7 ways to motivate employees and build a thriving workplace

You have top talent at your company. To keep it, you need to keep your workforce happy and motivated. 

But that’s easier said than done. 

Employee motivation isn’t something you can pull out of thin air. You have to mix the right factors in the right ways. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the different types of employee motivation and offer strategies for fostering it at your organization.

What’s employee motivation? The different types

Employee motivation describes the level of commitment and drive people bring to their work. Motivated workers are excited about their role and passionate about the organization’s projects. They engage with tasks and feel connected to outcomes. 

Taking the importance of employee motivation seriously can make or break a company’s success. To help you better understand motivation in the workplace, we’ve broken it down into the five most common types.

1. Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation (or internal motivation) is a drive that comes from within. People who experience intrinsic motivation feel rewarded when they do great work, even if no one else recognizes them for it. An intrinsically motivated worker will often go above and beyond on a project without being asked.

2. Extrinsic motivation 

Extrinsic motivation (or external motivation) is spurred from the outside. Extrinsically motivated people enjoy receiving praise and rewards for a job well done. For example, an employee might work harder knowing they stand to earn a performance bonus at the end of the quarter.

3. Achievement motivation 

Achievement motivation is a type of internal motivation. A person is psychologically inclined to reach objectives because they feel good about themselves when they do. These folks work hard toward goals without being asked. They don’t depend on external recognition, even though some of their objectives — like earning a degree — may come with it.

4. Affiliation motivation

Affiliation motivation is the impulse to build and nurture social connections. Team members driven by this instinct thrive when they feel included, supported, and part of something bigger than themselves. They often bring energy to group projects, strengthen team culture, and help create a sense of belonging that keeps morale high.

5. Competence motivation

Competence motivation is similar to achievement motivation, but the motivator here is gaining skills rather than completing a goal. An employee with this internal motivation style seeks out professional development opportunities and feels positive when they learn new things. They enjoy putting their skills to work and performing well.

How are employee motivation and engagement linked?

Sometimes, people treat the terms “employee motivation” and “employee engagement” as synonyms. But although they’re linked, they’re not exactly the same.

Think of it this way: Motivation is the driver, and engagement is the emotional result. A motivated employee has internal or external impulses to perform well. Engagement is the resulting feeling of satisfaction and connection to the work.

To experience employee engagement, a worker has to feel motivated. Otherwise, they won’t have the determination and focus needed to truly connect with their work.

How to motivate employees in the workplace

Even the most intrinsically motivated folks will lose steam if external conditions aren’t good. Here’s how to motivate workers by creating an excellent organizational environment.

Build great manager-team relationships

Strong relationships between leaders and employees start with good communication. Team members should experience supportive, emotionally safe conversations at work. They also need to receive clear messaging on organizational objectives and the role they play in achieving them. 

Train your leaders on strong communication and invite feedback from employees. Use Workleap Officevibe’s 1:1s, pulse surveys, and anonymous feedback to help management and team members connect. Steps like these go a long way toward creating a culture of belonging. And the deep connection that sense of belonging creates makes it a lot easier for employees to stay motivated.

Drive diversity, equity, and inclusion

Just like strong communication fosters emotional safety and a culture of belonging, so can diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. 

When a company has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and ensures equal access to opportunities, everyone feels at home. People can connect with their workplace and peers confidently and without fear. As a result, they’re happy to play their part in furthering the company’s work.

Encourage teamwork

Teamwork brings colleagues closer and helps them achieve bigger goals than they could on their own. Team members feel internally proud of their progress and enjoy external recognition from peers and leaders. 

These feelings of success and satisfaction drive employee motivation. Work is pleasant and rewarding; it even has high social value. 

Set goals

The sense of pride when someone reaches a goal ties into every type of employee motivation. The achievement itself motivates some people, while external praise drives others. There’s a strong link between great performance and motivation. In other words, keeping your workers motivated pays off.

Set clear, achievable goals with your teammates and give them a reason to bask in success. Workleap Performance’s 360-degree feedback helps managers and employees have richer conversations come review time, making it easier to set sharper goals and keep progress on track. When employees win, your organization does, too. 

Recognize great work

External recognition motivates employees. They feel seen by management and compelled to keep up the good work. 

For highly extrinsically motivated folks, including a little perk with the praise can go a long way. Consider offering gift cards or bonuses to top performers.

Foster autonomy

Motivation is often tied to an internal sense of achievement or success. And when people own their work and take responsibility for outcomes, they gain that internal reward.

Avoid micromanaging. Instead, foster autonomy by setting employees up with the right tools to do their job. In the long run, you’ll also create a stronger workforce of highly trained people who can face challenges on their own. 

Train well

Few things are as demotivating as feeling like you don’t know how to do your job. It’s not that you’re not skilled and talented. You simply don’t have the right training.

By training employees well, you can prevent this drop-off in confidence. Encourage questions and feedback, and turn mistakes into learning opportunities.

Why is feedback essential to driving employee motivation? 

From great workplace culture to continual recognition, every driver of employee motivation starts with feedback.

When a leader sits down with an employee to discuss performance, they build a closer relationship with that person and foster open workplace communication. Good feedback empowers even poorly performing employees to do their best work by providing opportunities for improvement. 

But it’s important to remember that feedback is a two-way street. These conversations are gateways to learning about all aspects of the employee experience. How do your team members feel about the company culture? Do they have access to adequate training? Do your DEI initiatives help everyone feel seen and supported? 

Two-way feedback allows leaders to better help their teams communicate their insights and needs. Use Workleap Performance to track team members’ progress and give timely, structured feedback. Pair Performance with Workleap Officevibe to gather insights from employees. You’ll make them feel seen while gaining information that’ll help the organization improve.

Create a comprehensive motivation strategy with Workleap

The best ways of motivating staff go beyond throwing pizza parties and handing out bonuses. Real motivation comes from creating an inclusive, empowering workplace that people enjoy participating in. To make that happen, you need to stay on top of employee feedback and performance data. And Workleap is here to help.

Workleap Officevibe was built to boost employee motivation and engagement by helping managers stay truly connected with their teams. With pulse surveys, you can gather honest feedback and spot morale issues before they snowball. Anonymous feedback channels create space for openness, while team insights and metrics reveal engagement trends over time. And with Officevibe’s one-on-one meeting tools, managers can support employees personally and professionally, making motivation part of the everyday rhythm of work.

Ready to see the impact for yourself? Get started with Workleap Officevibe for free today.

FAQs

What role does money play in employee motivation?

Employees need to earn money to pay their bills and grow financially, so earning a solid salary is a key motivation for workers. Employees are more likely to stay at a company that pays well. And if pay is so low that people are barely able to make ends meet, demotivation and low morale will be problems for the employees who stay.

That said, money’s not the only motivator. Companies that try to push employees with bonuses as their only motivation strategy fall short. It’s important for organizations to focus on all aspects of the workplace that contribute to job satisfaction. 

What’s the ROI of motivated and engaged employees?

The answer to this question is different for every organization. But you can track how much you spend on employee motivation versus boosts in profits. It’s not a perfect science, but if you experience a jump in profits as your workforce becomes more motivated, there’s a correlation. You can track other metrics like employee retention, too. After all, holding onto talent for longer periods of time saves you money on hiring and training.

How do social relationships at work affect employee motivation?

There’s a strong link between social bonds and motivation that positively impacts productivity. When people feel welcomed by their community and work teams, they feel valued. Plus, they resolve issues quickly thanks to their great rapport and communication with others.