Impact of Motivation on the Performance of Women Workers in Garment Industry in Bangladesh

Abstract

Industrial outcomes depends on skill and workmanship. A worker may be highly skilled, he knows his job, but this alone cannot ensure perfection of work or quality of goods. In order to produce quality goods or improve productivity, the worker must be motivated. Motivation implies that the worker is willing spontaneously to work effectively. Motivation is the willingness of people to exert high levels of efforts towards organizational goal, conditioned by efforts, ability to satisfy some individual needs. Unless properly motivated, worker will not be able to produce quality goods or improved productivity. In our study, garment industry is selected. During the late 1980s garment industry drew attention not only as earners of foreign currency but also due to the rush of women workers walking in groups that one saw in the early morning hours and after the sunset. Not all could appreciate the advent of such social changes. Complaints were raised, often in news media on possible labour lawlessness including employment condition, exploitation of labour by providing low wages, overwork gender difference in earnings, social insecurity of female workers, etc. Most of these were based on wild guesses rather than direct observation. The broad purpose of the study is to highlight the motivational aspects of women workers of garment industry in Bangladesh and to assess the impact of motivation on workers' performance. Eight hypotheses have been formulated based on intensive review. For collecting data both primary and secondary sources were used. In some cases observation method worked. For collecting primary data 30 garment factory were selected randomly where at least 500 female workers were employed. All of our sampled workers were female and machine operator as per skilled category III. 300 workers were selected from 30 garment factories randomly and proportionately. On the other hand, 60 executive (two in each sample unit) were selected purposively from human resource department. Two different sets of semi-structured questionnaire were used for interviewing the respondents. For rating the performance of the workers, performance rating schedule was used. Concerned supervisor of the workers rating their performance. Opinions at the respondents have been classified following ordinal scale and Likert's five point scale. Statistical tools like, frequencies, percentages, mean standard deviation, minimum, maximum, t-value, p-value etc. are shown. Testing of hypotheses are done through z-test and chi-squire test. The overall conclusion of the study is that garment female workers are not motivated properly and their performance are in lower level. The findings also indicate that the garment workers are not reasonably satisfied with job satisfaction measures. Result at the present study further shows that the garment workers desire for higher order needs is not so much dominant, which implies that these higher order needs may be suspended before some progress is made to job characteristics and job context factors. The present observation proves that sample garment workers' primary needs are not reasonably satisfied. Our garment female workers have been facing lot of social and economical problems. Most of them are younger in age, unmarried and lower educated. They have come from rural background with economic sufferings. Majority of them are the primary earner of their family. The most adverse social impact of garment industry is on violence against women, verbal abuse at workplace is highest. They are to listen demeaning remarks of neighbours for performing overtime work at night. In the street they are attacked by mast an or local touts. There residence are not also secured. They had to face lot of problems there. Their standard of living is lower also. Their commuting problem is highest specially at night. The workers health condition is not so good. They have been suffering from lot of physical problems like physical weakness, eye problem, headache, waist & back pain, cough and fever etc. They are not able to take treatment for economic reason. Occupational hazards, uncongenial working conditions. Inability to take adequate healthy food are the responsible for their ill health. Moreover, they have no time to take rest, they are to work from morning till night. Among motivating factors, workers gave highest priority to financial factors like wage, bonus and fringe benefits. It follows supervision. If we sum up the findings of our survey, we find that financial incentives are not at all satisfactory for the workers. On the other hand, among non-financial incentives, relationships with peers are reasonably satisfactory but to supervision, relationship with management, company's policy and administration, they expressed dissatisfaction. The workers feel highest job insecurity. Moreover, lack of promotion, self development opportunity, work autonomy and gender differential behaviour are the major grievances of the garment workers. Even they have no right to form trade union. In garment factories, legal machineries are not implemented properly. AS a result, physical working conditions, leave, employment matters are ignored to a large extent. These problems and dis satisfactions should be duely considered and properly handled by the management. Special care should be taken so as to remove the crucial problems. Under the circumstance I would like to suggest for motivating workers to improve their performance and to make sound working environment. Job satisfaction measures for the workers should be taken seriously. Economic dissatisfaction should be handled carefully. Payment of wage and other financial benefit may be given on the basis of performance. Measures should be taken for advancement and self development of workers. Legal machineries should be implemented properly. For ensuring social security of the workers, law and order situation should be improved in general. Social awareness should be developed by the initiative of the government and non-­government organizations. Finally human relation atmosphere should be developed in the factory.