Factors that Motivate Employees to Work: A Case Study of Northern Luzon Adventist College, Pangasinan, Philippines

The aim of this study was to find out how the employees at Northern Luzon Adventist College (NLAC), a non-profit tertiary institution in the Philippines, ranked the common factors considered to motivate them to work as well as clarify what they desired for the future in the factors studied. This study was based on Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory as perceived and desired by the respondents as well as their perception on the current job outlook. The population investigated consisted of all the employees of NLAC as of December 2005. Research findings revealed that the top five motivation factors perceived by the employees were (a) Competence, knowing the job; (b) Importance of tasks; (c) Work enjoyment; (d) Having enough freedom, responsibility, and authority to do my job; and (e) Originality. The top five hygiene factors perceived by the employees were (a) Nature of the organization, (b) Good personal relations, (c) Respect for co-workers, (d) Security in my job, and (e) Prestige in the community. On the overall, the desired level of the motivation and hygiene factors of the respondents were consistently higher than the perceived level of the motivation and hygiene factors.

Born in Nigeria, Victoria Ozioma Akpa holds an MBA degree in Business Management. Currently, she is a lecturer and a doctoral student in Human Resources Management at Babcock University, Nigeria. She has published articles in reputable journals and is married to Michael with two children, Prince and Precious. She loves reading and meeting people.