4. ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
4.2 Different life situations and motivation
At the start of every interview, participants were asked some basic questions, which included defining their gender, age and marital status. They also got the chance to tell about their educational background as well as current employment situation and income. Many also discussed their previous work history. These things were covered in order to find out whether any different factors to do with individual’s current life situation had an effect on their work motivation.
4.2.1 Gender
There were no significant nor shown differences between genders regarding their answers, their perception of motivation and what they felt were the most important motivational factors.
Twelve of the participants were females and ten of them males. The participants were also asked if they thought that there are difference in people’s work motivation in terms with their gender, and none of the participants thought that gender played a role in their or other people’s work motivation.
Figure 1. Gender distribution Figure 2. Age distribution 4.2.2 Age
“I do not think that my work motivation has changed much over the years.
Of course small things change, and the way you see things changes as you mature, but still the most important and basic things have remained the
same”
“The basis of my motivation towards work has been constant through my working life, but of course as you mature you probably place emphasis on
somethings a bit more than others. I do not see it changing significantly though”
50 % 50 %
Gender
Male Female
23 %
41 % 36 %
Age
24-26 27-29 30-35
All of the participants were representatives of Generation Y, but the participant’s age ranged between twenty-four and thirty-five. Participant’s age did not have a considerable impact on their views regarding their own work motivation or work motivation in general, which was most likely due to the age range being so narrow. Most participants also did not think their motives had significantly changed over the years, as they got older, but admitted that as they matured some things might come more important and some less important.
4.2.3 Marital status and children
“I don’t think that kids, marriage or any of that would play a big role in my work motivation, and I don’t think it would change due to those aspects of
life”
“Of course a change in your marital status, or kids or any big life events will have an effect on your motivation, but that is something really
short-term though”
Figure 3. Marital status distribution Figure 4. Participant’s children
The participants whom were married, had children or were considering one of the two in the near future considered things such as permanent work contract and work security (drive to defend) to be slightly more important than other participants did. Few participants viewed that their motivation had improved, or would improve due to having children, but no one saw having children to have a negative effect on work motivation. Marital status was something many participants thought to have an effect on motivation, but all participants mentioning this, said that the effect was not significant or long-term. Other than that, marital status, nor children seemed not to play a major role in the participant’s views on motivation.
27 %
46 % 27 %
Marital status
Single In a relationship Married
32 %
68 %
Children
Children No children
4.2.4 Educational background
“If I was educated more I would definitely demand more money, more responsibility, more of everything really. Now I can’t really demand for
much”
“If I was highly educated I think I would be much more motivated. It would give me the courage to want and demand more, and I would want to
challenge myself much more and develop my skills and abilities”
“I think that higher education plays a part in work motivation, because when you’ve worked so hard to achieve something like that, you wouldn’t
want to feel like it wasn’t worth it, and you want to keep working even harder”
“Compensation and money do play a major part in my work motivation, but I am very aware of the fact that I’m not highly educated, which means I
can’t demand too much”
Figure 5. Educational background distribution
All participants whom did not have degrees in higher education believed that they would be more motivated to work if they were educated better. This was due to the belief, that higher education equals higher pay. Individuals with either bachelor’s or master’s degrees also thought that education is, or at least should be a direct reflection of one’s educational background.
Although, it was discovered, that in the case of higher education “more motivated” actually meant, “more motivated by money”. Higher education was also mentioned in terms of one having more confidence to pursue career goals, which was connected to motivation. Most
5 %
23 %
45 % 27 %
Educational background
No qualifications Upper secondary qualification Bachelor's degree Master's degree
participants felt that educational background played much bigger part on their motivation than for example marital status or age did.
4.2.5 Current work situation and position
“When I do get work it gives me so much power and energy, and I feel like I give 100%”
“Of course my work motivation is somewhat different now than it was at my last job, but the core of it is the same, and I don’t think that that will ever
really change”
There was not a considerable difference between participant’s views and thoughts about work motivation in relation to their current work position. Some differences occurred between individuals whose position was in direct relation to their educational background and ones who had not yet found work in their desired field. The differences in views though were very small, and individuals whom were not necessarily currently satisfied with their work did not see it as a permanent situation. It was acknowledged by most participants, that their motivation has varied some throughout the years they have been in employment, depending on what kind of work they were doing or what their position was. Although, it was a mutual belief by most of the participants that the “core” of their motivation has always remained the same regardless of the work they were doing.
“Currently what motivates me the most is money, but that is only because of my current student status, and the fact that I am working to survive. I
believe my motives will be very different once I get into my career”
“I think that you start thinking about compensation more, and it becomes much more of a factor of motivation when you are not entirely happy with it
and do not feel that your compensation is fair”
Participants whom were currently working at a job, which they saw as temporary, felt that their motivation would change in the future. These individuals were still studying and therefore working just to survive or were in between jobs. This theme reoccurred with other individuals as well, when they were talking about their previous jobs, and how their motivation changed once they found work in their own chosen field and when working was less about survival.
4.2.6 Current income
“I think that increase in salary would make me demand more from myself”
“If I did not enjoy my work as much as I do, I would be probably much more interested about the compensation I was getting”
Figure 6. Current income distribution
Participant’s current income did not seem to have a significant impact on participant’s current views regarding their work motivation. It was though noted, that a change in their current income might have an effect on their motivation, but the effect would not be significant. When discussing participant’s current income, most had a common view that change in their income would not have affect the core of their work motivation. The participants whom earner significantly more than other did though admit that they had rarely had to thought about money in terms of motivation as they felt they had always been compensated fairly.
4.2.7 Job satisfaction
“You might think that things such as salary and good colleagues would be the biggest impacts on your motivation, but I don’t think there is much that an outside party can do if none of your motivation comes from within you”
Participants whom were more satisfied with their current work situation and their job in general had more broad perspective on work motivation, compared to individuals whom were currently unsatisfied with at least some aspects of their work. Participants whom had very little to complain about their current situation saw motivation as something that came from within themselves, and that they could control and affect their own motivation. The participants whom were especially dissatisfied with their current job described work motivation in a much more
13 %
23 %
32 % 9 %
23 %
Current income
Less than 20k 20-30k 30-40k 40-50k Over 50k
superficial manner and felt that their work motivation was very dependent on their employers actions rather than on their own.
4.2.8 Other life situations
“Sometimes life gets in the way of things, and it might show at work, but that doesn’t mean that I am not motivated, and it’s just temporary”
“I don’t think that sudden changes that raise your motivation are very long lasting”
Many participants mentioned different life situations and scenarios, which have had an effect on their motivation previously, such as issues with mental health or physical illnesses, as well as financial difficulties. Most of these thought, were only seen as things that would have a temporary and short-term effect on motivation.