The impact of motivation and job satisfaction on productivity within the insurance industry.

Abstract

Motivation, job satisfaction and their links with productivity have been researched for decades, with many researchers producing contradictory findings. This topic has become especially important in recent times as companies struggle in a challenging economic environment. The organisation that successfully implements strategies which address these issues can gain a significant competitive advantage, as a sustainable increase in productivity from their staff will result in running costs being reduced. This study was carried out on the short-term insurance industry within South Africa and investigated the impact that motivation and job satisfaction have on productivity within the organisation. The study comprised a literature review, which includes the following concepts: a definition of motivation, motivational theories, driving forces of motivation, skills variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, job feedback and organisational productivity. These topics provided insight into motivation, job satisfaction and productivity. A quantitative research methodology was used for this study to understand the relationship between job satisfaction, motivation and productivity. Due to the research being carried out on one insurance company, which the researcher had access to, a non-probability convenience sampling method was used. A key finding was that employees who were motivated or satisfied with their job were more productive. However, staff who were not motivated did not believe they were unproductive. The study also found that there was a relationship between motivation and job satisfaction. One of the recommendations of this study is that companies should empower staff to make decisions, as this is a key factor in them being motivated. Furthermore, job satisfaction is driven by one’s personal beliefs about whether or not their job is important to the organisation; therefore, companies should ensure that managers communicate with their staff regarding how their job affects the organisation.