Intrinsic Motivation of Employees

In a previous post, we emphasized Deci and Ryan (2008) Self Determination Theory (SDT) of motivation that relies on both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Moreover, we added that most actual Optometry Practice Management textbooks rely on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to teach Optometrists how to motivate employees. However, Maslow’s hierarchy consists of extrinsic motivation and undermines intrinsic motivation. In his bestselling book “Drive”, author Daniel Pink divided his understanding of motivation into three stages. Pink thinking on motivation heavily relies on the work of Deci and Ryan on SDT.

In Pink’s concept, the first stage, or Stage 1.0 is all about fundamental biological needs, the need for safety, security, and economic wellbeing. Those needs are very much similar to the base level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.  

Pink’s Stage 2.0 is all about the extrinsic motivation that comes from outside and consists of the promise of reward or the threat of punishment (carrot and the stick analogy). Stage 2.0 is fundamentally about promises and threats or something we often refer to as “if-then reward”.

Pink’s Stage 3.0 is all about the intrinsic motivation that comes from within ourselves and consists of the drive and needs for fulfillment, growth, reaching full potential, making our own choices, and finding the purpose and meaning of our lives.

According to Professor Sam Glucksberg, motivation plays a different role in every type of task. In easy to perform tasks motivation does improve performance, drives staff to act more quickly, and more purposefully. However, in hard tasks that need more logic and critical thinking, motivation keeps you working hard for the wrong reason and the wrong purpose. Professor Sam Glucksberg often refers to the “Candle Experiment” by German Psychologist Karl Duncker to demonstrate hard tasks that require mental restructuring rather than simple extrinsic motivation. Daniel Pink emphasizes that what psychologists call Controlling Contingent Reward or “if-then rewards” (if you do this you get that reward) is extraordinarily effective for simple short-term tasks. However, “if-then rewards” get us to focus too narrowly, don’t allow us to look extensively at things, and exhaust our motivational energy; thus are not very effective for more complex, creative work with long-term projects. Offering extrinsic motivation to employees to perform hard tasks diminishes their performance levels, creativity, autonomy, and ability to be in control of things and drives them to focus solely on the “carrot and stick” or control and reward. Moreover, offering extrinsic motivation for hard tasks discourages good behavior and encourages shortcuts and unethical behaviors, and drives short-term thinking.

Based on the SDT, Daniel Pink pinpoints three constituents of intrinsic motivation:

Autonomy is the ability to make our own choices in life, a sense of self-direction, and a sense of control over what they do when they do and how they do things;

Mastery is the ability to learn and increase our skill level of knowledge, understanding, and confidence in doing whatever we choose to do. It’s the sense of getting better at something that matters, getting feedback that is important, and making progress;

Purpose is the sense of meaning, a good reason, a higher call, and purpose that motivate us. It is about knowing how to do a task but also most importantly why it is being done in the first place. What impact does it make? How it is changing or affecting someone’s life?