Motivation among construction workers in Turkey

Abstract

The role of management is to apply organisational resources to achieve organisational
\nobjectives. The nature of commercial enterprise necessitates the desire for increased
\nproductivity and efficiency, and workforce motivation is acknowledged to be an
\ninfluencing factor in these areas. Theory suggests that motivational factors follow a
\nhierarchical format where higher level needs become dominant when lower level
\nneeds have been fulfilled, and improvements in motivation are facilitated more
\neffectively through the higher level needs. This study looks at factors affecting the
\nmotivation of workers on Turkish construction sites. 370 construction workers were
\nasked in a questionnaire to give examples of positive and negative factors which
\naffect their motivation at work. It was found that money earned is the foremost
\nmotivating and de-motivating factor in the eyes of the construction workers. As a
\nresult it is suggested that workers on Turkish construction sites are managed in a way
\nwhich limits their opportunities to fulfil higher level needs, and in order to increase
\nworker motivation, and therefore productivity, the management of such workers
\nshould move away from control through external means and towards control through
\ninternal and cultural forces.