Intrinsic Motivation and the Professional Development of Nigerian Workers

1. Intrinsic Motivation and the Professional Development of Nigerian Workers

Introduction
This thrust of this article is to explore the role of intrinsic motivation in the professional development of employees in their workplaces. In a bid to achieve this, the article will be split into different parts, with each part, discussing relevant issues bordering on the cause and effect of intrinsic motivation in Nigerian business orgnanisations.

Background to Intrinsic Motivation
It is a natural phenomenon that human beings tend to be more productive and creative when they are being motivated. This is also applicable to work, as employee engagement and development has overtime, proven to become an advantage to achieving greater results (King, 2021). Interestingly, better employee performance at work in different business organizations is consequent upon how well workers are being motivated (Kalhoro, Jhatial & Khokhar, 2017, p. 121). What this means is that employee motivation is an essential factor that drives higher employee productivity. Also, it is important to note that a motivated employee takes his job serious and is open to every opportunity that will enhance his experience and skills (purpose) not just because he is spurred to do so, but also because he chose to do so (autonomy) in order to be more experienced in his job (mastery) (Santos-Longhurst, 2019). Absorbing these three elements of intrinsic motivation helps every intrinsically motivated worker to not only performs excellently well in his job, but also to take advantage of the human development programmes that are being made available by his employer. In so doing, he gains more knowledge and competence in his job and also uses them to improve his performance (Kalhoro, Jhatial & Khokhar, 2017, p. 121).

Motivation is an enhancer; a mixture of need, force and incentive which encourages employees to do work and in most occasions, act greedier (Shar, et al., 2018). It is a strategy employed by business owners to create better working conditions that can help them achieve excellent results in very outstanding ways. In agreement with this, Adama, Udeze & Emeali (2016, p. 46) stated that ‘workers’ productivity refers to the ratio of workers production capacity in an organisation and the primary reason of motivating employees is to enhance productivity.’ Moreover, it is important to note that the accomplishment of better results (increase in productivity) is based on the behaviours of employees and on this note, behaviour is thought to be motivated by either an intrinsic or extrinsic factors (King, 2021).

While the former focuses on intangible or immaterial rewards such as enjoying the fun that comes with work and learning of new skills and ideas by an employee, the latter, is based on material gains and rewards like money and gifts. Furthermore, VGlobal (2022) mentioned that numerous studies over the last fourty years found that for tasks that require mechanical skill, bonuses make up for the effective tools that drive better results. However, in a situation where the tasks demand logical skills, a larger reward could lead to low performance. This is because employees that are driven by internal rewards and satisfaction perform better than employees who are being influenced by extrinsic rewards (Amaka, Emeka & Ejim, 2015).

Paying closer attention to intrinsic motivation – a behaviour which informs the theme of this research, it is crucial to note that employees who are intrinsically motivated tend to have higher job satisfaction because they believe that despite the limitations they encounter in the course of doing their job, they still find it interesting and meaningful (Cameron & Green, 2019). This goes further to explain that employees who are intrinsically motivated are not easily influenced by material rewards which ordinarily, would have enhanced their productivity level. Rather, to these set of workers, increase in productivity as well as better employee performance is interconnected with not only employee morale but also employee satisfaction (Sheahan, 2018).

On the other hand, intrinsic motivation also influences employees to learn, develop and advance new skills in order to remain relevant and updated in their chosen career. It also propels them to be more productive and useful in their work place (Antley, 2020). Furthermore, this gives credence to why many employers of labour in the Nigerian public and private business sector at present, have readjusted their employee motivational strategies to incorporate the creation of a work space that allows for employee growth and development – an achievement that will engender employee commitment at workplace (Nurun et al., 2017).

.Intrinsic Motivation and the Nigerian Work Environment
According to Legault (2020), intrinsic motivation is an engagement in behaviour that is inwardly satisfying or enjoyable. It is non-instrumental and as such, does not require any form of external reaction or reward. Moreover, the level at which people are intrinsically motivated explains more about consistency and performance in the work place (van Egmond et al. 2017). To Cherry (2022), intrinsic motivation takes place when one acts without any obvious external rewards but rather, simply enjoy an activity or take it as an avenue to learn and actualize certain potentials. As a motivation to indulge in an activity mainly because of the activity itself, intrinsic motivation propels one’s self desire to find new things and challenges, to evaluate one’s capabilities, and to acquire new knowledge (Makki & Abid, 2017, p. 38). Furthermore, it facilitates an individual’s interest or enjoyment in carrying out certain tasks or duties which often times, results in high quality creativity (Makki & Abid, 2017, p. 38). Also, it imbues in an individual the feeling of competence in carrying out certain activities which promotes the enjoyment of that activity (Elliot et al., 2000).

Taking a step further into the Nigerian workplace, Adama, Udeze, & Emeali (2016, p. 54) mentioned that productivity workforce is influenced by motivational factors, ranging from satisfaction of their esteem, physiological safety, social safety, psychological and self-actualisation levels, respectively. Citing an example with their research findings on intrinsic motivation and its impact on the professional development of employees in Fidelity bank, Abakiliki, the authors noted that in 2016, workers’ productivity in the bank stood at 41.3% and this was because the bank invested greatly in the career advancement of its staff. In addition, it should be noted that the employees of the bank probably would not have been interested in engaging in further professional career development if the bank did not provide adequate job security which added about 21.2% to workers’ productivity (Adama, Udeze, & Emeali, 2016, p. 53).

Furthermore, their findings revealed that the performance of employees who were subjected to strict supervision and monitoring was very poor while that of those who received grand recognition from the bank management was high at 18.6%. Overall, this explains that employee performance in different workplaces is influenced by certain factors such as job security, job supervision and monitoring, and recognition. However, one may not be wrong to state that the percentage of the abovementioned motivational factors should have been higher if really the bank invested in the career advancement of its employees.

Intrinsic Motivation and Professional Development
It is a known fact that the growth and development of any business organisation is dependent on the activities of its employees. This explains why many business organizations do all they can to ensure that they sustain their valuable human resource (Jehanzeb & Jagannath, 2018). However, it is erroneous for most business owners to think that employees are always engrossed in gaining financial rewards from their works. This is because there are many other employees who place themselves on the inherent benefit of their profession and while this encourages them to improve massively and also become updated in every aspect of their work; it also increases their productivity level which brings about greater profit for their employers. This explains why In Nigeria today, most business organizations like banks, radio and television stations, airline companies, manufacturing industries among others are putting in a lot of money on the training and development of employees in order to remain relevant and current with new business trends, skill sets, and ideas (Jehanzeb & Jagannath, 2018).

Scholars and professionals like Sharma & Taneja (2018) as well as Doeringer & Piore, 2020) have come to the agreement that training and development programmes have positive impact on employees and their organizations. They also suggested that training is a tool which is beneficial for employee retention. Furthermore, most writers also agree that while training is an organized method of learning and growth which widens the potentials of individuals, groups, and organizations (Kavanagh & Johnson, 2017), employee training is a human resource practice that can expressively influence on the achievements of the organisation (Jehanzeb & Jagannath, 2018).

Globally, companies provide various trainings and programmes whose aim are to improve and enhance the skills and potentials of their employees. These trainings are characterized by employee development programmes such as career development orientations as well as management and operational skills. They also comprise adequate structure through which business organizations develop their business ideas and marketable concepts (Onyekwere & Emerinwe, 2020).

Intrinsic Motivation and Job Performance
Adeola & Adebiyi (2016) noted that upon the employment of a staff in a certain company, it is very essential for the worker to be motivated because there are chances that his performance in the job will be determined by it. Furthermore, the authors explained that workers’ performance levels can be of low standard if they are not highly motivated. Citing examples with Nigerian banks like Access bank, Zenith bank, First bank, and Eco bank, the authors stated that while successful recruitment and selection can bring about tremendous improvements in the efficiency of employee morale and also allow financial institutions to form a labour force of qualified employees, it is crucial to motivate these employees in order to improve their performance as well as that of the organisation.

According to Munyua (2020, p. 24), there is good understanding among business owners and managers that investing massively in the intrinsic rewards of their workers will enhance their optimum performance. In this regard, they see investment on the professional development of their employees as not only a means to keeping them updated in line with new trends in business, but also a way to help their businesses achieve its objectives through performance of job tasks. Intrinsic motivation influences better employee performance. This is made possible as employees are inspired to do more work consequent upon the challenges they encounter as well as their zeal to overcome them. In another event, Pak (2010) noted that motivating employees through intrinsic factors brings about high performance and profitable accomplishments. It also develops organisational citizenship behaviour based on employees’ commitment to their work (Munyua (2020, p.17).

Again, Manjenje & Muhanga, 2021) remarked that non-monetary types of rewards can motivate workers towards superior performance and this is based on the fact that workers tend to be more creative and hard working when their organisation provides them an enabling environment that promotes collective growth, self-confidence and cooperation (Munyua 2020, p. 24). In agreement with the aforementioned, Hanaysha & Majid (2018) added that the provision of such environment allows workers to identify, exercise and carry out positive work-related behaviours.

Need for Intrinsic motivation in the Nigerian work environment
The relevance of intrinsic motivation to job performance and productivity cannot be overemphasized. This is because the more qualified and professional employees are. the better for their employers and the organisations they work for. While it is good for employers of labour to entice their workers with all sorts of extrinsic rewards, it is more rewarding to invest in the professional development and growth of workers for the overarching aim of increasing their job performance which will lead to massive organsational profit. In the Nigerian business setting, most employers of labour prefer extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation. The reason is because they believe that a good number of employees are motivated with what they see and not what they learn. However, this paper takes the opposite direction as it posits that instrinsic motivation does more positive good to individual and organisational growth. According to Parikh (2022) and Ingram (2022), the following are the benefit of intrinsic motivation:
Workers that are intrinsically motivated draw fulfillment in their jobs and as such, they are inspired to work for long hours
Workers who are passionate about their jobs rarely lose their jobs. To them, there is price tag to the value they receive and give to their employers.
Employees with high level of intrinsic motivation often reduce labour cost for their employers. Intrinsically motivated employers have the capacity to solve certain organisational challenges on their own instead of requesting assistance for every challenge that arise. They can individually handle projects satisfactorily and this means a lot of gains for their employers
They are very innovative and ingenious.
They are hard working and result-oriented

Conclusion
This article examined the role and contributions of Intrinsic Motivation in the Professional Development of Nigerian Workers. The articles comprises different themes that are relevant to the topic of discuss. These include: background to the intrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation and the Nigerian work environment, intrinsic motivation and professional development, intrinsic motivation and job performance, and finally, the need for intrinsic motivation in the Nigerian work environment.

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