Motivation of permanent part-time employees in housekeeping service

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of communication, leadership, job rotation and reward & recogniton on the motivation of permanent part-time employees at company X. The study sought to assess the current motivation status of permanent-voluntary and involuntary- part-time employees at company X, determine how communication, leadership, job rotation and reward and recognition affect their motivation, and propose possible solutions to the management to improve the motivation scenario of the employees of company X. Company X is a Finnish franchise home cleaning private company located in Kivenlahti, Espoo City. It serves clients in Espoo, Helsinki, and Kirkkonumi areas. The company’s core function and service is home cleaning and has over 50 clients and a total of eight employees as of present. The target population for this study was eight employees. Due to a small population, the study used census approach. Hezberg and Mayo theories of motivation were used as basis for the research. Secondary data and previous related studies from different sources, and fields of studies were also consulted. The research methodology adopted for this research was entirely qualitative in that, solely qualitative data collection and analysis methods were applied. Interviews was the primary data collection method from which further agendas were generated for E-brainstorming which was also applied in the study for data collection. As for the analysis, thematic data analysis method was adopted in that, the data collected from both interviews and E-brainstorming methods were transcribed, interpreted and categorized into different categories forming themes. The research found that there were inadequate employee motivating factors and that the current employee motivation was low at company X. In addition, the research found that leadership, communication and reward & recognition had a positive influence on employee motivation. However, job-rotation had a negative influence on employee motivation as all of the employees expressed their frustration and dissatisfaction with job rotation itself and job rotation practices. The research therefore made several recommendations which include; regularly conducting of independent service audits, attitude surveys and exit interviews, adopting different styles of leadership and allowing autonomy, generating a company extranet and giving access to employees, and considering employees ideas by implementing them.