Introduction

Public administrators face the challenge of motivating the employees to undertake their responsibilities, be productive as well as being efficient. The challenge arises due to issues such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. There are employees that are driven by intrinsic motivation, while there are others driven by extrinsic motivation. As a result, relying on a single motivation factor is likely to fail.

Part 1- Distinguishing Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations of Employees

Intrinsic motivation is a form of motivation that is driven by internal rewards, and it arises from within since it brings about natural satisfaction to the individual involved. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, comes about when one is motivated to perform in order to avoid a punishment or earn a reward.

There are varied ways that a public service leader can use to know whether the motivation of employees is extrinsic or intrinsic. A good example of finding out is giving an employee a small project that they are expected to complete. An employee that is extrinsically motivated will need a lot of guidance while undertaking the project and will tend to ask a lot of question during the project execution process. There is need to offer such employees instances of praise and reward, and increased outside guidance to help them move forward. However, if an employee accomplishes the project requirements independently, he/she is regarded as being intrinsically motivated. The individual can accomplish the project requirements through the motivation that comes from within.

Part 2- How do Motivations of Employees Overlap with Public Service Motivation

Public service motivation involves specific motives if an individual based on the nature of public service work.  According to Perry and Wise, public service motives are classified in three categories: (1) norm-based, (2) affective, and (3) rational.  Norm-based public service motives involve this desire to serve the public and the public interest.   This category of motives is related to citizenship, duty, and loyalty.  Rational public service motives involve an individual doing public service as a way to satisfy their own needs.  For example, an employee may identify with a specific program or desire to advance a special interest. Affective public service motives are linked to an individual’s personal beliefs, feelings, and ideals concerning a public program.

Public service motivation tends to overlap with both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes in where the employees are driven to the public sector by motives such as duty, citizenship and loyalty. These are attributes that come from within an individual and are usually linked to intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, comes as result of compensation that these employees receive for their services. Despite there being a public service motivation, the employees would not be working at these public agencies if they are not receiving remuneration for their services. At the end of the day, they have to earn a living for survival.

Part 3- How Do Various Motivations Influence Personal Style as Public Service Leader

The different motivations are likely to influence the personal style that a public service leader assumes. One of the things to note is that there cannot be uniformity in the style of leadership being used. This would only result in failure since the employees involved are not motivated in a similar way. It is good for the public service to know that there are both internal and external motivators when it comes to employees. It is very important for the service leaders to identify employees that are influenced by external factors of motivation and those that are influenced by internal factors. This works as a motivation factor since it gives them the autonomy to establish creativity when executing their duties. On the other hand, the employees that are extrinsically motivated require more supervision in their day to day activities. There is also the need of using guidance and praise to ensure that they remain at the top of their “game”. Failing to consider such aspects and applying a similar style while dealing with all the employees would result to inefficiency at the workplace. For employees deriving public service motivation, it is good to assess the intrinsic and extrinsic part of their services too.

For example, in using the examples of building a park, ball field, or community center, the employees assigned to such projects must be motivated by the benefits and advantages that they are going to provide to the community members.   It is the responsibility of the public service leader to communicate these benefits and advantages to be enjoyed by the community to the employees assigned to such projects.  These employees have to be internally motivated to show up every day and get their work done to please themselves, please their public manager, and work as a team in the process.  It is also obvious these employees understand they are showing up every day to get the job done to be paid their salaries and maybe earn overtime pay or bonuses for meeting deadlines hence the need for extrinsic motivation.

Conclusion

Employees tend to have either intrinsic or extrinsic motivation while executing their day to day activities. It is upon the service leaders to identify what motivates the employees; without assuming that their motivation prospects are similar. While dealing with public service motivation, there is also the need of considering the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that might be involved.

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