Employees motivation for better job performance: importance of financial and non-financial incentives in banking systems? Case of Oman

Abstract

Background: Employee motivation is a success factor for every organization. Previous studies state that motivation is a factor that triggers people when there are incentives to achieve a desired goal. Aim: This paper investigates the motivation and impact of employee performance in the banking sector. Also, the paper investigates how employees perform in their jobs based on how they are treated, compensated, and encouraged. Method: Data was gathered using a structured questionnaire with a sample of 100 employees working in one of the leading banks in Oman. Statistical measures like descriptive and chi-square analysis were used to validate the study hypotheses. Regression analysis was used to find the influence of financial and non-financial factors on employee performance. Results: The results indicated that financial motivating factors such as salary, bonus, health allowance, and house rent have a great influence on an employee's performance, with the study implicating how much the employee cares about financial motivation. Due to this, both the employee and the bank will benefit and develop in the future. Moreover, non-financial factors such as appreciation, work-life balance, job security, manager's behavior, and working hours significantly impact employees' performance. It was found that 89% of the employees are motivated by financial incentives, and 76% of them confirmed that they are motivated by non-financial incentives. Many theories have stated that when employees are motivated, they are satisfying their need for the work, resulting in better performance. The findings shed light on the factors that banks should focus on to enhance employees' job performance. The study recommends the need for a motivation scheme that directly relates to employees' productivity in the banking sector of Oman.