ARE MOTIVATED EMPLOYEES HAPPY EMPLOYEES? A REVIEW OF INDICATIVE LITERATURE

Motivation is the foundation of almost all components of organisational productivity. Keeping employees motivated, according to not only literature but also observation, does influence their performance. Studies are conducted year in and year out to cement the theories of motivation all over the world for different
fields of knowledge, from Human Resources (HR) to Business Management, among many others. The government of Botswana has been worried about the low level of employee motivation in the public sector. The public and their customers express their lack of satisfaction towards service in all parts of the country,
making it a national crisis. The likes of Air Botswana experienced similar issues until privatisation. Botswana Railways is one organisation that has considered a privatisation scheme to improve productivity. A study with relation to Botswana Railways employee motivation is reviewed as part of this paper. This paper looks at the existing literature on employee motivation in relation to Botswana. First, there will be a global perspective on employee motivation and its importance to organisations. Then a study of three existing research papers that looked at employee motivations in Botswana’s organisations will follow. This paper reveals that most employees in Botswana are not satisfied or even the slightest bit happy with their working conditions. Based on Herzberg’s two-factor theory, we can say that both motivators and hygiene factors are lacking. As a result, public employees are less motivated, and the general public frequently complains about the level of services provided with their tax pulas.