Knowledge worker motivation

Abstract

Demand for knowledge workers has increased relative to the available supply. A further cause for concern is that the requirements for managing knowledge workers differ from those for managing lower qualified employees. Due to scarcity and different management requirements, attracting and retaining the best available knowledge workers poses a serious challenge.The purpose of this study was to to identify and understand the impact of some of the key factors that motivate knowledge workers.A quantitative research design was employed with knowledge workers the targeted sample through purposive sampling combined with an element of snowballing. The final sample consisted of 91 respondents from different industries, educational backgrounds and age groups, but who all indicated that they were knowledge workers in the survey. The survey data was tested for reliability, validity and factor analysis used to narrow down the elements for the statistical analysis of the hypotheses.Following the research, the initial five hypotheses were narrowed down to four of which three were correlated to knowledge worker motivation. Management relationships as well as independence and interpersonal relationships were positively correlated whilst staff turnover was negatively correlated to knowledge worker motivation. Based on the research outcomes, recommendations were made to both knowledge workers and management. Furthermore, suggested areas for future research were provided.