What Is the Connection between Motivation and Job Satisfaction?

Employee motivation and job satisfaction are symbiotic concepts. High job satisfaction is directly tied to high motivation and vice versa. The more satisfied and content employees feel in a particular job role, the more motivated employees are to manage job responsibilities effectively. Surveys of various industries suggest that employees with a high sense of motivation also report a stronger sense of job satisfaction. Increased job satisfaction, therefore, leads to a heightened sense of both personal and professional motivation, and likewise, strong motivation results in more satisfaction in a particular job.

In terms of motivation and job satisfaction, employers have searched, studied, and discussed a variety of concepts for improving both. Based on numerous workplace studies and surveys, factors impacting job satisfaction include work environment and organizational culture, compensation, as well as opportunities for professional growth. An employees' ability to balance the demands of both career and personal commitments are also important. If an employee feels an employer meets their needs in these regards, they are more likely to feel motivated to perform at or above company standards and report feeling happier with their career choices.

Studies show that low motivation and job satisfaction adversely affect morale, employee attitudes, and subsequently, the further desire or motivation to be productive. Unhappy employees have little reason to help an organization to succeed and therefore display little motivation or interest in organizational goals. Focusing on increasing job satisfaction will encourage higher levels of productivity, reduce employee turnover, and cut back on culpable absenteeism. Likewise, not only do such measures improve attrition, absenteeism, and productivity, but also the mental and physical health of employees, further reducing issues with valid absenteeism as well as drops in productivity related to stress and job burn out.

Motivating employees and thereby increasing overall job satisfaction is as much art as it is science. Understanding human psychology better equips managers, supervisors, and human resource professionals to address issues of motivation and job satisfaction. Pay rates, benefits, and physical work spaces are all examples of extrinsic or externally sourced motivating factors, which, according to numerous workplace studies, have the least effect on motivation and produce the least job satisfaction. Alternatively, intrinsic motivation, such as personal or professional goals, self-respect, and challenging or interesting work, have been shown in numerous studies to have a larger impact on employee motivation and job satisfaction. As such, employers who focus on self-motivating factors rather than external motivations are more likely to retain employees who report satisfaction with their work environment.