What Affects Motivation
An employee's job performance is affected by many factors including motivation, ability, and the setting or environment in which the employee works. Different employees hold vastly different perceptions about what's happening in any given situation. An employee's interpretation of a given situation depends on his or her expectations, background, personality, and other factors. This makes motivational decisions far more difficult than they may appear.
A motivational problem could stem from any number of causes. Asking the following questions can help managers understand an employee's perceptions and expectations.