When it comes to motivation, it works differently for remote workers. This is primarily because remote work requires more self-motivation which comes from the remote workers’ self-dynamism, internal convictions, and self-driven elements towards work.  

As we move into the remote work future, it’s important to re-examine and re-implement motivation in the remote workplace. Remote employees must seek to restructure their own motivational needs and align them with their remote-first/remote-friendly company’s goals. Global remote employers and companies are moving to remote work permanently, and digitalism is undergoing a paradigm shift in motivation to effectively lead a remote workforce. 

Motivation at the remote employee level is more about tapping from within. 

It doesn’t matter if you are a remote employee or an on-site employee because, at the end of the day, your productivity determines your value as a worker. What motivates you as a remote employee, however, starkly differs from the motivation of an on-site employee because of the highly distinctive operating nature that divides both workplaces. The differences are: 

• Remote work requires more self-autonomous work completion drive than on-site work. 
• There is less monitoring from your superior in remote work.  
• You must exercise self-discipline when working remotely due to the flexibility of remote work. 
• Working remotely involves a lot of self-balancing acts than on-site work. 
• An office environment doesn’t manifest when you’re working remotely. 

When you work from home, your utilitarianism and productivity hinges upon your self-reliance. Your home environment can serve as a distraction that you must handle by yourself. You must combat the urge to check your social media. No one is watching you, so, it’s easy to slack off and succumb to social loafing. 

On-site work is opposed to the remote work scenario wherein you work in a controlled environment that is specifically designed to be utilitarian and productive. Your company most likely has all social media channels blocked. You’re under constant supervision, so you must be extra alert. 

These core differences revolutionize approaches to remote workplace motivation – what works on-site, doesn’t necessarily work in remote work. 

Two types of motivation in the remote workplace 

1.  Intrinsic motivation as opposed to extrinsic motivation 

Remote work’s unique challenges make remote employee motivation intrinsic rather than extrinsic. 

Since remote work often means isolation, intrinsic motivation serves as a self-cultivated impetus for you to give your best at work. You should go against the grain of loneliness by enjoying the work process in solitude and seeking maximized results.  

Intrinsic motivation is instrumental in a remote work model because remote work involves a lot of personal satisfaction and self-drive than external rewards. This type of motivation manifests when you are passionate about doing something – in other words, self-motivation.   

Genashtim Pte Ltd is a 100% remote company that employs people from marginalized communities, particularly people with disabilities (PWDs). Genashtim’s PWD employees might work after regular work hours or when they’re on leave, and on weekends. This is not because they want to impress their boss or want to be rewarded. It’s for their own sake – it’s about task management, dutiful responsibility, and dedication. These traits are very important and will determine your efficiency as a remote worker.  

While intrinsic motivation drives the individual, extrinsic motivation is still a necessary reward for work and effort completed. Like on-site workers, remote workers also need appreciation, raises, career development, and other benefits. It’s only that these rewards aren’t central. Remote workers are driven more by their self-initiative and self-supportive inner nature that drives peak performance and organizational development – praise and compensation are all secondary. 

2.  McGregor’s Theory Y of motivation as opposed to Theory X of motivation 

Top companies have announced their readiness to adopt remote work permanently, going into the future of remote work.  

This recent development requires companies to recheck their employee motivation approaches and implementation. On-site leadership needs to be revised to accommodate remote teams’ leadership. McGregor’s motivation theories can help strike an expedient balance and allow remote work leaders to implement suitable workplace motivation for their remote workers. Before implementing a suitable workplace motivation scheme, you must understand Theory X and Theory Y propounded by McGregor, which are as follows: 

Theory X 

This theory puts the perspective that managers are pessimistic, assuming that their team members are inherently unmotivated. The assumption leads to managers’ actively rewarding and prompting their subordinates to complete their tasks. Some can go as far as giving the consequence to the employees for failure to meet deadlines and requirements of a task. 

Theory X also believes that: 

• Employees avoid responsibility and hence require direction every step of the way. 
• Control and even threats are critical to getting employees to execute their tasks on time and produce high-quality output. 
• Constant supervision is required. 

Theory Y 

On the other hand, Theory Y puts forth the perspective that managers are optimistic with a decentralized and participative management style. Managers are more focused on building collaborative and trust-based relationships with their team members. 

Theory Y also believes that: 

• Employees are happy to work on their own initiative. 
• Employees view challenges at work as a benchmark of their skill and tackle them head-on. 
• Work is viewed as personal fulfilment. 
• Creativity and imaginative abilities are used to solve work-related issues and lags. 

Remote work motivation is more inclined to Theory Y because remote work involves a lot more self-autonomy compared to on-site work. It’s also because remote work communication is also broader and spreads across remote work communication applications. While communication is essential in remote work, especially asynchronous communication, remote project managers can’t afford to keep messaging their team members to monitor if they’re working. Conversely, it is up to you as a remote team member to proactively update your task progression, ask for feedback, suggest ideas and solutions, and keep track of your work. And this is where self-autonomy comes as merit in remote workers which closely conforms with Theory Y. 

Since remote workers work alone, it’s natural that remote managers give greater responsibilities to them. It’s also harder to control remote workers due to the distance, time zones, and different geographical locations. That’s why Theory Y is more suitable to motivate remote workers. The hands-off approach is more in tune with the environment wherein teleworkers work.  

Generally, Theory Y’s style of motivation is preferred by organizations with on-site work, and hybrid work as well. Theory Y’s motivation principles increase the value of meaning and purpose at work and provide workers with not just money, but also experiences, self-reflection, and human development. Rather than controlling the staff, staff members are given the liberty to be accountable for their own work performance. 

There is a prevalent belief that work that is menial and repetitive requires Theory X. However, there are remote jobs that are repetitive such as data entry remote jobs.  Due to the uncontrolled environment of remote work, Theory Y is the right type of motivation to apply even in remote jobs that have monotonous job descriptions. 

Conclusion 

Remote work relies heavily on inner motivation and your intrinsic motivation is necessary to cope with the unique demands of your remote work environment.  

As for McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, both theories are still applicable although Theory Y seems more applicable in the remote work environment to drive intrinsic motivation.