Enhancing Cost Savings and Performance Through Employment Retention Initiatives: The Importance of Motivation, Satisfaction, Community, and Wellbeing

Background

Employment Motivation: Considering what motivates someone to join an organisation or institution is multifaceted and the prominence of the various influencing factors will vary over time. For educators, Morris (2021) has stressed the motivation is complex, and that contextual and situational influences have to be considered. Ushioda (2007) has also highlighted the importance of how motives are culturally situated and socially mediated. Indeed, it is also worth considering how motives are often emergent and dynamic (Dörnyei, MacIntyre and Henry, 2014). Because of all of these features, Morris and Mo (2023) suggest that it is important to explore the motivation behind a specific course of action, which is what this chapter seeks to do. To realise this, the work adopts the reductionist theoretical employment motivation construct of Morris (2021) as this was designed to be applied in TNHE contexts. The framework considers employment motivation from three broad perspectives. These are employment factors which encompasses all of the work-related features that may attract employees to apply for and sign a contract with an institution. These may include role related features and opportunities, alongside the employment package. The second element under consideration are personal aspects and influences. This includes, amongst other things, the importance of significant others, such as family and friends and a person’s individual situation, unique to them, which will influence decision making, as Lewis (2023) draws attention to. One example might be caring for someone, another a significant life event. The final area under investigation is the convenience of the move. It is often not easy to make a move because of the distance involved, or the costs, or the location of the new site and challenges such as schooling.