What is intrinsic motivation? Advantages of intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is when you do something without an influence of external rewards or external forces. You do something because you love it or you're interested to it, not because you expect to get reward or to avoid punishment.

For example, You're doing body exercise just because you love it, not because a doctor instructed you to do.

Intrinsic motivation does happen in our day to day life. Just think about all things you love to do at your home, school, workplace or street, then ask yourself who or what drives you to do them?

You'll find that no one or nothing that forces you to do them. Why?, because you love them, since they bring enjoyment to you.

People tend to be more creative and committed when they do things they are interested with than when they do things by the influence of external forces.

What is intrinsic motivation?

Intrinsic motivation is a desire to perform a certain task because it is interesting or enjoyable rather than being influenced by external factors. The driving force toward performing that task is coming from within an individual.

To understand better the concept of intrinsic motivation, you should also know what does extrinsic motivation mean and know how to differentiate them.

Extrinsic motivation means acting or doing something by the influence of external forces like rewards and punishments. In other hand, extrinsic motivation is when you are doing something not because you are interested to, but because you either want to be rewarded or to avoid punishment.

The contrast between these two concepts is, in intrinsic motivation, a person do something for enjoyment, while in extrinsic motivation a person do something for the aim of getting reward or avoiding punishment.

Intrinsic Motivation in Organization

Motivation is a very important instrument in raising employees performance and increasing productivity in an organization. However, intrinsic motivation is highly recommended than extrinsic motivation. 

Employees who are intrinsically motivated enjoy a job itself regardless of salaries, rewards and other benefits they are offered. In this case, managers have to make sure that they set good environment that develop intrinsic motivation to their employees.

The intrinsic motivation can be developed to the employees through intrinsic rewards like, recognition, assigning challenging tasks, work participation, job title and feedback.

In addition, offering extrinsic rewards to employees who are already intrinsically motivated to a job can lead to overjustification effect. 

Overjustification effect is when external rewards reduces intrinsic motivation within an employee. Thus, in this case, rewards like bonuses and others should only be given based on employee's efforts but not the ability of an employee toward performing a job.

Advantages of intrinsic motivation in an organization

1. Increases commitment; Any business needs its workers to perform at the best level toward reaching goals. Employees who are intrinsically motivated tend to give their maximum potential to a job because they feel competent and valued. 

2. Input of ideas and creativity; Since people tend to be creative to tasks they love. Employees can also bring creative ideas to a job when intrinsic motivation is well applied in an organization.

3. Goals achievement; Any business aims at achieving its targeted goals at a given time. Intrinsic motivation can help in achieving organizational goals since it increases the commitment of workers.

4. Increase in productivity; The production process within an organization depends much on the workforces. Intrinsic motivation helps to raise the employees performance which results to the increase in production capacity.

5. Improves performance; The employees performance reflects the organization productivity and output, every company would like their employees to perform at high level. Thus, in this case, intrinsic motivation a very important instrument to    apply in organization as it increase the employees performance.

Advantages of intrinsic motivation to employees

1. Boost morale; Intrinsic motivation helps employees to activate their working morale and commitment, this helps them to accomplish their tasks at a given time.

2. Brings job satisfaction and enjoyment; Intrinsic motivation helps to fulfill the employee's internal desire, thus it makes them be satisfied with a job and enjoy doing it.

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