Motivating the unmotivated state employee through workplace participation: research note from a pre- and post-intervention panel study

Abstract

This paper examines the relatively uninvestigated topic of the ‘unmotivated’ worker through analysis of archival data pertaining to employees of the State of Washington. Two general areas of concern are addressed by this study. First, a comparison of motivated and unmotivated public employees is made along dimensions of work-related attitudes (e.g., work ethic values, perceptions of the quality of supervision, degree of job enrichment in one's. work, and adequacy of rewards). Second, panel data is used to obtain an estimate of the effects of a participative management intervention. On the basis of comparisons of pre-.and post-intervention survey findings, suggestions for improving the commitment to task of the non-motivated worker are formulated. The results obtained from the Washington study suggest that commitments to task among unmotivated employees may be improved through a participative process reflecting trust in employee capacity for workplace contribution.