should establish a well-defined reward and recognition program.

• Employee Empowerment: Employees should be given an autonomy to make their work related decisions. This helps them perform the task in the best possible manner. Moreover, this gives them a platform to be creative and perform an assigned task in a unique manner.

• Career Progression: The talent is attracted to work with only those organizations that can help them build up a career. Organizations must have clear and well defined policies regarding the career progression of its employees.

• Personal and Professional Growth: This is something that motivates employees to work harder and perform their best. If they see their personal and professional growth with the organization, they will stay and develop a feeling of belongingness towards the organization.

• Interesting and Challenging Work: Different tasks must be assigned to employees at different times. Managers should try to assign them interesting and challenging tasks that motivates them to do something different from their routine job and feel a sense of achievement.

• Sense of Achievement: Last, but not the least, the sense of achievement gives psychological fulfillment to any individual at the end of the day. Organizations can help their employees achieving this feeling by recognizing and rewarding their efforts.

Hygiene Factors

• Remuneration and Benefits: The wages and additional benefits are the first requirement to attract a pool of talent and actively engage them in their jobs.

• Job Security: Individuals want to associate themselves with only those organizations where they can have job security. Highly productive and most reputed private firms are far more popular than government sector companies just because they offer good compensation, job security and excellent working conditions.

• Relationships with Peers, Subordinates and Seniors: It is the basic need of an individual to belong and to be belonged. Cordial relationship with other employees at the workplace creates a positive work environment. Employees do not hesitate in offering or seeking help from others to execute an assigned task in the best possible manner.

• HR Policies and Procedures: HR policies and procedures of a company reveal a lot about its working. Companies with well defined HR policies attract a bigger pool of talent as well as is successful in keeping their employees actively engaged.