The impact of employee learning on staff motivation in Greek small firms: the employees' perspective

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to try to understand the main motivational forces, from the employees' point of view, that direct staff behavior in small firms within a country that suffers from a severe financial crisis. The study will identify the main factors affecting staff motivation at a period where the financial rewards are kept to the minimum, with the purpose of helping small firm owners create working environments that stimulate employee performance.Design/methodology/approachIn order to explore the impact of various contextual variables on staff motivation, 65 structured personal interviews were conducted with employees working in Greek small firms that showed an interest to participate in the study. The empirical work took place in Greece during September‐December 2011 and the respondents consisted of workers employed in 20 small firms (i.e. firms employing from 5 to 50 workers) of the Greek services sector, as well as the manufacturing industry. The interview questions looked at various factors affecting staff motivation, such as quality of supervision, financial rewards, job design, training and development opportunities, social relations with co‐workers etc. The data analysis involved descriptive, hierarchical coding based on a priori codes identified from previous theory and grounded codes that emerged from new observations.FindingsThe changing nature of the international business environment has placed an increasing emphasis on the importance of effective human resource practices for firm success, including the importance of the “psychological contract” (i.e. the perceptions of the employee and employer of what their mutual informal obligations are towards each other) within the employment relationship.Originality/valueHuman resource management plays a vital role in ensuring the promotion of business success and managing change. This involves paying attention to the “psychological contract” and the establishment of expectations and obligations with all groups of employees within the organization. This paper explores the impact of various contextual variables on staff motivation from the employees' perspective.