Over the last few decades, the dynamics of business have changed to a great extent. Thanks to e-commerce, new businesses are emerging at the speed of light. However, a lot of them have also vanished from the face of the planet as fast as they emerged in the first place. This is why understanding what motivates a business is the key to sustaining it.

First, it’s no surprise businesses aim at increasing its profits, which is also a type of extrinsic motivation to keep them going. However, much to everyone’s surprise, many companies are now also focusing on intrinsic motivation because focusing on material profits can only take a business so far.

The Shift toward a Sustainable Model

If there’s anything the recent pandemic has taught us, it’s to sustain your workforce. Many businesses have witnessed what we can call a “spell of vanishing out” from the face of the earth because the pandemic clearly didn’t bring them much income.

This is where intrinsic motivation plays a role. When you can’t offer a raise or let alone a holiday bonus to your employees, keeping them motivated in other ways is the key to retaining them.

How Can You Promote Intrinsic Motivation at Workplace?

Since this type of motivation is not the same for everyone, you may need to tailor it to the needs of your employees. Some ways to promote it include the following:

Acknowledgment

Recognizing someone’s hard work despite the challenges can do wonders for their morale. Make it a point to do it from time to time.

Gratitude

It’s important to keep an employee’s personality in mind when it comes to expressing gratitude. While some people like being appreciated in public, others may like it in a personal setting.

Autonomy

Let your employees know that you trust them with their approach and give them the autonomy to do it.

Social Responsibility in Businesses

Apart from incorporating intrinsic and extrinsic motivation at workplace, it’s also important to pay attention to your customers. Today, companies can no longer sustain themselves by being selfish. They have to be as much of a participant in society as their customers.

Customers expect respect

If you wish to sustain your business and your customers, you must align your goals with them. For example, people today are much more conscious of how you are treating them. They can also tell when they’re nothing more than revenue targets for you. This is where having a good and well-trained customer service department comes into play. Disrespect people and see them disappearing into thin air, respect them and see how much they vouch for you even if they haven’t actively made a purchase.

Social good is the ultimate good

When you align your company’s goal with that of the society at large, it not only makes you the better contender in their eyes but also keeps you in their good books for later. Staying up to date with social causes and supporting them based on how they will help benefit society is the key to sustaining your business in today’s world.

In conclusion, money shouldn’t be the only end goal of a business. If anything, it should be a productive and healthy work environment and the betterment of society at large.