Motivating Employees:An Exploratory Study on Knowledge Workers

Motivated human resource is strategically important for corporate competitiveness. As new age employees are involved in complex knowledge processing which requires a particular set of organizational forces traditional means of motivating employees are no more effective. This paper aims to explore factors that determine the level of motivation among knowledge workers. The study is based upon survey conducted on engineers, chartered accountants and management teachers. The model of motivation proposed in the study was tested through correlation and regression analysis. We find that the level of motivation among different groups of knowledge workers is dependent upon one or combination of variables namely perception of job characteristics and importance of job characteristics. This study could not find linear relation between job motivation and satisfaction with job characteristics. Total motivation of an employee is cumulative effect of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Further it is evident that variables taken in the study are correlated to each other.